CAT 2023 Slot 2 Exam Analysis: Check Overall & Sectional Exam Pattern, Key Changes, Difficulty Level, likely Cut offs

Like Slot-1 of CAT 2023, Slot 2 had same number of total questions 66. Check Complete Slot-2 Analysis 

CAT 2023 Exam Slot-2 has got over on November 26, 2023 at 2.30 PM. The exam is being conducted in three slots on the same day in 160+ Cities. MBAUniverse.com expert team took the Slot-2 exam from 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM, to assess the key changes in exam pattern, difficulty level, likely changes in cut offs for top B-schools Check Complete CAT Exam Analysis 2023 Below. . 

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Exam Analysis: Key Highlights
Slot-2 of CAT 2023 exam was conducted from 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM on November 26, 2023. Following are the key highlights of CAT Exam analysis 2023 Slot-2

• Overall Exam Difficulty Level: Moderate to Difficult
• Total Questions: 66
• Number of Sections: 3 (VARC; DILR; QA)
• Scoring Pattern: +3 Marks for Correct Answer
• Negative Marking (MCQs): -1 Mark for each wrong answer
• Negative Marking (Non-MCQs): No Negative Marks for wrong answer
• Total Score: 198 Marks
• Sectional Time Duration: 40 Minutes for each Section

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Exam Analysis: Sectional Highlights

• Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC): 4 RC passages of 500-700 words
• VA Questions based on Para jumbles; Odd one Out; Para Summary; Sentence completion
• Odd Sentence Questions have come back in CAT 2023 after CAT 2021
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR): 4 problem sets followed by 5 questions each
• Quantitative Ability (QA): Heavy Algebra Based Questions than last year 

CAT 2023 Exam Slot 2 Analysis: Sectional Composition
CAT Exam 2023 Section Wise Analysis is shared below:

Source: MBAUniverse.com analysis 

Section Wise CAT 2023 Slot-2 Analysis in Detail
Below is shared detailed section wise CAT 2023 Slot-2 Analysis

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

The VA-RC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. As in the past several years, there were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. The passages were mainly Easy except for the one on Historical Fact. About 12 RC questions could be attempted with high accuracy. The out-of-context-sentence (Odd Sentence) questions made a comeback this year, replacing one each of Summary and Paragraph Jumbles. So, the section had 2 questions each of Summary (MCQ), Paragraph Jumbles (TITA), Paragraph Completion(MCQ), and Odd Sentence questions (TITA). One question in the Verbal Ability section was marked with an alert icon and indicated that it was a Mandatory Question.

In VA, 6 or 7 attempts with high accuracy were possible. Overall, the section was Easy.

An attempt of 17 to 19 questions with accuracy of approximately 70% will be a good performance in VARC.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
Last year, there were a total of four sets, each comprising five questions. This pattern has been maintained in CAT 2023. Overall, the Level of difficulty of the section was Medium to Difficult.

Overall, an attempt of 10 to 12 questions with accuracy of approximately 75-80% will be a good performance.

Quantitative Ability
This section was tougher than last year in terms of level of difficulty compared to CAT 2022. Following was the composition of QA section: 

• In Arithmetic, the questions were on SICI, Time and Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Averages, Mixtures & Allegations and Profit & Loss
• In Algebra, the questions were dominated by Quadratic equations, Linear Equations, Modulus, Maxima -Minima, Inequality & Polynomials
• In Modern Math, the questions were on Logarithms, Sequences
• In Geometry, the questions were on Triangle, Rectangle, Coordinate Geometry & Parallelogram
• In Number system, questions were on indices and number of factors
• Number of TITA (8 questions) and MCQ (14 questions) in this section:

Overall, an attempt of 9 to 11 questions with accuracy of approximately 75-80% will be a good performance.

Slot-2 CAT 2023 Cut offs
Below are the expected CAT 2023 slot-2 score cut offs for different percentile range:

CAT 2023 Analysis by IMS - Slot 2

The second slot of CAT 2023 took place today between 12.30 pm and 2:30 pm. The structure of CAT 2023 Slot 2 remained largely the same as in 2022, with 66 questions in all. However, the DILR and Verbal sections saw some changes in segmentation and the number of MCQs and TITA. The Verbal Section saw a minor change in segmentation with the Odd Sentence Questions coming back after 2021. The VA Section had 2 questions each of Summary, Paragraph Jumbles, Paragraph Completion, and Odd Sentence questions.

The marking scheme was +3 for every correct and -1 for incorrect. There was no negative marking for TITA Qs.

Based on the feedback received from several candidates who have appeared in the first slot, our initial estimate of the percentiles and scores*** is as follows. These estimates will be suitably revised soon after the CAT releases the response sheets.

*** Students are advised not to take any B-School application decision based on these initial estimates. They serve only as the first indicator of likely performance.

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension

The VA-RC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. As in the past several years, there were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. The passages were mainly Easy except for the one on Historical Fact. About 12 RC questions could be attempted with high accuracy. The out-of-context-sentence (Odd Sentence) questions made a comeback this year, replacing one each of Summary and Paragraph Jumbles. So, the section had 2 questions each of Summary (MCQ), Paragraph Jumbles (TITA), Paragraph Completion(MCQ), and Odd Sentence questions (TITA). One question in the Verbal Ability section was marked with an alert icon and indicated that it was a Mandatory Question.

In VA, 6 or 7 attempts with high accuracy were possible. Overall, the section was Easy.

An attempt of 17 to 19 questions with accuracy of approximately 70% will be a good performance in VARC.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Last year, there were a total of four sets, each comprising five questions. This pattern has been maintained in CAT 2023. Overall, the Level of difficulty of the section was Medium to Difficult.

Overall the level of difficulty of this section was on par with the DILR Section of Slot 1 of CAT 2023.

Overall, an attempt of 10 to 12 questions with accuracy of approximately 75-80% will be a good performance.

Quantitative Ability

This section was slightly tougher in terms of level of difficulty compared to CAT 2023 Slot 1 QA and was dominated by Algebra (8 questions), followed by Arithmetic (7 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 2 questions on Modern Math and 2 questions on Numbers. In Arithmetic, the questions were on SICI, Time and Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Averages, Mixtures & Allegations and Profit & Loss. In Algebra, the questions were dominated by Quadratic equations, Linear Equations, Modulus, Maxima -Minima, Inequality & Polynomials etc. In Modern Math, the questions were on Logarithms, Sequences etc. In Geometry, the questions were on Triangle, Rectangle, Coordinate Geometry & Parallelogram etc. In Numbers , questions were on indices and number of factors

Number of TITA (8 questions) and MCQ (14 questions) in this section:

Selecting the right questions to attempt was the key. Overall, an attempt of 9 to 11 questions with accuracy of approximately 75-80% will be a good performance.

THE PROCESS

At many centers, shoes and metallic objects (including metal) jewelry were not allowed. Only the admit card and the ID proof were allowed. As in the previous years, the authorities took possession of the admit cards. The candidates were given a small pad with IIM CAT Logo on the cover for rough work, and a pen – which were also taken away at the end of the exam.

TEST INTERFACE

The test interface was user-friendly and exactly the one provided in the official CAT Mock Test. There were no subdivisions within each section. A simple calculator was provided, and not a scientific one. There was an arrow provided near the question palette which when clicked expanded the question window to full-screen view by hiding the question palette & vice versa

At the end of the test, a summary of the number of questions attempted, visited, and not visited was displayed for each section..

There was a button marked ‘Question Paper’ that opened up a screen containing all the questions of the section. This was used by students for planning their approach for the section.

*** The scores and percentiles mentioned in this analysis are indicators based on the feedback from students and IMS experts. They are in no way related to the results which IIMs are expected to declare in January 2024. You are advised to wait for the results.

CAT 2023 Analysis by Career Launcher Slot 2 

CAT 2023 Slot 2 followed the pattern of CAT 2023 slot 1. However, this slot had one mandatory Verbal Ability question in the VARC section. The VARC section comprised 24 questions, DILR had 20 questions and QA had 22 questions with 40 minutes allotted to attempt each section.

CAT 2023 slot 2 was difficult in comparison to CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 slot 1. The QA section also increased in the level of difficulty as compared to slot 1. The section-wise level of difficulty was as follows:

• VARC: Moderate; It was easier than last year and the same as CAT 2023 slot 1
• DILR: Moderate - Difficult; Difficulty was same as last year and CAT 2023 slot 1
• QA: Difficult; It was difficult compared to CAT 2022 and CAT 2023 slot 1

CAT 2023 Paper Pattern & Section-wise expected score for 99%ile+

CAT 2023 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Analysis

IN CAT 2023 Slot 2, there was a mandatory VA question that had to be attempted by the aspirants. Overall, the level of difficulty of CAT 2023 slot 2 was similar to sot 1.

• There were a total of 24 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
• 4 questions were non-MCQs or TITA questions.
• The RC passages were around ~400-450 words each.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Analysis: Reading Comprehension

CAT 2023 Slot 2 Analysis: Verbal Ability

CAT 2023 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) Analysis

Section of CAT 2023 Slot 2 was similar to Slot 1 and CAT 2022.

• The DILR section had 4 sets with 5 questions each, much like slot 1.
• Again, the number of non-MCQs or TITA questions was 6.
• 2 sets were doable and aspirants could aim to attempt 8-9 questions.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 DILR Question-wise Breakup:

CAT 2023 Quantitative Aptitude (QA) Analysis

The QA section of CAT 2023 Slot 2 was difficult compared to CAT 2022 while there was only a slight increase in difficulty compared to CAT 2023 slot 1.

• Of the 22 questions, 9-10 questions were doable for the section.
• The section had 7 non-MCQs or TITA questions.
• Muck like in Slot 1, the Slot 2 QA section was dominated by Arithmetic followed by Algebra.

CAT 2023 Slot 2 QA Questions-wise Breakup:

CAT 2023: Expected Percentile

Based on the overall and section-wise scores, level of difficulty and good attempts, given below are the score required for various percentiles:

The overall cutoff for a 99+ percentile is expected to range around 82-83.