CAT 2021 slot 1 concludes; Exam analysis, students reactions, question asked and difficulty level

NEW DELHI: IIM Ahmedabad has successfully conducted the CAT 2021 slot 1 which was scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. As per students who appeared in the exam, the CAT paper's level of difficulty was easy to moderate. The CAT exam was conducted over two hours and consisted of three sections, Quantitative Ability (QA), Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR).
Also check | IIM CAT 2021 exam live updates

The total number of questions in the CAT 2021 exam was less as compared to the previous year, though the marking scheme was the same. Each correct attempt will fetch three marks while a wrong attempt will invite a negative marking of one mark. CAT slot 1 analysis consists of changes in CAT exam pattern, slot 1 difficulty level, expected CAT exam cut offs, good attempts, etc.

CAT 2021 Slot 1 Exam Analysis: Key Highlights

The total number of questions in CAT slot 1 was 66 with 48 multiple choice questions and it was distributed in the format 24-20-22 (VARC - 24, DILR - 20, QA - 22). The CAT exam duration was 120 mins with a sectional time limit of 40 minutes for each section. Here are the key highlights for slot 1 of CAT 2021:

According to the students who appeared in the CAT exam, the overall difficulty level of CAT 2021 was moderate to difficult. Rohan Kapoor, who took CAT 2021 slot 1, says, "The exam was moderately difficult. He was able to attempt all the questions. Few questions in quant and VARC took more time than expected."

As per Varun (CAT aspirant) took the first slot said- It was his first attempt and it went quite well. The English section in CAT was moderate and DILR was quite time-consuming. The QA section was a bit long and time-consuming as well. As per him, the VARC was easy and DILR & Quant was difficult. VARC had 24 questions and the remaining two sections had 20 & 22 questions respectively.

CAT 2021: Major changes introduced in the exam pattern

There are a number of key changes that were observed in the CAT 2021 exam paper, in comparison to CAT 2020, which are likely to remain the same for the next two slots too. Check below the changes introduced by CAT 2021 exam convenor.

• CAT 2021 exam had 66 questions as against 76 questions earlier

• Each section had fewer questions than last year (VARC - 24, DILR - 20, QA - 22).

• The difficulty level in CAT 2021 was higher than CAT 2020 exam

What after CAT 2021 Slot 1?

After the completion of slot 1, the next slot of CAT i.e slot 2 will start from 12:30 p.m till 2:30 p.m. In these two hours after slot 1, candidates can check the slot 1 CAT analysis provided by Careers360 in accordance with the different coaching institutes and candidates’ experience.