CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2022 (Out): Check Section-wise Analysis, Difficulty Level, & Weightage

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CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2022 is updated here for slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3. No surprises have been seen in CAT 2022 exam pattern. The total number of questions in CAT 2022 VARC was 24. CAT 2022 VARC section was rated of easy to moderate level difficulty with 4 Reading Comprehensions with 4 questions each, 3 summary questions, 3 para completions, and 2 para jumble questions.

CAT 2022 VARC paper saw 21 MCQs and only 3 TITA questions in slots 1 and 3, while slot 2 had 18 MCQs and 6 TITA questions. Based on the overall analysis, attempting 17-19 questions is a good attempt to score 99+ percentile. Check CAT 2022 Cut off

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CAT 2022 DILR was rated moderate but time consuming. CAT quant paper was reported to be the toughest in 2 years. Check CAT 2022 Exam Analysis in detail

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Candidates must go through the detailed CAT VARC Exam Analysis provided below to get an idea of CAT VARC 2022 paper.

Table of Contents

CAT 2022 VARC Paper Analysis
CAT 2021 VARC Slot 1 Analysis
CAT 2021 VARC Slot 2 Analysis
CAT 2021 VARC Slot 3 Analysis
CAT 2020 VARC Slot 1 Analysis
CAT 2020 VARC Slot 2 Analysis
CAT 2020 VARC Slot 3 Analysis
CAT 2019 VARC Slot 1 Analysis
CAT 2019 VARC Slot 2 Analysis
CAT 2018 VARC Slot 1 Analysis
CAT 2018 VARC Slot 2 Analysis

CAT 2022 VARC Analysis

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2022

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2022 for slot 1, slot 2, and slot 3 is updated below. The exam analysis of the VARC section of CAT 2022 includes the difficulty level, distribution of questions, number of TITA questions, important topics, and good attempts.

CAT Exam Slot	CAT Slot Time	CAT 2022 VARC Exam Analysis
VARC Slot 1	8:30 to 10:30 AM	Check Here
VARC Slot 2	12:30 to 2:30 PM	Check Here
VARC Slot 3	4:30 to 6:30 PM	Check Here

CAT 2022 VARC Slot 1 Analysis

Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, CAT 2022 Slot 1 VARC Analysis is provided here

21 MCQ and 3 TITA-type questions were asked in VARC slot 1 paper.
As per experts, the good attempts for CAT 2022 slot 1 VARC paper could be around 17-19.
3 questions were asked para summary.
4 RC passages on the topics mentioned below

Passages	Topics
Passage 1	Chinese Art
Passage 2	Stoicism- Greek Philosopher
Passage 3	Ghosts & Mystery
Passage 4	Supernatural phenomenon

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CAT 2022 VARC Slot 2 Analysis

Based on the expert analysis, CAT 2022 Slot 2 VARC Analysis is provided here

There were 18 MCQ and 6 TITA questions in CAT 2022 VARC slot 2 paper.
3 questions were asked para summary and 3 from para completion
Para jumble was limited to only 2 questions this year.
4 RC passages having 4 questions each.

Passages	Topics
Passage 1	Octopus
Passage 2	Music
Passage 3	Technology
Passage 4	Philosophy

CAT 2022 VARC Slot 3 Analysis

Based on the intial feedback of candidates, CAT 2022 Slot 3 VARC Analysis was rated to be easier than the previous 2 slots.

There were 21 MCQ and 3 TITA questions in CAT 2022 VARC slot 3 paper.
Inference-based questions and those of the type “If True” were asked
4 RC’s were there having 4 questions each.

Passages	Topics
Passage 1	Human Automation/ Technology
Passage 2	Indian History
Passage 3	Philosophy
Passage 4	Crime Rate

CAT 2021 VARC Analysis

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2021 Slot 1

Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, CAT 2021 Slot 1 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.

Maximum number of questions had been asked from RC i.e. a total of 4 sets of RC with 4 questions each were there in Slot 1 paper.
Along with that 19 MCQ and 5 TITA-type questions were asked in VARC slot 1 paper.
As per experts the good attempts for slot 1 VARC paper could be around 16 to 18 questions.
Other than that, 3 questions each were asked from Para jumbles and para summary.

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2021 Slot 2

Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, CAT 2021 Slot 2 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.

A total of 4 sets of RC with 4 questions each were there in Slot 2 paper.
8 questions were from Verbal Ability.
Like Slot 1 paper, this slot also had 3 questions each were asked from Para jumbles and para summary.
2 questions were asked from odd one out topic.

Passages	Topics
Passage 1	British Colonies – India’s Reaction (History-Based)
Passage 2	Truth and Power (Philosophy Based)
Passage 3	Knowledge – How you perceive it
Passage 4	Languages – Linguistic

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2021 Slot 3

Based on the initial reaction of test-takers, CAT 2021 Slot 3 Exam Analysis of VARC is provided below.

Like slot 1 and 2, slot 3 also had 4 sets of RC with 4 questions each.
2 RCs were rated difficult while the other two were doable and easy.
Again, 3 questions each were asked from Para jumbles and para summary.

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CAT 2020 VARC Analysis

CAT 2020 VARC Slot 1 Analysis

Topic	Number of Questions	Type of Question	Difficulty Level
Reading Comprehension	18	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
RC-1: Currency in the Tang Empire	4	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC- 2: Elephant Seal Migration	5	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
RC-3: the importance of Grammar	5	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC-4: Subsets of Anarchist philosophy	4	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
Verbal Ability	8	MCQ and TITA	Medium
Out of Context sentence	2	TITA	Easy to Medium
Para Jumbles (4 sentences)	3	TITA	Medium to Difficult
Summary	3	MCQ	Easy to Medium

CAT 2020 VARC Slot 2 Analysis

Topic	Number of Questions	Type of Question	Difficulty Level
Reading Comprehension	18	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
RC-1: Piracy in International Waters	4	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC- 2: Renewable Energy Technologies	5	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
RC-3: The Study of Visual Culture	5	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC-4: Aggression - Theories and Models	4	MCQ	Medium to Difficult
Verbal Ability	08	MCQ & TITA	Medium
Para Jumbles	3	TITA	Medium to Difficult
Out of Context Sentence	2	TITA	Easy to Medium
Summary	3	MCQ	Easy to Medium

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CAT 2020 VARC Slot 3 Analysis

Topic	No. of Questions	Ideal Attempt
Reading Comprehension	18 (5+5+4+4)	14-15
Verbal Ability - Parajumbles	3	3
Verbal Ability - Summary	3	3
Verbal Ability - Parajumbles (Odd-sentence out)	2	2

CAT 2019 VARC Analysis

CAT 2019 VARC Slot 1 Analysis

Considering the overall performance and difficulty of the section, an ideal attempt could have been 24-26 questions with 90% accuracy. A rough score of 55-60 marks could fetch a percentile between 97-99. Also check Syllabus for CAT 2022

Composition of section	Number of questions	Difficulty Level
RC passage-1: Story of Aladdin-as shared by Antonio Galland in 1712, learnt from Syrian story teller Diyab	5 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
RC Passage-2: Idea of Folk	5 MCQs	Tricky sentence formation and difficult vocabulary
RC Passage-3: Emperor Penguins in Antarctica- Covering heating, radiation, convection	4 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
RC passage-4: Topophilia, the affective bond between people and place by Yi-Fu Tuan	5 MCQs	Moderate to Difficult
RC Passage-5: Contemporary Internet Shopping - Few choices are better than many options	5 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
Parajumbles	4 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult
Para Summary	3 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult
Odd sentence Out	3 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult

For the last few years, CAT has been dedicatedly asking 5 RCs. So, the first step is to maximize your efficiency in RCs. Verbal Ability part consists of mostly para summaries/ para completion (3-4), para jumbles (3-4) and odd sentences (3-4), at times including questions related to grammar or sentence corrections. Out of these 10 questions, around 6-7 would be TITA (Text Input Type Answer) type questions. Read the article to know more about the VARC trend in CAT in previous years.

CAT 2019 VARC Slot 2 Analysis

In Slot 2 of CAT 2019, VARC had 34 questions, with 10 non-MCQ questions without any negative marking. The section began with RC Passages and concluded with questions on Verbal Ability. The ten questions on Verbal Ability were of Non-MCQ nature.

Composition of section	Number of questions	Difficulty Level
RC passage-1: British Colonialism	5 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
RC Passage-2: Museums, Arts	5 MCQs	Difficult with tricky sentence formation and vocabulary
RC Passage-3: Central Governments & Decentralization	5 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
RC passage-4: Ecology	5 MCQs	Moderate to Difficult
RC Passage-5: Cultural Identity & Language – Egyptian	4 MCQs	Reasonably Difficult
Parajumbles	4 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult
Para Summary	3 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult
Odd sentence Out	3 Questions (Non-MCQs)	Reasonably Difficult

CAT 2018 VARC Analysis

CAT 2018 VARC Slot 1 Analysis

Students who sat for CAT 2018 Slot 1 found the VARC section to be a replica of CAT 2017 in terms of the question types. Questions on Grammar and Vocabulary were clearly not visible.
RC had 4 passages, each with 5 questions; and 1 passage with 4 questions, making it a total of 24 questions. There were around 5 questions in RC that looked more like Critical Reasoning/Application. The passages were long, ranging around 450-800 words.
About 6 questions were direct and easy. Questions based on inferences were easy to medium on the difficulty level scale. A major deviation was noticed in Paragraph Jumbles wherein 4 sentences were asked to rearrange instead of 5, making the paragraph jumbles section relatively easy.
Of the 10 VA questions (Shuffled), 7 were descriptive questions and 3 were MCQs. The 3 Out-of-context sentence questions were descriptive, 4 paragraph jumbles were descriptive, whereas 3 questions from paragraph summary/author’s opinion were MCQ based with negative marking.

Area / Questions	No of Qs.	Type	Level of Difficulty
Reading Comprehension	24	MCQ	Overall: Easy to Medium
RC-1: Happiness and Economics. Approx. 500 words	5	MCQ	Easy – Medium
RC- 2: Human elephant relationship Approx. 500 words	5	MCQ	Easy
RC-3: Absence of WWII memorials in India Approx. 500 words	5	MCQ	Easy
RC-4: Problem of single use plastic. Approx. 800 words	5	MCQ	Easy
RC-5: Influence of parental gene in mice. – Approx. 600 words	4	MCQ	Medium
Verbal Ability	10	MCQ & TITA	Overall: Easy to Medium
Parajumbles ( 4 sentences)	4	TITA	2 Medium; 2 Easy
Out of Context sentence	3	TITA	1 Easy; 2 Medium
Summary	3	MCQ	1 Easy; 1 Medium; 1 Difficult

CAT 2018 VARC Slot 2 Analysis

The difficulty level of VARC section Slot 2 was similar to that of Slot 1. RC had 4 passages, each carrying 5 questions; and 1 passage with 4 questions - majority of the questions were based on critical reasoning type and inference questions.

Area / Questions	No of Qs.	Type	Level of Difficulty
Reading Comprehension	24	MCQ	Overall Easy to Medium
RC-1: Evolution of white lipped snails Approx.- 550 words	4	MCQ	Easy
RC- 2: Saturn’s rings and several of its moons –Approx. 600 words	5	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC-3: Evaluation based on metric fixation- Approx. 500 words	5	MCQ	Easy
RC-4: Access of the poor to government Services – Approx. 700 words	5	MCQ	Easy to Medium
RC-5: – Fallacy of Meritocracy- Approx. 650 words. (The same passage was a part of SimCAT6)	5	MCQ	Easy to Medium
Verbal Ability	10	MCQ & TITA	Overall Easy to Medium
Parajumbles	4	TITA	4 Easy
Out of Context sentence	3	TITA	2 Easy; 1 Medium
Summary	3	MCQ	1 Easy; 2 Medium

VARC Analysis of Previous Years

VARC Questions Analysis of Previous Years

If one analyses the trend of VARC section of the past 3 years after CAT 2018, one can understand that the difficulty level of the section throughout the three years has remained more or less the same. The major change was seen in the question pattern as there were no MCQ questions until 2016.

Details	2017	2016	2015
Overall	Easier than 2016 with common topics ranging from Economy, Culture, Technology, Business, Finance	Easy vocabulary but lengthy passages with few tricky questions. Topics were mostly from Economics, Environment and Linguistic Studies	Simple Content with Tough and Tricky Questions and Options. It was a surprise since it did not have Grammar and Vocabulary questions
Word Limit	300 - 650	300 - 650	600 - 800
Question Break up	Moderate : 8 Easy :16	Tough: 2-3 Moderate: 8-9 Easy: 14-15	Moderate: 8-10 Easy: 14-15
Overall Difficulty	Reasonably Difficult	Reasonably Difficult	Reasonably Difficult

Verbal Ability Question Analysis

Of all the questions that had appeared in CAT Verbal Ability in 2015, 2016, 2017, given below is the question distribution and their level of difficulty.

Details	2017	2016	2015
Para-Jumbles	Tricky and Time Consuming	1 - Easy ; 3 Tough	Tough
Summary	Tough	2 - Easy; 1 - Tough	Reasonably Difficult
Out of Context	Easy	Easy	Reasonably Difficult
Overall	Tough	Easy - Moderate	Tough- Moderate

Overall Percentile in VARC

In order to get a good 97-98 percentile a candidate must make sure he/she has a minimum number of attempts such as:

Good Number of Attempts	2017	2016	2015
VA	18-21	17-18	20-22
RC	8-9	5-6	7-8
Overall	27-29	22-24	27-30

Must Read Top Colleges Accepting CAT Score

CAT VARC Paper Analysis 2022 FAQs

Ques. While attempting CAT VARC paper what should be my good attempt based on previous years paper analysis?

Ans. Between 18-20 questions attempted with good accuracy can be considered a good attempt for CAT VARC section. If the accuracy rate of answering the questions is very low then it would affect the overall scores.

Ques: Based on CAT VARC paper analysis what are the important topics or the topics with maxaimum weightage in final CAT exam?

Ans. All the topics in VARC are equally important but some of the topics with high weightage in the exam are verbal reasoning, para jumbles, summary, and reading comprehension.

Ques. How many TITA questions are asked in CAT VARC paper?

Ans. Around 5-6 TITA questions are asked in CAT VARC paper. There is no negative marking for TITA questions hence candidates can attempt all such questions.

Ques. What is the benefit of CAT VARC Exam Analysis for preparation?

Ans. Candidates can use the CAT VARC Paper Analysis for preparation. Candidates can check the weightage of questions, type of questions, difficulty level of paper by carefully analyzing the previous years CAT paper analysis.

Ques: How many questions should I attempt to get a 95+ percentile in VARC?

Ans. To get 95+ percentile in VARC, you must attempt 17+ questions with 95% accuracy.

CAT 2024 : 314 Answered QuestionsView All

• Top Answer By Ankit Sinha on 17-Nov-2022

Ans. Before taking any decision, you must go through all three options that you have in great detail. There are a few reasons why you should not go for IIM-Kozhikode. First, the fees are extremely high, estimated to be around Rs 19.00 lakh. Second, the average package offered at IIMK is around 16-17L, and you will earn more than that after two years. But, once again, if you are desperate for an MBA, you can enroll in IIMK, which comes with the 'IIM' label, which will be very useful in the long run. Give CAT once more. You only need to get a high CAT score and then leave the rest up to their selection process. Second, CAT is extremely unpredictable. With proper preparation, you can achieve excellent results. So, if you're willing to work another year and are confident enough to take the CAT, this is the perfect way to take it. You should look into PGPX from ISB or elsewhere. This option is appealing, but it requires hard work and careful consideration. If you enjoy working in IT and want to advance quickly, this is the path to take. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Orchid Chowdhury on 07-Dec-2021

Ans. Every IIMS and other management colleges make a shortlist based on the percentile after CAT result is declared. With percentile, IIMs also consider other factors like academics, category, gender factor, diversity, etc. The list is made for the second round i.e. GD/PI or WAT/PI. GD/WAT will have a generic topic. There can be a topic from current affairs. PI is taken by some of the faculty and alumni of the institute. In institutes like FMS, there is an extempore after PI. After these rounds, a final shortlist is made with weightage given to GD/PI or WAT/PI performance and CAT percentile. Individual IIMs also have some additional factors. The offer letters are then sent out to top candidates in each category up to the maximum number of seats. The rest candidates are waitlisted. As students choose admissions, the waitlist continues to change. Read more

1 Answer

• Top Answer By Aditya Mahatha on 06-Jan-2023

Ans. I know this decision is a bit difficult to make. What you need to keep in mind is that these two colleges should not be compared to other great IIMs or even ISBs. Those B Schools are at another level and cannot be on par with Kashipur or Raipur. To facilitate a better decision, I will mention the circumstances of these B Schools then you can choose after considering all options. IIM Indore and IIM Kashipur: Both these colleges are not worth a year drop as they will help you earn only an extra 1.5-2 LPA. Moreover, in the coming years, Kashipur and Raipur will have almost the same brand value as that Indore and Kozhikode. IIM Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Lucknow and Bangalore: All these top IIMs are definitely worth a year's drop provided that you are confident enough to cope with the cutoff. All these IIMs consider your academics while selecting so if that is your reason for the year drop I don’t think it will help. There is no surety of admission even after a percentile of 100. ISB: This one is at a whole different level and is in the category of elite B Schools like UCB, NYU, HBS, etc. The top-notch faculty offers amazing pedagogy at relatively low fees. CAT is sufficient for IIMs. But if you want to go for ISB, a work experience of 4+ years and a GMAT are a must. Read more

1 Answer

• Top Answer By Surbhi Mishra on 08-Jul-2022

Ans. IIMs shortlists students for admission based on their CAT score. The second step of selection is GD-PI. For final selection, students are usually shortlisted based on their past academic performance, entrance examination score, and performance in GD-PI. IIMs also consider other factors such as work experience, gender diversity, academic diversity, etc. while shortlisting students. Weights given to these factors are different for different IIMs. Having relevant work experience can certainly help you get a shortlist. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Ahana Mishra on 29-Nov-2022

Ans. Everyone knows that IIM A values diversity over grades. There have been students who were not even waitlisted at IIM K but were at IIM A due to their extremely unique profiles. If you want to build a profile for IIM A, strive for originality. Do something that no one else is doing, such as starting a blog, having a strong digital presence on Instagram, writing on Quora, and so on. Consider what students with a 99 percentile typically do, such as being brilliant in academics and receiving a call from IIM Ahmedabad. Choose a domain in which these students are unlikely to excel and excel in that domain. Furthermore, activities such as writing a blog or hosting a YouTube channel will undoubtedly help you, in the long run, to secure summer and final placements during your MBA. As a result, you will gain valuable insights and hands-on experience with various social media tools such as SEO, SEM, Analytics, and so on. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Abhiraj Mahera on 21-Apr-2022

Ans. If you are aiming for old IIMs such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, you will need to score above 99 percentile in CAT. For IIMs and other top-tier B-Schools in India, the CAT cutoff stays above 90 percentile. If you have a good profile, and 99+ CAT score, you can expect to get calls from old IIMs, XLRI, JBIMS, IIFT, FMS, etc. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Trisha Dasgupta on 21-Apr-2022

Ans. Here are some of the things that you will realize after appearing for the CAT examination. Spend the first few minutes going over the papers before diving in. Browse through the problems and start with the ones that you know you can solve in one go. CAT prioritizes solving not sequence. If you aren’t sure about an answer, leave it. Concentrate on other problems. You shouldn’t spend more than 2-3 minutes on a single problem. Don’t use the elimination method, if you can solve the problem in less than 1 minute. Do rough work thoroughly. Don’t answer any questions, just by guessing. There will be a few lengthy questions. Try to ignore these. Even CAT toppers don’t score the full marks. CAT doesn’t test your knowledge. The only thing matters are how much you score. So, try to attempt as many questions as you can correctly. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Arushi Sinha on 04-Sep-2022

Ans. You need to practice a lot in order to be able to solve Quantitative Aptitude in the CAT examination. Quants involve using mathematical ability as well as imagination. You need to memorize some concepts as well as formulas. CAT syllabus for Quants includes a lot of topics that we have studied in 9th and 10th and only the application is different for topics such as PNC & Algebra, Numbers, etc. Most important topics in terms of weightage are as follows. Arithmetic Algebra Geometry Numbers P&C, Series, Log Several chapters are easy and can be completed in a short period of time. You should start your preparation with numbers, it is the base for the quants topics. Once you are a clear knowledge of the topics, start giving time-based mocks. Analyze the mocks and work on the common mistakes that you made. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Rajashree Mukharjee on 27-Apr-2022

Ans. Yes, average students can crack CAT. Students who get through CAT at one go, have the right aptitude for CAT, which was built over time. They have been practicing Maths right from their school days and have been avid readers. If you are average at your studies, you need to spend a lot of time practicing, in order to score good percentile in CAT. Most students usually have gaps in Maths or DILR or English. You need to put in the extra hours to bridge the gap. Find out the subjects in which you are weak, clear the basics, and practice as much as you can. Read more

2 Answers

• Top Answer By Sohini Gupta on 27-Apr-2022

Ans. Take a look at the below table to know what CAT score will fetch what CAT percentile, for 2022. Percentile Score VA-RC Score DI-LR Score QA Overall Score 90% 29 1 26 72 95% 32 20 29 81 In 2021, for 90 percentile the required score was 59 and for 95 percentile the required score was 72. Read more

2 Answers

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College

Table of Contents

CAT VARC Exam Analysis 2022 (Out): Check Section-wise Analysis, Difficulty Level, & Weightage