CAT 2024 Slot 2 Exam Analysis: First Impression, Paper Review, Difficulty Level, Good Attempts

CAT 2024 Slot 2 exam held from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm. Students who have attempted the CAT exams in the CAT 2024 slot 2 exam can check the detailed analysis, question paper review, difficulty level, good attempts and the expected cutoff here. Students will be provided with detailed analysis from experts from various institutions. Check CAT 2024 exam analysis details here.

Sherin Tressa Tomy
Dec 3, 2024, 17:07 IST
CAT Slot 2 Exam Analysis 2024
CAT Slot 2 Exam Analysis 2024

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis: IIM Calcutta has successfully concluded the CAT 2024 Slot 2 exams held from 12:30 to 2:30 PM. The CAT 2024 Slot 1 exams were held in the morning session from 8:30 am to 10:30 am today, November 24, 2024. Students who have appeared for the CAT 2024 slot 2 exam can check the details of the CAT 2024 slot 2 exam analysis, exam paper review, the initial response from students, and the expected cutoff for MBA admissions.

Also Read: CAT Answer Key 2024 LIVE Updates

CAT 2024 Slot 3 to begin at 4:30 PM

How was CAT 2024 Slot 1

The CAT 2024 slot 1 examination was conducted smoothly, barring a few reports of technical issues, which were quickly attended to by the authorities. The number of questions marginally increased to 68 ( there were 66 Questions last year). This increase was due to the addition of two more questions to the DILR section. Students have mentioned the CAT 2024 Slot 1 exam to be moderate to difficult in terms of difficulty level. 

Also Read: CAT 2024 Slot 1 Exam Analysis: Check First Impressions, Paper Review, Difficulty Level, Good Attempts

CAT 2024 Slot 1 Analysis

Candidates can check below the analysis of CAT 2024 Slot 1 exams as per opinions from students

Sections Number of questions Difficulty level
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 24 Moderate to difficult
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 22 Easy to moderate
Quantitative Aptitude 22 Moderate to difficult
Total 68 Moderate to difficult

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Exam Details

The CAT 2024 exam is being conducted in three slots. The first slot of the exam concluded at 10:30 am and the second slot commenced ar 12:30 PM. Students appearing for the exams are required to answer questions from the sections Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Quantitative Aptitude (QA), and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning  (DILR). The exam is being conducted for a duration of 120 minutes.

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Following the conclusion of the CAT 2024 Slot 2 exams, the CAT Exam Analysis 2024 will be made available. Experts from the field will provide the complete analysis of the exam, the types of questions, difficulty level, and based on the analysis and the response of the students the expected cutoff to clear the CAT exam. 

Keep Visiting this page for initial responses from candidates and CAT slot 2 analysis.

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis: First Impression

  • IIM Calcutta concluded the CAT 2024 Slot 2 exam at 2:30 PM. According to the initial response shared by students, the CAT 2024 slot 2 exams had an overall difficulty level of moderate to difficult. The CAT slot 2 VARC section was the easiest, while the QA section was the toughest for students.
  • Few of the students who appeared for the CAT 2024 Slot 2 exams have stated that the exams were easy to moderate interms of difficulty level.
  • No change in pattern
  • A total of 22 questions were asked in the quant section of CAT 2024 slot 2 with an overall difficulty level of moderate. 14 to 15 questions are considered doable.
  • A few of the candidates found the English section tough while Quant was easy. VARC section was moderately difficult. 
  • VARC: Difficulty level - moderate. Questions on geographical facts, colonisation, spices, states of India, scientists, and physicists were included. Fill-in-the-blank questions also seen.

  • DILR: Moderate with four sets, each containing four questions.

  • QA: Moderate to difficulty. Topics such as number systems, profit and loss, ratios, mixtures, time and work, speed, distance and time, logarithms, and geometric questions were asked.

  • Students also noted that CAT 2024 Slot 2 exams were easy but lengthy.  Logical reasoning, Quant and DILR were all lengthy but English was easy.

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis

According to students who have appeared for CAT 2024 slot 2 exams, the question paper consisted of a total of 68 questions with 24 questions from VARC, 22 questions from DILR, and 22 questions from QA.

Students have quoted that the Quant section is moderate to difficult in terms of difficulty level and also time-consuming. Questions in Slot 2 were from topics like number system, profit loss, ratio, mix and all, time and work, speed distance and time, logarithm, and geometric questions.

The VARC was the easiest in the CAT 2024 Slot 2 exam. Questions were asked from topics such as geographical facts - colonisation and spices states of India, Scientists and physicists, and fill in the blanks. No para jumble questions were asked inCAT 2024 Slot 2

 

Sections Number of questions Difficulty level
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension 24 Moderate
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning 22 Moderate
Quantitative Aptitude 22 Moderate
Total 68 Moderate to Difficult

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis - Experts

Analysis by TIME

Mr Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E

The VARC section had 24 questions - 16 from Reading Comprehension and 8 from Verbal Ability. There were no major changes in the number of questions from the previous year. However, there were no Para Formation questions in this section this year. One surprise in terms of presentation was that RC and VA questions appeared in random order – the RCs were interspersed with VA questions, which would have made navigating the section a little troublesome. For many candidates, the section began with a VA question.

There were four RC passages, with 4 questions per passage. There were a good number of application and inference-based questions, which required a thorough understanding of the author’s perspective.

The passage on ‘How Spices Changed the World’ was easy-moderate in terms of readability. However, all the questions were quite challenging. There were a couple of further application questions, which required incisive critical reasoning, and most of the questions had two very close options. The ideal approach for most students would have been attempt this passage at the end of the section after going through the other passages.

The passage on ‘Externalities of Inventions’ was a moderately difficult read. The questions, barring one, were not very difficult. Overall, most students could have attempted this passage.

The passage on ‘Open Peer Reviews’ was a rather difficult read as the subject was complex. Most of the questions tasked candidates with identifying the exception (‘Except’ questions), and they required careful analysis of multiple sentences. These were challenging and time-consuming as they entailed revisiting the passage several times to ensure accuracy. Students who attempted this passage would have had to exercise discretion in choosing (and leaving) questions.

The passage on ‘Human-Carnivore Interaction’ was easy-moderate in terms of readability. There were a couple of very difficult questions with confusing options, but the other questions were doable.

Passage

Number of Questions

Readability

Overall Difficulty Level

How Spices Changed the World

4

Moderate

Difficult-Very Difficult

Externalities of Inventions

4

Moderate

Moderate

Open Peer Reviews

4

Moderate-Difficult

Moderate-Difficult

Human-Carnivore Interactions

4

Moderate

Moderate-Difficult

In the Verbal Ability section this year, there were two questions on Odd Man Out and three questions each on Para Summary and Sentence Placement. There were no Para Formation questions. Only the Odd Man questions were TITA-type.

The Sentence Placement questions were mostly moderate, with one difficult question. The Para Summary questions were moderately difficult. The subjects were complex and this made answering the questions rather time-consuming. However, the test-taker could have attempted two out of three questions if they focused on the central idea.

Both the Odd Man Out questions were very difficult, as there were no obvious connections between the sentences. It was rather challenging to identify a pattern and form a paragraph with four sentences.

Question Type

Number of Questions

Difficulty Level

Sentence Placement

3

Moderate

Para Summary

3

Moderate-Difficult

Odd Man Out

2

Very Difficult

A net score of 19 – 21 marks should suffice for the candidate to clear the sectional cut-off of 85 percentile.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:

The DILR section of the afternoon slot was similar to the morning slot, in terms of the difficulty. There were no changes in the section pattern across the slots. Slot 2 also had five sets – two 5-question sets and three 4-question sets. While students had the advantage of having more choices, the way some of the sets were presented made it slightly difficult to select the right sets.

There were two sets that were doable. However, one of these sets gave the impression that the set was complicated and some students stated that this prompted them to move on to other sets. Those who selected sets after properly understanding the information given in the sets would have been well placed to get their selection right.

The set wise details are as below:

Sets

Number of Questions

Difficulty Level

Number Grid

5

Difficult

Streets and Lakes

4

Moderate-Difficult

Athletes and Coaches

5

Moderate-Difficult

Store Ratings

4

Difficult

Company PAT

4

Difficult

The set on “Number Grid” was a 5-question Quant Based Reasoning set. There were four rows and four columns, with ten slots, and students had to place numbers from 1 to 10 in these slots. There was not a lot of information given in the conditions and each condition had multiple possibilities, which made figuring out the first step itself difficult. Exploring all possibilities would have consumed time without making much progress. This was a set that students need not have attempted.

The set on “Streets and Lakes” was a 4-question Routes and Networks set. The set was not difficult and three of the four questions were doable. The questions were independent of one another and therefore, students need not have attempted all of them. However, students could have skipped the set as the network looked a little complicated. But this was a doable set and so, students should have attempted this.

The set on “Athletes and Coaches” was a 5-question Distribution set. One had to figure out which athlete was trained by which coach and the ratings given to the athletes by their coaches. This was not too difficult with students claiming that there was a fair amount of information given in the conditions and was not reasoning intense. There were two questions in this set that could have been answered without fully solving the set. This was a set that students should have attempted.

The set on “Store Ratings” was a 4-question Reasoning Based DI Set. There was a bar graph in the set, which was not hard to interpret. But students said that the set involved Statistics concepts like mode, median, cumulative averages, and some conditions could not be interpreted without knowing how to apply these concepts. As a result, it was difficult to solve the set. Even those who knew these concepts said that the set was still difficult. This was a set that students could have skipped.

The set on “Company PAT” was a 4-question Bubble Chart set.

Bubble charts are usually a little difficult as there are multiple levels of interpretation like the position of the bubbles and their areas. There were two Bubble charts given in the set, which would have made solving the set difficult. Also, there was a lot of common information given and this could have resulted in some students skipping the set. Because the set was difficult, skipping the set would have been a good choice.

Overall, the section could be deemed difficult. Those who have taken a good number of AIMCATs would have come across similar distribution of sets across DI and LR and were relatively well placed to select the right sets.

A net score of 16 – 18 marks should suffice for the candidate to clear the sectional cut-off of 85 percentile.

Quantitative Ability:

The QA section of Slot 2 was slightly difficult compared to Slot 1. There were a good number of questions that tested students on the application of concepts and those who’ve been thorough with their revision of the concepts would have done well. There were quite a few questions which, while not difficult to solve, were tedious and time-consuming.

The section had 1 easy, 13 moderately difficult and 8 difficult questions. Those who were able to identify the easy and moderately difficult questions are likely to end up with a high percentile. One thing that many students pointed out was that in some questions, there was a lot of text and as a result, solving these took more time. Some questions seemed like easy pickings but ended up taking more time than expected. 18 of the 22 questions in the section were from Arithmetic (12) and Algebra (6), with only four questions from Geometry (3) and Modern Maths (1). Even students who were not from a Math background could have answered quite a few questions in this section.

The distribution of questions in this section across topics is as follows:

Topic

Number of Questions

ERPV

3

AMA

2

Geometry

2

Numbers

2

Quadratic Equations

2

Coordinate Geometry

1

Time and Work

1

PPL

1

SICI

1

Time and Distance

1

Logarithms

1

Progressions

1

Permutations and Combinations

1

ILS

1

Functions

1

Inequalities

1

A net score of 13 – 15 marks would be a decent score for a test-taker to be able to clear the cutoff.

Overall, a net score of 53 – 55 marks should be sufficient to score 90 percentile.

Analysis from IMS

The structure of CAT 2024 underwent several changes compared to 2023, with a total of 68 questions. As in Slot 1, the Verbal Ability (VA) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) sections experienced modifications in segmentation and the distribution of MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions. The Verbal section saw the complete removal of Paragraph Jumble questions. Instead, it featured 3 Summary (MCQ) questions, 3 Paragraph Completion (MCQ) questions, and 2 Odd Sentence (TITA) questions.

In the DILR section, which had 22 questions in total, the number of sets increased from 4 to 5. This included 2 sets with 5 questions each and 3 sets with 4 questions each. The DILR section was significantly easier compared to the previous year in both slots today. 

Section No.

Section Name

Duration

MCQs

TITA

Total

I

VARC

40 min

22

2

24

II

DI and LR

40 min

12

10

22

III

QA

40 min

14

8

22 

Total

 

120 min

46

22

68

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 second 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. 

Percentile

VARC Score

DILR Score

QA Score

Overall

99.9

50

46

46

118-123

99.5

42

40

41

103-108

99

38

37

33

92-95

98

28

30

22

69-72

95

23

27

16

57-59

90

20

21

13

47-49

85

18

19

12

42-44

80

15

17

10

39-40

75

14

14

9

34-36

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. Two of the passages were easy to moderate. The passages on Peer Review of Research and Carnivore-Human Conflict required more careful reading. About 11 or 12  RC questions could be attempted with high accuracy. There were no jumbled paragraph questions. One additional paragraph completion question and one summary question replaced the two jumbled paragraphs. So, the section had 3 questions each of Summary (MCQ) and Paragraph Completion(MCQ), and two Odd Sentence questions (TITA). In VA, 4 or 5 attempts with high accuracy were possible. Overall, the section was moderate and comparable to Slot 1 VARC, and SimCAT 16.   

Area / Questions

No of Qs.

Type

LOD

Reading Comprehension

16

MCQ

Overall: Medium 

RC-1: Spice Trade

4

MCQ

Easy to Medium

RC-2: Unintended Consequences of Technology

4

MCQ

Easy to Medium

RC-3: Peer Review of Research

4

MCQ

Medium

RC-4: Carnivore-Human Conflict

4

MCQ

Medium

Verbal Ability

08

MCQ & TITA

Overall: Medium

Paragraph completion

3

MCQ

3 Medium

Summary

3

MCQ

1 Easy, 1 Medium, 1 Difficult

Odd Sentence Questions 

2

TITA

1 Easy, 1 Medium

An attempt of 12 or 13 questions with an accuracy of approximately 60% will fetch around 85% ile score in VARC.  An attempt of 15 or 16 questions with an accuracy of approximately 65-70% will fetch 95+ percentiles in VARC.  

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

Last year, there were a total of four sets, each comprising five questions. This pattern has been changed in CAT 2024. There were two sets with 5 questions in each and three sets with 4 questions in each. Overall, the Level of difficulty of the section was Medium and it was relatively easier in comparison with the DILR Section of Slot 2 of CAT 2023. Some students mentioned that one question had two options that were the same.

Set No.

Area

Set Description

No. of Questions

Question Type

LOD

 

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning

22

MCQ and TITA

Easy to Medium 

1

Logical Reasoning

Rating - 8 Gymnasts

5

2 MCQ

3 TITA

Easy - Medium 

2

Data Interpretation

6 firms, PAT, Es, PRD - 2 graphs

4

4 MCQ

0 TITA

Easy

3

Logical Reasoning

Schematic diagram of walkways - Lake

4

  2 MCQ, 2 TITA

Medium

4

Logical Reasoning

1 to 10 numbers to be arranged in 10 slots with conditions 

5

2 MCQ,  3 TITA

Medium to Difficult

5

Data Interpretation

E-commerce rating distribution - cumulative

4

2 MCQ, 2 TITA

Easy

An attempt of 9 or 10 questions with an accuracy of approximately 80% will fetch around 85 %ile score in DILR.  An attempt of 13 or 14 questions with an accuracy of approximately 85% will fetch 95 + percentiles in DILR. 

Quantitative Ability

This section was comparatively easier (in terms of level of difficulty) as compared to last year’s slots and was dominated by Arithmetic (8 questions), followed by Algebra (5 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 3 questions on Modern Math and 3 on Numbers. In Arithmetic, the questions were on SICI, Time and Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Ratio Proportion, Mixtures & Alligations, and Profit & Loss. In Algebra, the questions were from Quadratic equations, Inequality, Modulus, Functions, and Identity-based questions etc. In Modern Math, the questions were on Logarithms, Sequences, Permutations etc. In Geometry, the questions were on circles, triangles in trapezium coordinate geometry, etc. In the number system, there were questions on remainders, Indices, and Surds. 

There were reports of the same question from last year slot 3 

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

Area/Q Type

No of Questions

Quantitative Ability

14 MCQs, 8 TITA

Overall LOD: MEDIUM 

Arithmetic

8

Algebra

5

Geometry

3

Modern Math

3

Numbers

3

Attempting the right questions was the key.  An attempt of 6 or 7 questions with an accuracy of approximately 80% will fetch around 85 %ile score in QA.   An attempt of 8 or 9 questions with an accuracy of approximately 80% will fetch 95 + percentiles in QA. 

THE PROCESS

At many centres, shoes and metallic objects (including metal jewellery) 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. 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 that IIMs are expected to declare in January 2025. You are advised to wait for the results.

Analysis from CATKing

Sumit Singh Gandhi, CEO and founder, CATKing

CAT 2024 Slot 2 was overall Moderate to Difficult, it was similar to Slot 1 but with DILR being a little level up than Slot 1, VARC was lengthy, and RCs were 500 to 600 words. QA was moderate and those who have been solving the Past year's Questions would be happy to see 2 Exact Past year questions ( CAT 2023 and 2022)

CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis: Balancing Familiarity and Challenge 

 

 Slot 2 of CAT 2024 maintained a moderate overall difficulty, with unique section-wise challenges that tested aspirants’ adaptability and precision. The paper showcased familiar concepts alongside nuanced twists, offering a balanced examination experience. 

 

 In the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section out of 24 questions, the difficulty ranged from easy to moderate. The section comprised four Reading Comprehension (RC) passages and several Verbal Ability (VA) question types. Three of the RCs were deemed manageable, while the Odd-One-Out (OOC) set proved time-consuming. The section demanded strategic time allocation but rewarded clarity in comprehension and reasoning. 

Details of the VARC Section: 

RC Themes: Secondary effects of industrial innovations – Doable. Carnivores and humans – Moderate difficulty. Scientists and anonymous peer reviews – Doable. VA Performance: Parasummary – Doable. Paracompletion – Doable. Odd-One-Out – Time-intensive. 

The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section balanced complexity and approachability, leaning towards moderate difficulty. The section featured two Data Interpretation (DI) sets and a few Logical Reasoning (LR) puzzles. While it posed challenges, test-takers could achieve good scores by solving three sets accurately.

Details for DILR Section

Set 1: Product ratings across different days. 3 TITA questions – Tough. MCQs – Doable. Set 2: Distance-based gated area problem (Points A to P). – Doable. Routes and network puzzle – Doable.Set 3: Grid-based set with numbers 1 to 10 to be arranged 

In the Quantitative Ability (QA) section, aspirants encountered a mix of lengthier questions and familiar topics. Arithmetic remained dominant, contributing a significant share of questions. Specific topics such as Time, Speed & Distance (TSD), Profit & Loss (P&L), and Averages are featured prominently. Additionally, a compound interest versus simple interest problem tested conceptual clarity, while Geometry and Logarithms made a minimal appearance. 

Some insights for QA

Arithmetic: Profit & Loss – 1 question. Time, Speed & Distance – 1 question. Averages – 1 question. Simple Interest – Compound interest and simple interest comparison – Doable. Geometry: Trapezium question – Doable.

Other Topics: Logarithm – 1 question. Number system (remainder and divisibility) – 1 question. CAT 2023 TITA question on mangoes and bananas – Reappeared. Conclusion Slot 2 of CAT 2024 reinforced the exam’s reputation for unpredictability and rigour.

VARC required nuanced comprehension, DILR balanced problem-solving and calculation skills, and QA demanded time management and analytical prowess. With its thoughtful mix of familiarity and challenge, Slot 2 set a high benchmark for subsequent slots, ensuring CAT’s enduring prestige as a test of both intellectual capability and strategic thinking.

Sherin Tressa Tomy
Sherin Tressa Tomy

Assistant Manager

Sherin completed her Masters degree in Communication from Madras Christian College, Chennai,. She has 5 years of experience in creating digital content and has previously worked as an assistant professor for 1.5 years. She later joined as a content writer at Careers360 working on education news, college, university and careers section. At Jagranjosh.com, she writes for the Education News section also working on the board results and other entrance exams like CUET, NEET, JEE Main.
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