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CAT Marking Scheme 2025: Negative Marking, Total Marks, Sectional Weightage

28 September, 2025
Priyal Kakaye

The CAT Marking Scheme for 2025 exam explains the points earned for each correct answer and negative marking for an incorrect response. There are three sections: Verbal and Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. All three sections have sectional time limits. However, read the blog below to learn more about the CAT Marking Scheme.

 

How are Marks Distributed in the CAT Examination?

For every correct answer, candidates get +3 marks, and -1 negative marking for a wring answer in MCQ-type questions. Incorrect attempts in TITA questions get zero.

 

Sections Number of Questions Total Marks Marking Scheme
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 24 Questions 72 Marks +3 marks for correct answering

-1 for incorrect answering

No negative marking for TITA questions

Total Marks – 204

Quantitative Aptitude (QA) 22 Questions 66 Marks
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) 22 Questions 66 Marks
Total 68 Questions 120 Minutes

 

ย Know more:ย  ย ย CAT cutoff โ€“ CAT exam cutoff for IIMs and other top MBA colleges

 

CAT Marking Scheme: Exam pattern

Section MCQs Non-MCQs Total No. of Questions CAT Exam Duration
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) ย 22 ย 2 ย 24 ย 40 min
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DI & LR) ย 12 ย 10 ย 22 ย 40 min
Quantitative Ability (QA) ย 14 ย 8 ย 22 ย 40 min
Total ย 48 ย 20 ย 68 ย 120 (2 hours)

 

Is Any Extra Time Given for PWD students?

160 minutes are allotted for all differently abled candidates, and 53 minutes and 20 seconds are allotted for all three sections.

 

 

CAT Section-wise Weightage and Questions Distribution

The weightage of all three sections with the number of MCQs and TITA questions is as below:

Sections Number of MCQs Number of TITAs Weightage of Questions
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) 22 2 36%
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) 14 8 32%
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) 12 10 32%

 

cat marking scheme

 

How Does the CAT Marking Scheme Compare to Other Management Entrance Tests?

Exams Total Questions Asked Marks Allotted Negative Marking Implies? Time Allotted Sectional Time Allotted?
CAT 66 204 Yes (33.33%) 2 Hours Yes
SNAP 60 60 Yes (25%) 1 Hour No
CMAT 100 400 Yes (25%) 2 Hours No
XAT 102 101 Yes (25%) 3.5 Hours Yes
NMAT 108 360 No 2 Hours Yes
IBSAT 140 140 No 2 Hours No
MAT 200 200 Yes (25%) 2.5 Hours No

 

Read More โ€“ CAT Syllabus

 

 

What are the Topics in the CAT Syllabus?

Sections Topics Included
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
  • Reading Comprehension Passages
  • Para Completion
  • Para Summary
  • Odd Sentence
  • Fact Inference Judgment
  • Para jumbles
Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
  • Algebra
  • Arithmetic
  • Geometry
  • Mensuration
  • Number System
  • Modern Mathematics
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  • Combination of Graphs
  • Line Graph
  • Bar Graph
  • Pie Chart
  • Caselet, and Tables
  • Seating Arrangement
  • Puzzles
  • Binary Logic
  • Blood Relations
  • Syllogism

 

How CAT Marking Scheme and Exam Pattern Changed Over the Years?

Over the years, we saw significant changes in the exam pattern in the year 2020 at first. Till 2020, total 100 questions were present in the test, which came down to 76 questions in the said year. The number of questions again came down from 76 to 66 questions in 2021.

Years Number of Questions VARC Questions QA Questions DILR Questions
2024 68 24 22 22
2023 66 24 22 20
2022 66 24 22 20
2021 66 24 22 20
2020 76 34 26 24
2019 100 34 34 32
2018 100 34 34 32
2017 100 34 34 32
2016 100 34 34 32
2015 100 34 34 32
2014 100 34 34 32

 

Is the CAT Exam Difficult to Crack?

Since the last two years, candidates have reported about the overall difficulty of the CATโ€™s question paper as moderate. They considered VARC and QA sections from moderate to difficult in 2023 exam.

Sections Number of Good Attempts Difficulty Level
VARC
  • Slot 1: 10-12
  • Slot 2: 13-15
  • Slot 3: 12-14
Moderate to Difficult
QA
  • Slot 1: 15-18
  • Slot 2: 14-17
  • Slot 3: 13-16
Moderate to Difficult
DILR
  • Slot 1: 9-11
  • Slot 2: 9-12
  • Slot 3: 10-12
Moderate
Overall 35-49 Moderate

 

How Much Time is Required for Completing the CAT Syllabus?

For CAT preparation, students should ask themselves how much time they can spend completing the syllabus. Next, they should figure out their strengths and weaknesses. By following these points, students can complete the syllabus within 3-4 months.

  • In the VARC section, students should not skip any chapters. However, they should also focus on para jumbles, para completion, para summary, and reading comprehension.
  • For the DILR section, practising different sorts of questions is mandatory for increasing time management skills.
  • The QA section focuses more on the Arithmetic section, followed by the Algebra portions.

 

 

CAT Marking Scheme: Conclusionย 

The CAT Marking Scheme 2025 is the only method for assessing every student’s performance in the CAT exam. It, along with the CAT Syllabus, is useful for teachers and students to estimate their final scores even before the results are out.ย 

Understanding the CAT marking scheme is crucial for candidates to formulate an effective exam strategy, determining which questions to attempt and which to skip. The total marks for CAT 2025 will be 204, with each question carrying three marks.ย 

For every incorrect answer in the multiple-choice questions (MCQs), a negative marking of -1 will be applied. However, the TITA-based questions do not carry negative markings. Additionally, there is no penalty for skipping questions.