CAT Previous Year Papers With Video Solutions (2023-1990)
CAT question papers are essential for preparing and understanding for CAT 2024. For cracking CAT exam, you must look at how the exam has changed over the years, the different kinds of questions asked, and changes in each section across the years. For that you can download the questions in PDF, practice them as mock tests, or view them directly.
Every question comes with a video and a text solution. If you have any questions, you can clarify for free in our Telegram group. Take a look at the CAT syllabus for a better understanding.
Practice CAT 2023 Question Paper, CAT 2022 Question Paper, etc. in both PDF and test format. You can also order CAT Previous Papers Book here.
CAT 2023 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2022 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2021 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2020 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2019 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2018 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT 2017 Previous Paper with Solutions
CAT Previous Papers with Solutions (2008 - 1990)
CAT 2023 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2022 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2021 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2020 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2019 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2018 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT 2017 Previous Papers Section-wise
CAT Topic-wise Questions from Previous Papers
Go through the topic-wise CAT questions from all available past year CAT papers conducted by IIMs. All these questions are included with detailed solutions and can be attempted in CAT year-wise questions format.
Score Vs Percentile In CAT 2023 Question Paper
Planning to score 99 percentile in CAT 2024? Check out last year's score vs percentile. CAT 2023 was conducted on 26th November, 2023 by IIM Lucknow for a total of 198 marks. CAT 2024 exam is expected to be conducted on 24th November 2024 by IIM Calcutta
| Percentile | Score |
|---|---|
| 100 | 142.90 |
| 99.99 | 119.76 |
| 99.90 | 101.09 |
| 99 | 76.15 |
| 95 |
54.86 |
| 90 | 46.00 |
100 Percentile in CAT 2023 Previous Year Paper
14 candidates scored 100 percentile in CAT 2023 exam. Maruti sir is one of them, with a perfect score of 100 percentile in the quant section and 150.99 marks overall.
100 Percentile in CAT 2022 Previous Year Paper
11 candidates scored 100 percentile in CAT 2022 exam. Maruti sir is one of them, with a perfect score of 66/66 in the quant section and 145 marks overall.
100 Percentile in CAT 2021 Previous Year Paper
9 candidates scored 100 percentile in CAT 2021 exam. Maruti sir is one of them, with an impeccable 99.99%ile in both Quant and VARC sections and 161 marks (after scaling) overall.
Listed below are the RCs that appeared in CAT 2023 papers in various slots along with the sources and the answers.
CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot-1 RC Sources
| RC's | Title | Source | Genre | LOD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC 1 | Wolf | The Economist Article | Environment | Easy |
| RC 2 | Geographic Determinism |
Journal | Sociology | Difficult |
| RC 3 | Indian Ocean | Writing Ocean | Literature | Difficult |
| RC 4 | Sahini - Society | O'reilly Articles | Anthropology /Literature |
Easy |
CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot-2 RC Sources
| RC's | Title | Source | Genre | LOD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC 1 | Second Hand September | Prospect - Magazine | Environment | Moderate |
| RC 2 | Netflix - Europe | The Economist Article | Culture | Moderate |
| RC 3 | Liberalism | The Economist Article | Political Science | Difficult |
| RC 4 | Historians - History | Richmond Journal | History | Easy |
CAT 2023 Question Paper Slot-3 RC Sources
RC's |
Title | Source | Genre | LOD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RC 1 | Romantic Aesthetics |
Stanford - Encyclopedia | Philosophy | Difficult |
| RC 2 | Archaeology - Patrimony | LA Times - Article | Archaeology | Moderate |
| RC 3 | Nutmeg | The Third Pole - Scientific Review | History - Literature | Moderate |
| RC 4 | Rational Thinking - Pinker |
Washington Post - Article | Literature | Moderate |
Why Cracku For CAT Previous Papers?
Features |
Cracku | Others |
|---|---|---|
| No-signup Required | ✔️ | - |
Video + Detailed Written Solutions |
✔️ | - |
| Option To Attempt As Mock Test | ✔️ | - |
Detailed Analysis |
✔️ | - |
Available in the PDF format |
✔️ | - |
Steps to Download CAT Previous Papers
- Visit the "Cracku CAT papers" page
- Scroll down to find the year for which papers you are looking for
- Select the slot and click on the "PDF" button
- Open the downloaded PDF and try to solve the questions
- If you are not able to understand text solutions, click on the "Video Solution" button below the question
Start your CAT 2024 preparation here with Cracku's CAT 2024 complete course.
CAT 2023 Previous Year Paper Analysis
The section-wise difficulty level of all the 3 CAT slots is given below
| Section | Slot-1 | Slot-2 | Slot-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC | Medium | Medium-Difficult | Medium |
| DILR | Difficult - One-Two Doable Sets | Medium - Two Doable Sets | Medium - Two Doable Sets |
| Quant | Hard | Medium | Medium - Difficult compared to other slots |
Previous Year CAT Topic-wise Weightage
CAT 2023 VARC Analysis
The number of VARC questions asked per topic in CAT 2023 slot-1, slot-2 & slot-3 papers.
| Topic | Slot-1 | Slot-2 | Slot-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension (RC) | 16 (4 sets with 4 questions each) | 16 (4 sets with 4 questions each) | 16 (4 sets with 4 questions each) |
| Para Jumbles (PJ) | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Para Completion | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Para Summary | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Odd One Out | 2 | 2 | 2 |
CAT 2023 DILR Analysis
The number of data interpretation & logical reasoning questions asked per topic in CAT 2023 slot-1, slot-2 & slot-3 papers are given below.
| Topic | Slot-1 | Slot-2 | Slot-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Set-1 | Scheduling | Quant Based LR | Scheduling |
| Set-2 | Arrangement | Table with Missing Values | Table with missing values |
| Set-3 | Table with Missing Values | Quant Based LR | Quant based LR |
| Set-4 | Puzzles | Scheduling | Quant based DI |
CAT 2023 Quant Analysis
The number of quantitative aptitude questions asked per topic in CAT 2023 slot-1, slot-2 & slot-3 papers.
| Key Topics | Sub-topics | Slot-1 | Slot-2 | Slot-3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | Averages, Ratio and Proportion | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Profit, Loss and Interest | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| Time, Distance, Speed and Work | 4 | 2 | 3 | |
| Geometry | Geometry/Mensuration | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Algebra | Quadratic Equations | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Progressions and Series | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
| Linear Equations and Inequalities | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Modern Math | Logarithms, Surds and Indices | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Functions and Graphs | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Number System | Number Systems | 2 | 3 | 2 |
CAT 2023 Exam Pattern
CAT exam test duration is 2 hours.
Each correct answer is awarded three marks, and each wrong answer carries a penalty of -1 mark. Some questions are Type-in-the-answer (TITA - Fill in the blank) questions. The marking scheme for TITA questions is +3 marks for the correct answer and no negative marks for the wrong answer.
Sections will appear in the following order VARC, then DILR and Quant (switching between sections is not possible). Candidates should perform well in all the three sections as most institutes have sectional cut-offs along overall cut-offs.
The below table shows the CAT 2023 exam pattern:
| Section | Duration | No. Of Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
40 min | 24 |
| Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 40 min | 20 |
| Quantitative Ability (QA) | 40 min | 22 |
| Total | 120 min | 66 |
Major Changes In CAT Exam
| No major changes in the CAT exam pattern | 2023 |
| No major changes in the CAT exam pattern | 2022 |
| Further reduction in the number of questions to 66 from 76 | 2021 |
| No. of exam slots changed to three from two. The total number of questions was decreased to 76 (from 100). |
2020 |
| An on-screen calculator is introduced | 2015 |
Sectional-time limit introduced. QA&DI;, LR &VA; were the two sections. |
2011 |
| The CAT exam went online | 2009 |
Year-wise CAT papers - IIM Conducted
| CAT Papers | Conducted By |
| CAT 2023 Question Paper | IIM Lucknow |
| CAT 2022 Question Paper | IIM Bangalore |
| CAT 2021 Question Paper | IIM Ahmedabad |
| CAT 2020 Question Paper | IIM Indore |
| CAT 2019 Question Paper | IIM Kozhikode |
| CAT 2018 Question Paper | IIM Calcutta |
| CAT 2017 Question Paper | IIM Lucknow |
| CAT 2016 Question Paper | IIM Bangalore |
| CAT 2015 Question Paper | IIM Ahmedabad |
| CAT 2014 Question Paper | IIM Indore |
CAT 2023 Score Vs Percentile
Percentile |
VARC |
DILR |
QA |
Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
100 |
61.66 |
50.40 |
49.46 |
142.90 |
99.99 |
57.19 |
42.66 |
44.89 |
119.76 |
99.90 |
51.14 |
36.58 |
34.96 |
101.09 |
99.50 |
44.00 |
30.58 |
28.28 |
84.29 |
99 |
39.83 |
27.29 |
26.74 |
76.15 |
95 |
28.78 |
18.92 |
16.87 |
54.86 |
90 |
23.37 |
15.63 |
13.63 |
46.00 |
80 |
17.58 |
11.67 |
09.20 |
34.36 |
How To Utilize CAT Previous Papers
These are a great reference to understand the kind of questions that can appear in the exam. CAT don't have defined syllabus, so going through the old quesion papers can give the candidates the topics tests and the difficulity level.
- Take them as topic wise tests
- Attempt them as sectional tests
- Take full-length previous year mocks
- Watch video solutions for difficult questions
- Analyse mistakes and improve Concept & Practice Gaps
Frequently Asked Questions
Solving previous year CAT papers is very important for understanding the format of the exam and the type of questions asked. However, you should also know the concepts behind those questions and take mock tests to practice and develop a test-taking strategy. CAT is known to throw surprises every year, and taking mocks will help you tackle any surprises in the final exam.
You can easily download CAT previous year papers with video solutions in PDF format in just one click. Click on the PDF button beside the CAT paper and open the file in Chrome or a PDF reader.
No, the same questions do not repeat in the CAT, but the concepts tested can be similar to previous asked questions for a section like quant. Also, though the exam is held in multiple slots, the questions are different across the slots.
Yes, the IIMs/CAT convenor releases CAT papers for each slot every year. Our experts have added video and text solutions and provided them here for you to download the 2017-2023 CAT papers PDF.
Cracku's website contains all the past papers from 1990 to 2023 with detailed video and text solutions. You can download them in PDF format. Please note that CAT Question Papers 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 were never released by the IIMs. So, the ones available in other websites are just pattern-based.
The CAT exam has only one paper, but the exam is conducted in multiple slots (so each slot has a separate CAT question paper). Each candidate will be allotted one slot. CAT 2023, CAT 2022, 2021, and 2020 were held in 3 slots. Before 2020, the exam was in 2 slots. The scores obtained will be scaled across the slots.
Yes, Cracku provides the option of taking the past year papers in actual test format either as a full-length mock or individual sectional test. Click on the "Take test" option and start your test.
The difficulty level of CAT varies for each student. Cracking CAT is not a very tough job if you are well-versed in the basics of the topics tested (VARC, LRDI, and Quants). Starting your preparation early, having a proper study plan, and the right material makes CAT preparation feasible. Download the PDF of the detailed topic-wise CAT study plan here to start your preparation today.
We have seen many students with average and even below average academics excelling in CAT with our courses. You can find the interview of the student who had 10 backlogs in graduation but was still able to score 99.51% in CAT through Cracku courses. You can crack CAT with dedication, the right approach, and Cracku's study material.
