CAT 2021 Slot 2 Paper Analysis: DI and logical reasoning sections rated tough and time-consuming

CAT 2021 tested students on speed, logic and analytical skills. The exam tested students on their actual knowledge instead of mere guesswork. The reduction in questions from CAT 2020 helped students have a better time allocation and not have a crisis.

The data interpretation and logical reasoning sections were a little difficult and time-consuming. There were some changes in reading comprehension passages with the dominance of inference based questions. Students found the exam of moderate difficulty level. Here is a sectional analysis of the paper.

VARC section: 24 questions

Reading comprehension was dominated in the verbal section. There were 4 passages with 4 questions each. More inference based questions and not factual, there were close options too so it needed little focus while solving. TITA Verbal ability was overall easy.

• 3 questions Para jumbles easy
• 3 questions Para summary – tougher than usual
• 2 questions odd one out easy

Reading Comprehension: 16 Questions

The reading comprehension was based on the following themes:

• 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

DILR section: 24 questions

The section was not very difficult, easy to moderate with respect to comprehension of the question, one set was time-consuming.

DILR sets with 6 questions: 2 sets = 12 questions (LR Sets)
DILR Sets with 4 questions: 2 sets=8 questions (DI Sets)

• Set 1: horizontally stacked column graph (product, shipment days) (4 questions)
• Set 2: games and tournament-based (2 players) (6 questions)
• Set 3: online food delivery rating parameters (6 questions)
• Set 4 graph-based – easy to solve (4 questions)

Quant section: 22 Questions (TITA 8)

Quants focused on the conceptual clarity and the application of the concepts, some may take time to solve but easy to score and attempt 16-18 questions

• Arithmetic -10 to 11 questions
• The ratio of Milk – 2, time and work, profit & loss, time speed distance, averages, percentages
• Geometry 3-4 Questions
• Numbers 2 Questions
• Logs 2 Questions
• Functions 2 Questions

(The analysis is provided by Sumit Singh Gandhi, CEO and Director, CATKing)