There were a few changes in CAT 2014. Apart from the exam being conducted by TCS for the first time, it was also the first time that the time granted to the students to take the exam increased from 140 to 170. The students were free to move between sections at their own will and many also thought that the CAT 2014 question paper had arrested the deterioration of the CAT examination which was noticed in the previous years. With 100 questions to choose from, the CAT last year question paper had got some balance. The examination was conducted on November 16 and 22 in two slots.
The CAT exam, which has always been heralded as something that IIT graduates or engineers had an advantage upon, made the paper somewhat easier for the benefit of the common graduates too. The paper was similar for all the four slots.
Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation:
The Quantitative Ability paper had a fair mix of Algebra, Arithmetic, Numbers, Geometry and pure Maths. Anyone with a strong base in Maths could have easily cracked it.
As far as the Data Interpretation was concerned, anyone who was well-prepared and had proper practice could have done well in this section. The questions were a bit tricky and had a good mix of calculations and logical sets.
| Total Questions | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts | Optimal Time |
| 50 | Easy | 35+ | 80 Minutes |
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning:
Interestingly, the Verbal Ability had quite a surprise for the examinees. There were no questions on vocabulary or English usage while there were a few questions on critical reasoning. The para jumbles and reading comprehension, too, were pretty simple. A total of 16 and 18 questions were from 4 passages of reading comprehension and general English usage respectively.
However, the difficulty of the Logical Reasoning questions was moderate and any candidate with good practice would have easily cracked this section too. The questions involved arrangements based, set theory related and maxima-minima based questions.
| Total Questions | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts | Optimal Time |
| 50 | Moderate | 35+ | 90 Minutes |
The Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning Questions of the CAT were a bit lengthy and so, required a bit more time to answer. Candidates who managed to complete the Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation in the optimal time mentioned faced no difficulty with the time management in the VALR section.
With numerous MBA aspirants taking the exam every year, the competition has increased exponentially. So, the candidates need a lot of dedication and practice to crack CAT exam. Make sure that apart from looking at CAT last year question papers and CAT Sample Papers, you also have a look at the CAT 2015 model question paper and take numerous CAT mock tests to prepare well for the exam and ace it.
