The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a highly competitive exam for students who aim to pursue their MBA from the best business schools around the country. The CAT exam is one of the most highly anticipated exams among MBA aspirants. Students prepare for months in advance to crack the exam. Some students take coaching as well so that they can take the right guidance that they need. The exam has a certain level of difficulty that students need to overcome in order to clear the CAT exam.

Students will only know to prepare well when they practise a lot. The CAT exam cannot just be cleared like a cakewalk. Students need to deep dive into the syllabus and systematically prepare. Having a good strategy will help students to complete their syllabus well in time. During the days before the exam, students try and solve as many CAT sample papers as possible to get their revision done. This way students can revise many questions. 

CAT Syllabus

Before preparing for any exam, it is very important for students to know the syllabus and paper pattern of the exam. CAT is a computer-based exam. The exam has 3 sections, namely Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Reasoning. All these sections have various topics as a part of the syllabus, and questions come from all these topics in the CAT exam. 

Some of the topics covered in the various sections of the CAT exam are as follows:

The CAT sample paper follows the same pattern as the main CAT exam. There are 24 questions of VARC, 22 questions of DILR and 22 questions of QA. In total there are 68 questions. These CAT practice papers replicate the difficulty levels of the actual CAT exam. This is how they prepare the students to practise well.

Why solve CAT sample papers?

CAT sample papers prepare students to give their best shot at the CAT exam. Practising multiple CAT sample papers introduces students to many newer questions that they might not be aware of. This helps them get practice on many questions.

By solving the CAT sample papers, students get more concept clarity. It is one thing to be well versed with the syllabus, but students also need to have good practice of attempting the questions. This is when sample papers come in handy for the students.

Students only have 40 minutes to complete every section. There is no extra time given; hence, time management also becomes very crucial. Time management is a skill that students need to acquire. It only comes with practice. CAT sample papers teach students how to manage their speed. Students also need to have accuracy while attempting the CAT exam. All these lessons students can learn by practising CAT sample papers. Practising multiple CAT sample papers will help students learn how to maintain speed while also understanding the question really well. 

All these points make it clear that CAT sample papers are the way to go for preparing for the CAT exam.

Tips to solve CAT sample papers

• Be consistent. Nothing comes easily. Students need to understand that inconsistent efforts don't pay off well. Students need to be regular with solving CAT sample papers.

• Complete the entire sample paper in one go. This will help students get to know how much time did they complete the exam.

• Students can better their time management skills by solving CAT sample papers.

• Students get a realistic idea of how far they have come in their preparation journey when they sit and analyse their performance. If the students score more with each attempt, they will feel more reinforced to do better.

• The level of confidence of the students will go up as they will feel more prepared.

Conclusion

CAT Sample Papers are available from various sources through which students can download and practise them. Official IIM CAT websites offer sample papers, and there are many institutions for CAT preparation that provide online and offline material, both in the form of CAT practice question papers. Any online platform or coaching centre will provide these CAT test papers to students for practice. 

Students make optimum use of sample papers and practice daily. Many students take printouts of sample papers available online and then solve them. They bind all of these papers together and keep them so that they can always refer back to the highlighted important questions for studying. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Where can students find authentic sample papers for CAT?

Students can find authentic sample papers provided to them via various coaching institutes. They can provide multiple sample papers that are useful to the students. Additionally, students can access online sample papers released by IIMs. All these are reliable resources to obtain sample papers from.

2. How many sample papers should students solve daily?

Students should try to solve at least 2–3 sample papers daily. These CAT sample papers help students to practise attempting the exam; hence, regular practice of them is necessary. The rest of the time students should invest in completing their syllabus. 

3. Should students focus on sectional or full-length sample papers for CAT?

Students should maintain a healthy balance between both kinds of sample papers. Sectional sample papers give focus on certain sections of the exam, while full-length sample papers prepare the students for the full exam pattern.