CAT stands for the abbreviation of the Common Admission Test. It is a computer-based exam that is conducted every year by the Indian Institutes of Management for admission to various post-graduate management programs.

Candidates who are willing to apply for this exam must hold a bachelor’s degree with an aggregate of 50% for general, and 45% for SC/ST and PWD. IIM Lucknow conducted the CAT 2017 on Nov 26, 2017.

The authority organized the exam, into two slots, at 144 test centers: (1) Morning Slot or Slot 1- 9 AM to 12 PM (2) Afternoon Slot or Slot 2- 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM.

• CAT 2017 Question Paper
• CAT 2017 Good Attempts
• CAT 2017 Question Paper Pattern
• CAT 2017 Exam Paper Analysis
  • CAT 2017 Question Paper Slot 1 Analysis
  • CAT 2017 Question Paper Slot 2 Analysis

CAT 2017 Question Paper PDF

CAT question paper along with the answer key is provided for the candidates so that they can practice those questions, and can review their answers by referring to the answer key. Check the link for the CAT 2017 Question Paper with the solution below:

Also Check: CAT Exam Analysis 2022

CAT 2017 Good Attempts

With an overall range of moderate difficulty, the CAT 2017 exam had candidates in better moods than most years. The exam had a decent number of good attempts per subject and the question paper of the first slot was a little more difficult than the second. The CAT 2017 question paper solutions are detailed on this page and candidates are advised to go through the same thoroughly. The table below denotes the good attempts in each section of the CAT 2017 question paper. 

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CAT 2017 Question Paper Pattern

This CAT 2017 question paper comprises three sections:

• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Quantitative Ability (QA)
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

The exam duration was 1 hour for each section, and the total time duration for the exam was 3 hours. The marks allotted for the paper as a whole was 300, comprising a total of 100 questions. The sections are:

• Quantitative Ability: There were 34 questions from this section out of which 23 were multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and 11 were non-multiple-choice questions (Non- MCQs). The total mark allotted for this section was 102.
• Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning: There were 32 questions from this section out of which 24 were multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and 8 were non-multiple-choice questions (Non- MCQs). The total marks allotted for this section were 96.
• Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: There were 34 questions from this section out of which 27 were multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and 7 were non-multiple-choice questions (Non- MCQs). The total mark allotted for this section was 102.

The marking scheme was such that-

• Every correct answer will carry +3 marks.
• For every incorrect answer, there will be a deduction of 1 mark.
• For the unattempted questions, there was no deduction.
• The questions which were non- multiple-choice will carry no negative marking.

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CAT 2017 Exam Paper Analysis

The difficulty level of the CAT 2017 question paper was easy as compared with the previous year’s question papers. Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning was the hard section, whereas, the Quantitative Ability was fair, and that of Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension was moderate. Overall, the paper was not that much difficult. The question paper analysis for the two slots of the CAT exam are as follows:

CAT 2017 Question Paper Slot 1 Analysis

Few changes were analyzed in the question paper of the CAT 2017 when compared with the previous year’s question paper. These include:

• As per the scoring pattern, the marking scheme of CAT 2017, was changed. Earlier in 2016, it was like for every correct answer, there was a deduction of 1 mark, and for the incorrect answer, 0.33 mark.
• The total number of Non-MCQs questions was 25 in the CAT 2016 question paper, whereas, for the CAT 2017 question paper, it increased to 26.
• The number of NOn-MCQs questions in the VARC section was 10 in the CAT 2016 question paper, whereas, the exam conducting body reduced it to 7 in the CAT 2017 question paper.
• A maximum number of questions asked from the quantitative ability was from the arithmetic section.
• The number of Non-MCQs questions was increased to 11 from 7 in the CAT 2017 question paper when compared to the previous year’s question paper.

CAT 2017 Section-wise Analysis: Slot 1

The section-wise question paper analysis of the CAT 2017 for Slot 1 are:

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Analysis

• A total of 32 questions were there from the data interpretation & logical reasoning.
• There were 16 questions about data interpretation & 16 questions from logical reasoning out of which 12 were MCQs, and 4, were Non-MCQs.
• The difficulty level of data interpretation & logical reasoning was moderate, and questions were time-consuming.
• Some problems from data interpretation were happiness index, flight operation, and matrix.
• The LR section comprises questions from topics such as direction sense for cars, seating arrangement, and ordering items.

Also Read: CAT 2018 Question Paper

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Analysis

• A total of 34 questions were there from verbal ability and reading comprehension.
• There were 10, questions from verbal ability which includes sub-topics out of which 7 were Non-MCQs & 3 were MCQs.
• Para-Jumbles- 4 questions
• Para-Jumbles (odd sentence out)- 3 questions
• Summary-based- 3 questions
• The difficulty level of para-jumbles was tough & it was very time-consuming, whereas, for summary-based & para-jumbles (odd sentence out), it was moderate & less time-consuming.
• There were 24 questions from reading comprehension. These are:
• The total number of passages was 5, out of which 2 were short passages, and 3 were long passages.
• Further, short passages comprise 3, questions each, and, long passages comprise 6, questions each.
• The pattern of reading comprehension passage comprises MCQs, with a negative marking of 1/3.
• The difficulty level of the RC section was moderate but very time-consuming.

Quantitative Ability Analysis

• A total of 34 questions was there from the quantitative ability section which includes sub-topics like
• Number System- 4 questions
• Algebra & Arithmetic- 21 questions
• Geometry & Mensuration- 7 questions
• Miscellaneous Maths- 2 questions
• The difficulty level of the number system was easy & less time-consuming.
• For algebra & arithmetic, it was moderate & less time-consuming.
• Similarly, for the geometry & mensuration, it was moderate & less time-consuming, and, lastly for miscellaneous maths, it was easy & less time-consuming.
• The Algebra section includes inequalities & quadratic equations.
• The arithmetic section includes time, speed, distance, and profit & loss.
• There was only 1 question included from permutation and combination, and questions from geometry dominated the quantitative section.

CAT 2017 Question Paper Slot 2 Analysis

• The experts reported that the CAT 2017 Slot 2 was easy compared to Slot 1. CAT 2017, Slot 2 mainly focused on the level of understanding of the candidates in English on topics such as comprehension, summarising the paragraphs.
• This new pattern was for non-engineers.
• The number of questions in Slot 1 & Slot 2 was the same as 100.
• The questions from reading comprehension and quants were easy, whereas, the questions from DILR were lengthy & time-consuming.
• The cut-off in the DILR section was high in Slot 2 compared to Slot 1.

Also Read: CAT 2019 Question Paper

CAT 2017 Section-wise Analysis: Slot 2

The section-wise question paper analysis of the CAT 2017 for Slot 2 are:

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning Analysis

• A total of 32 questions were there from the data interpretation & logical reasoning.
• There were 16 questions from data interpretation which includes

12 MCQs, and, 4 Non-MCQs.

• Logical reasoning comprises 16 questions which includes

12 MCQs, and, 4 Non-MCQs.

• The logical Reasoning section includes questions on topics like
• Queen’s attacking problem
• Question on Bar graph with 3, sections
• Some problems were there in the DI section like:
• Distribution of 800 pizzas by the Pizza company

Also Read: CAT 2020 Question Paper

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Analysis

• A total of 34 questions were there from verbal ability and reading comprehension.
• There were 24 questions from reading comprehension. These includes:
• The total number of passages was 5, out of which 2 were short passages, and 3 were long passages.
• Further, short passages comprise 3, questions each.
• Similarly, long paragraphs hold 6, questions each.
• The pattern of reading comprehension passage covers MCQs, with a negative marking of 1/3.
• Some topics were there from RC passages like the use of electric cars, snow, and climate, modernization.
• The difficulty level of RC was fair but was very time-consuming.
• There were 10, questions from verbal ability out of which 7, were of Non-MCQs. The sections are:
• Jumbled Paragraphs- 4 questions
• Odd Sentence Out- 3 questions
• Para Summary- There were three questions on different topics, and the format was multiple-choice questions.
• The difficulty level of para-jumbles was fair & it was time-consuming, whereas, for summary-based & para-jumbles (odd sentence out), it was moderate & less time-consuming.

Quantitative Ability Analysis

• A total of 34 questions was there from the quantitative ability section which includes sub-topics like
• Number System- 4 questions
• Algebra & Arithmetic- 24 questions
• Geometry & Mensuration- 4 questions
• Miscellaneous Maths- 2 questions
• The difficulty level of the number system was easy & less time-consuming.
• For algebra & arithmetic was moderate & less time-consuming.
• Similarly, for the geometry & mensuration, it was moderate & time-consuming, and, lastly for miscellaneous maths, it was easy & less time-consuming.
• The Algebra section again includes inequalities & quadratic equations.
• The arithmetic section includes time-speed-distance, profit & loss, ratio & business mathematics.
• There were many questions from the geometry section.

Also Read: CAT 2021 Question Paper