CMAT 2017 Overall Exam Analysis

Endeavor Careers Posted on March 8, 2017

Structure of CMAT 2017 was as per the CMAT standards with 25 questions in each of the four sections. Aspirants had 3 hours to attempt the test paper. Unlike last year, CMAT was conducted in two slots this year instead of a single slot.

It was unusual to see all the 100 Questions without any sectional partitions.

Section wise analysis is as follows:

Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation (25 Questions):

In the morning slot, there was a significant share of the problems on percentage and its applications. Up to 6 questions tested % increase, decrease and successive change with some of them relating to Profit and Loss. Apart from these, there were questions from Numbers, Quadratic Equations, Ratio and its applications, Trigonometry and 4 to 5 questions on Geometry. There were no questions of Permutation Combination, Probability, Logarithm, Function or Inequality.

However, in the afternoon slot the number of questions on percentages and its applications came down to 2 and this was balanced by 1 question each from Time and Work, Time and Distance, Permutation and Combination, Probability, Functions and Inequalities. All these questions were relatively easier and required application of basic concepts of these chapters. Another change that was observed in the afternoon slot was that there was only one question of Geometry. Both slots had 1 questions of DI each.

Overall, the questions of this section were easier than those in previous editions of CMAT. With Approximately 12-14 questions easy to solve, an attempt count of 20 can be termed good with a suggested time of 50 minutes.

Logical Reasoning (25 Questions):

This section remained more or less same for both of the slots, the only difference being that in the morning slot there were 2 questions on cubes whereas in the afternoon slot there were none.

Apart from this, there was a good mix of questions from Blood Relations, Coding, Input-Output, Series, Clocks, Calendar to typical questions on Arrangements and Puzzles.

Questions related to Arrangements and Puzzles were the most time consuming questions of the test paper. Questions based on Set Theory were also asked in this section. There were some questions related to Verbal Reasoning (Syllogism, Assumption, and Course of Action).

Overall, this section was the most time consuming one among all the 4 sections of the test paper. An aspirant with good practice of reasoning questions should be able to reach up to 19 questions in a recommended time of 60 minutes.

Language Comprehension (25 Questions):

This section can be divided in two parts: Reading Comprehension based questions (15 Qs) and Verbal Ability based questions (10 Qs)

Both the slots had 4 RCs, out of which one had 6 Questions and the other three had 3 questions each. Most of these 15 questions were direct and easy to solve.

In the morning slot, there were questions based on Fill-in-the-blanks, Antonyms which were not asked in the afternoon slot. On the contrary in the afternoon slot there were questions based on analogies, idioms and phrases and meanings based on root word.

Questions based on grammar and Verbal Reasoning (Assumptions, Strong/Weak Argument and Conclusions), FIJs were common to both the slots.

Overall, this section needed some time to solve due to presence of 4 RCs but can be called moderate. An attempt of 22 questions can be termed as good with a suggested time of 60 minutes.

General Awareness (25 Questions):

This section remained more or less same in both the slots.

The section was a good mix of questions on variety of topics. At least two questions were asked from each of these categories: Sports, Science, Geography, Government Schemes, and Business. This year however saw an uncharacteristic increase in the number of questions based on Current Affairs and Science.

Overall, 14-15 attempts can be termed as good in a suggested time of 10 minutes.

Section	Qs	Level of Difficulty	Suggested Time	Good Attempts	Good Score
QT and DI	25	Easy to Moderate	50 minutes	20	70
LR	25	Moderate	60 minutes	19	66
LC	25	Moderate	60 minutes	22	68
GA	25	Moderate	10 minutes	14	36
Overall	100	Moderate	180 minutes	75	240