1. The night I almost rage-quit CAT prep
I still remember the exact moment: 10 p.m. on a sticky Bengaluru evening, a mock test flashing “DILR score: 11/66”. My study partner laughed, I sulked, and the ceiling fan kept whirring like an evil metronome reminding me of every ticked second. That was 2019. I decided I was “bad at puzzles” and swore I’d focus on Quant & VARC instead. Spoiler: that mindset cost me an IIM call that year.
Fast-forward to CAT 2023—I’d re-entered the ring with a new approach, took the exam, and DILR turned out to be my highest percentile. How? Not extra intelligence. Just a ruthless, human-friendly system that anyone can copy. If you’re staring at the CAT 2025 DILR Section with the same dread I once felt, trust me—there’s light (and a good B-school) at the end of the tunnel.
2. What exactly are we up against?
| Year | Total Qs | DILR Qs | Minutes for DILR | Interesting twist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 100 | 32 | 60 | Pre-COVID marathon pattern |
| 2020 | 76 | 24 | 40 | First 2-hour CAT |
| 2023 | 66 | 20 | 40 | Four sets, mostly 5Q each |
| 2024 | 68 | 22 | 40 | Mix of 5Q & 4Q sets |
| 2025 (exp.) | 68 | 22 | 40 | Rumoured bump in TITA* weightage |
*TITA = Type-In-The-Answer; no options, no mercy.
The takeaway? The CAT 2025 DILR Section will likely stick to 22 questions in 40 minutes but may sprinkle more TITA to curb random guessing. Treat every minute like prime real estate.
3. Why the CAT 2025 DILR Section is secretly your best friend
- Yup, it’s only one-third of the paper, yet sectional cut-offs are often the lowest.
- A few high-accuracy sets can offset an average Quant day.
- B-schools love problem-solvers; a strong DILR score screams “I think on my feet.”
4. The 3-phase roadmap (June ’24 → Nov ’25)
| Phase | Dates | What you’ll do | Bench-mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundation | Jun–Aug ’24 | Speed-math drills, decode charts, solve easy puzzles (Seating, Venn) | 50 sets solved |
| Refinement | Sep ’24–Apr ’25 | Mixed sets, ratio-percent bootcamps, one full sectional every Sunday | 15 mocks |
| Peak | May–Nov ’25 | Two full mocks/week, aggressive set selection, sleep & diet audit | 35 mocks + 90 %ile in at least 8 of them |
Pro tip: CAT notification should drop in the last week of July 2025; registrations open the first week of August at iimcat.ac.in. Set a phone reminder now.
5. So… what actually works? (A no-fluff kit)
- Set-selection sprint (0-4 min)
Skim all five sets without writing a single number. Circle two “do-able” sets, park the brain-busters for later. - Block-diagram everything
Words → boxes & arrows. If you can’t visualise a clue, you haven’t understood it. - The 6-minute rule
Stuck? Bail after six minutes. Sunk-cost fallacy kills scores. - TITA discipline
No blind typing. Mark for review, come back if time permits. - Mock autopsy, not mock addiction
A bad mock isn’t a tragedy; skipping its analysis is. Spend double the test duration on review.
6. A week in the life of a 99-percentiler (sample)
| Day | 45-min Block 1 | 60-min Block 2 | Tiny habit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Speed tables/graphs | 2 easy DI sets | 4-box breathing |
| Tue | LR theory: tournaments | 8-Q mixed mini-mock | Jot 3 insights |
| Wed | Error-log revisit | 2 medium LR sets | 10-min walk |
| Thu | Bar-line charts | One timed 5-Q DI set | Sketch solution tree |
| Fri | TITA clinic | 2 difficult LR sets | Affirmations (“I leave when stuck”) |
| Sat | Full 40-min sectional | Review + snack reward | |
| Sun | Full mock (2 hr) | Deep analysis | Zero social media |
Yes, life will feel like Groundhog Day—until you see that percentile graph climb.
7. Tools I wish I’d used earlier
| Gadget / App | Why it rocks | Link |
|---|---|---|
| MS Excel / Google Sheets | Build your own fake datasets | — |
| Learncrew DILR Lab | One fresh CAT-level set daily, with video | Internal link |
| Anki | Spaced repetition for puzzle frameworks | — |
| Pomofocus.io | 25-min focus blocks | — |
8. The ten blunders that sink ships
- Trying all five sets—greed over speed.
- Over-using the on-screen calculator for 62-7. Please.
- Ignoring ratio-percent basics (“DILR is reasoning, not Maths”—lies!).
- Treating TITA like free marks. They’re traps if you haven’t cracked logic.
- Copy-pasting seniors’ study plans instead of tailoring to your energy cycles.
- Zero post-mock rituals.
- “I’ll improve accuracy later, first speed!” Wrong order.
- Drinking a double espresso right before Slot 1—hello jitters.
- Forgetting to bookmark killer sets for revision.
- Last-week burnout: adding new material instead of revising.
9. Inside the CAT 2025 DILR Section: Set-type cheatsheets
- Tables & Charts (DI):
Convert every paragraph into Math shorthand. Example: “Company A sold 15 % more than B” → A = 1.15 B. - Games & Tournaments (LR):
Make a results grid before reading detailed clues. Keep wins−losses separate. - Venn & Set Theory:
Draw three circles first, fill obvious numbers, then attack intersections. - Routes & Networks:
Label nodes with letters, edges with cost/time. Dijkstra your way out.
10. Exam-day blueprint (30 Nov 2025, tent.)
| Time | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 05:30 a.m. | 20-min “dummy puzzle” | Warm-up neurons |
| 07:30 a.m. | Light breakfast, no new study | Avoid glucose crash |
| 08:10 a.m. | Reach centre, bathroom break | Zero last-minute anxiety |
| 08:30 a.m. | Slot opens—breathe, scan sets | Heart rate reset |
| 08:34 a.m. | Lock 2 anchor sets | Confidence spike |
| 09:10 a.m. | Quick sip of water, eyes off screen | Micro-reset |
| 09:28 a.m. | Revisit marked questions | Free marks sweep |
| 09:30 a.m. | Section ends—don’t post-mortem yet | Focus on QA next |
The same skeleton works for Slot 2 and Slot 3; adjust the wake-up alarm, not the ritual.
11. Parting words from a reformed DILR sceptic
If a self-confessed “I hate puzzles” guy can turn the CAT 2025 DILR Section into a strength, so can you. Skill-building here isn’t glamorous—there’s no viral Instagram reel about filling Venn diagrams. But the silent hours spent wrestling with data translate directly into percentile jumps. Imagine walking out of the hall knowing DILR saved your overall score instead of sinking it. Feels nice, right?
So block those weekly practice slots, respect the 6-minute exit rule, and promise yourself a celebratory biryani once you nail three sets in under 35 minutes. I’ll be rooting for you from the sidelines—feel free to DM me on LinkedIn if you need a pep talk or meme-worthy shoulder to cry on after a bad mock.
Now, shut this tab, fire up a timer, and tackle the first set waiting in your queue. Your future IIM classmate is doing it right now.
(P.S. Article written by an actual human sweating over his keyboard, not an automated bot—so every typo, joke, and Kannada “yaarige gothu?” moment is authentically mine.)
