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GATE Exam Pattern 2021, Duration, Marking Scheme

GATE Exam Pattern 2021, Exam Time Duration, Question Pattern, and  Marking Scheme

 

GATE 2021 Exam Pattern - All the candidates preparing for the GATE exam can check the Paper Pattern of their respective GATE 2021 exam papers to know the subjects, topics covered, marks distribution, and duration of exams that will help candidates in cracking GATE 2021 examination.

All the papers of GATE Exam will have questions that test the General Aptitude (Language and Analytical Skills), apart from the core subject of the paper. Candidates will be benefited while preparing for exams if they know the Exam Pattern for GATE 2021 beforehand.

 

GATE 2021 Exam Pattern at Glance

  1. GATE 2021 Examination will be conducted for 27 Subjects
  2. A candidate can appear for only one of the 27 GATE papers. The exam for all the papers will be conducted in an ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where the candidates will be shown the questions on a computer screen
  3. A Virtual Scientific Calculator will be available on the computer screen during the examination. Candidates have to use the same during the examination. Personal calculators, wristwatches, mobile phones or any other electronic devices are NOT allowed inside the examination hall.
  4. Scribble pads will be provided to the candidates for any rough work. The candidate has to write his/her name and registration number on the scribble pad before he/she starts using it. The scribble pad must be returned to the invigilator at the end of the examination.

 

Exam Duration

  1. All the papers of the GATE 2021 examination will be for 3 hours duration and they consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. Since the examination is an ONLINE computer-based test, at the end of the stipulated time (3-hours), the computer will automatically close the screen inhibiting any further action.
  2. Candidates will be permitted to occupy their allotted seats 40 minutes before the scheduled start of the examination. Candidates can log in and start reading the instructions 20 minutes before the start of the examination.
  3. Candidates will NOT be permitted to enter the examination hall after 10:00 hours in the forenoon session and after 15:00 hours in the afternoon session.
  4. Candidates will NOT be permitted to leave the examination hall before the end of the examination

 

GATE 2021 Pattern of Questions

GATE 2021 would contain questions of two different types in all the papers

  1. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all the papers and sections. These questions are objective in nature, and each will have a choice of four answers, out of which the candidate has to select (mark), the correct answer.

Negative Marking for Wrong Answers: For a wrong answer chosen in an MCQ, there will be negative marking. For 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-mark MCQ, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.

  1. Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all the papers and sections. For these questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered by the candidate using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor (keyboard of the computer will be disabled).
  2. No choices will be shown for these types of questions. The answer can be a number such as 10 or -10 (an integer only). The answer may be in decimals as well, for example, 10.1 (one decimal) or 10.01 (two decimals) or -10.001 (three decimals).
  3. These questions will be mentioned with, up to which decimal places, the candidates need to present the answer. Also, for some NAT type problems an appropriate range will be considered while evaluating the numerical answer type questions so that the candidate is not unduly penalized due to the usual round-off errors.
  4.  Wherever required and possible, it is better to give NAT answer up to a maximum of three decimal places.

Note: There is NO negative marking for the wrong answers in NAT questions.

 

Marks

  1. In all the papers, there will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which 10 questions carrying a total of 15 marks will be on General Aptitude (GA), which is intended to test the Language and Analytical Skills.
  2. IIT Bombay has also introduced two new subjects – Humanities and Social Science (XS) and Environmental Science and Engineering (ES).
  3. In the papers bearing the codes AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF and XE, the Engineering Mathematics will carry around 15% of the total marks, the General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining around 70% of the total marks is devoted to the subject of the paper.
  4. In the papers bearing the codes AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, and XL, the General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining 85% of the total marks is devoted to the subject of the paper.

 

Read More -  GATE 2021 Exam Syllabus

 

Marking Scheme – Distribution of Marks and Questions

General Aptitude (GA) Questions

  1. In all papers, GA questions carry a total of 15 marks. The GA section includes 5 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 5 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 10 marks).

Question Papers other than GG, XE and XL

  1. These papers would contain 25 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 25 marks) and 30 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 60 marks) consisting of both the MCQ and NAT Questions.

GG (Geology and Geophysics) Paper

  1. Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the GG question paper consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A is compulsory for all the candidates. Part B contains two sections: Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geophysics). Candidates will have to attempt questions in Part A and questions in either Section 1 or Section 2 of Part B.
  2. Part A consists of 25 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 25 marks and some of these may be numerical answer type questions). Either section of Part B (Section 1 and Section 2) consists of 30 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 60 marks and some of these may be numerical answer type questions).

XE Paper (Engineering Sciences)
A candidate appearing in the XE paper has to answer the following:

  1. GA – General Aptitude carrying a total of 15 marks.
  2. Section A– Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory): This section contains 11 questions carrying a total of 15 marks: 7 questions carrying 1-mark each (subtotal 7 marks), and 4 questions carrying 2-marks each (subtotal 8 marks). Some questions may be of numerical answer type.
  3. Any two of XE Sections B to H: The choice of two sections from B to H can be made during the examination after viewing the questions. Only TWO optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change midway of the examination to another optional section must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (B to H). Each of the optional sections of the XE paper (Sections B through H) contains 22 questions carrying a total of 35 marks: 9 questions carrying 1-mark each (subtotal 9 marks) and 13 questions carrying 2-marks each (subtotal 26 marks). Some questions may be of numerical answer type.

 

Read More - List of GATE Exam Subjects 2021

 

XL Paper (Life Sciences)
A candidate appearing in the XL paper has to answer the following:

  1. GA – General Aptitude carrying a total of 15 marks.
  2. Section P– Chemistry (Compulsory): This section contains 15 questions carrying a total of 25 marks: 5 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 10 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 20 marks). Some questions may be of numerical answer type.
  3. Any two of XL Sections Q to U: The choice of two sections from Q to U can be made during the examination after viewing the questions. Only TWO optional sections can be answered at a time. A candidate wishing to change midway of the examination to another optional section must first choose to deselect one of the previously chosen optional sections (Q to U).
  4. Each of the optional sections of the XL paper (Sections Q through U) contains 20 questions carrying a total of 30 marks: 10 questions carrying 1-mark each (subtotal 10 marks) and 10 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 20 marks). Some questions may be of numerical answer type.

 

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