GATE Exam Pattern 2023- Paper Pattern, and Type of Questions

GATE Exam Pattern - Marking Scheme

According to the GATE exam pattern 2023, the marking scheme of the examination is such that the students are awarded 1-2 marks for each correct answer in the paper. The marking scheme is explained below.

• General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics will be mandatory sections in GATE 2023, with each receiving 15% of the total points in papers with codes AE, AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF, and XE. The student's chosen subject will receive the remaining 70% of the weighting.
• There will be a mandatory section of General Aptitude in the GATE 2023 question papers for AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, and XL (15 percent of the total marks). The chosen subject will receive the remaining 85% of the weighting.

Negative Marking in GATE

According to the GATE exam pattern 2023, multiple-select questions have no negative marking. There will be a negative marking for a wrong answer in an MCQ. The detailed marking scheme is mentioned in the table below.

GATE Exam Papers Subject Codes

GATE exam will be conducted on 29 subjects (papers). The table below shows the examination list of papers and paper codes. A candidate can appear in any one or up to two papers of the upcoming GATE examination. Further, the table provided below consists of codes for different papers in the examination.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 - Type of Questions

The GATE exam will consist of three types of questions: multiple-choice, multiple-select, and numerical answer. Let's take a look at the type of questions usually asked in the examination.

• Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae, or laws of the discipline. The candidate is expected to be able to obtain the answer either from his/her memory directly or at most from the one-line computation.
• Comprehension: These questions will examine the candidate's knowledge of the basics of his/her field/course by requiring him/her to draw simple conclusions from basic concepts.
• Application: In these questions, the candidate must apply his/her expertise through computation or logical reasoning.
• Analysis and Synthesis: In these questions, the candidate is presented with data, diagrams, images, etc., that require analysis before a question can be answered. A Synthesis question might require the candidate to compare two or more pieces of information.

GATE Question Paper Pattern

The GATE question papers of various subjects consist of compulsory and optional sections. The GATE question paper pattern for various subjects and their marking scheme is provided below.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 for AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF, and ST

The GATE exam pattern for the paper codes AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF, and ST is provided in the table below. Further, you can also check the sectional weightage of the exam.

There will be 55 questions from core discipline and engineering mathematics, in addition to the 10 questions in the General Aptitude section. Each of the 25 questions will be worth one mark, while the remaining 30 will be worth two marks each.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 for CY, EY, MA, and PH

The GATE exam pattern for the codes CY, EY, MA, and PH consists of two sections- General Aptitude and Core Discipline. The sectional marking scheme for these subject codes has been tabulated below.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 for Geomatics Engineering (GE)

Geomatics Engineering is a new paper IIT Kharagpur added in 2022. The GATE exam pattern for Geomatics Engineering has three sections: General Aptitude, Part A, and Part B. The sectional weightage of the exam is provided in the table below.

GATE Exam Pattern for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NM)

The GATE exam pattern for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering consists of two sections- General Aptitude and Core Discipline. The sectional weightage of the exam is provided in the table below.

GATE Exam Pattern for Geology and Geophysics (GG)

The GATE exam pattern for Geology and Geophysics consists of three sections- General Aptitude, Part A, and Part B. Part B is further divided into two sections- Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geophysics). The sectional weightage of the exam is mentioned below.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 for Engineering Science (XE)

The GATE exam pattern 2023 for Engineering Science consists of three sections- Section A (Engineering Mathematics) and General Aptitude are required portions, whereas applicants must pick any two from sections B-H. The various subjects under these sections include:

• XE-B – Fluid mechanics
• XE-C – Material Science
• XE-D – Solid mechanics
• XE-E – Thermodynamics
• XE-F – Polymer Science and Engineering
• XE-G – Food technology
• XE-H – Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

The sectional marking scheme of the exam is mentioned below.

GATE Exam Pattern for Humanities and Social Science (XH)

The GATE XH paper was established, allowing students with a humanities background to apply for the exam. The paper is divided into three sections. General Aptitude and B1 (Reasoning and Comprehension) are mandatory sections, and applicants must pick one of the C1-C6 options. The C1-C6 includes the following topics:

• XH–C1: Economics
• XH–C2: English
• XH–C3: Linguistics
• XH–C4: Philosophy
• XH–C5: Psychology
• XH–C6: Sociology

The detailed marking scheme for the exam is provided in the table below.

GATE Exam Pattern 2023 for Life Science (XL)

The GATE XL paper is divided into three components. Candidates must attempt General Aptitude and Section P (Chemistry) which are compulsory, while they must choose two from sections Q-U.

• Biochemistry (XL-Q)
• Botany (XL-R)
• Microbiology (XL-S)
• Zoology (XL-T)
• Food Technology (XL-U)

The following is a detailed marking scheme for the GATE XL exam.

What is Two Paper in GATE?

According to the GATE exam pattern 2023, a candidate can choose any one or two subjects before appearing for the examination. The candidate must select the subjects based on the subjects in which he/ she has attained a graduate degree. A candidate may appear in one or two topic papers. Candidates who pick two exams must choose from a list of approved combinations, which is subject to infrastructure and date availability.

Let us check the allowed combinations along with the first paper mentioned in the table below.