GATE Exam Pattern
The GATE exam pattern will be released in the month of September 2024. The pattern of all papers will help in knowing the type of questions asked in the exam, the marking scheme & weightage of the questions in the examination. GATE 2024 will be an online exam for a duration of 3 hours, consisting of 65 questions with 100 marks.
As per the official exam pattern, the questions are divided into three categories which are multiple-choice questions (MCQ), multiple select questions (MSQ), and numerical answer type (NAT) questions. Only the MCQ-based questions will carry negative marks for attempting wrong answers.
Events | Details |
GATE Exam Duration | 3 Hours |
GATE Examination Mode | Computer-Based Test (Online) |
Type of Questions in GATE Exam | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions |
Total Number of Questions in the GATE Exam | 65 |
Exam Language | English |
Calculator | Allowed, Virtual GATE Calculator is provided on Exam day. |
Total Marks | 100 |
GATE Exam Pattern Highlights
According to the GATE exam pattern for AE, AG, BT, BM, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF, ST, and XE papers, the weightage of marks is divided into three sections.
- 1st: Engineering Mathematics will carry around 13% of the total marks, i.e., 13 marks.
- 2nd: General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks, i.e., 15 marks.
- 3rd: Remaining 72% of the total marks is devoted to the paper's subject (technical section), i.e., 72 marks.
According to the GATE exam pattern for AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, XH, and XL papers, the weightage of marks is divided into two sections.
- 1st: General Aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks, that is, 15 marks.
- 2nd: Remaining 85% of the total marks are devoted to the paper's subject, that is 85 marks.
Type of Questions in GATE Exam
The GATE exam pattern may vary slightly from year to year and from paper to paper, so candidates should check the latest updates for the specific exam pattern of their chosen paper. The GATE exam will consist of three questions: multiple-choice, multiple-select, and numerical questions. Along with the detailed pattern, candidates must also refer to the GATE syllabus for effective preparation. Let's look at the skills which these questions will test in the examination:
- Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae, or laws of the discipline. The candidate is expected to obtain the answer directly from his/her memory 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 Marking Scheme
The marking scheme of the examination is such that the students are awarded 1 or 2 marks for each correct answer in the paper. Only selected types of questions carry negative marking. Moreover, you can check the detailed information about paper-wise GATE weightage and the marking schemes below.
Negative Marking in GATE
According to the GATE exam pattern 2024, multiple-select questions and NAT questions have no negative marking assigned to them. There will be a negative marking for a wrong answer in the MCQ question only. The detailed marking scheme is mentioned in the table below.
Type of Questions | Marking Scheme |
Multiple-choice Questions | For 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. For 2-mark MCQ, 2/3 marks will be deducted for a wrong answer. |
Multiple-select Questions | 1 or 2 marks; No negative marking |
Numerical-answer Type Questions | 1 or 2 Marks; No negative marking |
Unattempted Questions | 0 marks |
GATE Paper Pattern
The GATE question papers of various subjects consist of compulsory and optional sections. 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.
Sections | Weightage |
General Aptitude | 15% |
Engineering Mathematics | 13% |
Core Discipline | 72% |
The detailed GATE pattern is provided for various branches.
- GATE Exam Pattern For Civil Engineering
- GATE Exam Pattern For Mechanical Engineering
- GATE Exam Pattern For Electrical Engineering
- GATE Exam Pattern For ECE
- GATE Exam Pattern For Computer Science Engineering
There will be 55 questions from the core discipline and Engineering Mathematics, in addition to the 10 questions from the General Aptitude syllabus. Each of the 25 questions will be worth one mark, while the remaining 30 will be worth two marks each.
Subjects | Number of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, TF, and ST | 25 | 1 | 25 |
30 | 2 | 60 | |
Total | 55 | - | 85 |
GATE Paper Pattern For CY, EY, MA, and PH
The CY, EY, MA, and PH papers will consist of General Aptitude and Core Discipline. The sectional marking scheme for these subject codes has been tabulated below.
Subjects | Number of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
CY, EY, MA, and PH | 25 | 1 | 25 |
30 | 2 | 60 | |
Total | 55 | - | 85 |
GATE Paper Pattern 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.
Sections | Number of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | 10 | (5 x 1) + (5 x 2) | 15 |
Part A | 36 | (17 x 1) + (19 x 2) | 55 |
Part B: Sections I and II | 16 | (8 x 1) + (11 x 2) | 30 |
Total | 55 | - | 100 |
GATE Paper Pattern For Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NM)
The GATE exam pattern 2024 for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering consists of two sections- General Aptitude and Core Discipline.
Sections | Number of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | 10 | (5 x 1) + (5 x 2) | 15 |
Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | 55 | (25 x 1) + (30 x 2) | 85 |
GATE Paper Pattern For Geology and Geophysics (GG)
The GATE exam pattern 2024 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), check more detail below:
Sections | Sub-section | Number of Questions | Marks of Question | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | - | 10 | 1 or 2 | 15 |
Part A | - | 25 | 1 | 25 |
Part B | Geology | 30 | 2 | 60 |
Geophysics | 30 | 2 | 60 |
GATE Paper Pattern For Engineering Science (XE)
The GATE exam pattern 2024 for GATE XE (Engineering Sciences) consists of three sections- Section A (Entire Engineering Mathematics Syllabus) and General Aptitude 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.
Sections | Total Number of 1-Mark Questions | Total Number of 2 Mark Questions | Total Number of Questions | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
Section A (Engineering Sciences) | 7 | 4 | 11 | 15 |
Section B | 9+9 | 13+13 | 22+22=44 | 35+35= 70 |
Total | 30 | 70 | 65 | 100 |
GATE Paper Pattern For Humanities and Social Science (XH)
The GATE Humanities and Human Sciences 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 is provided below:
Sections | Total Number of 1-Mark Questions | Total Number of 2 Mark Questions | Total Number of Questions | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
B1* (Reasoning and Comprehension) | 5 | 10 | 15 | 15 |
C1-C6(Any one of these) | 20 | 20 | 40 | 60 |
Total | 30 | 70 | 65 | 100 |
GATE Paper Pattern For Life Science (XL)
The GATE Life Science paper is divided into three components. Candidates must attempt General Aptitude and Section P (Chemistry), which are compulsory while choosing two from sections Q-U.
- Biochemistry (XL-Q)
- Botany (XL-R)
- Microbiology (XL-S)
- Zoology (XL-T)
- Food Technology (XL-U)
Sections | Total Number of 1-Mark Questions | Total Number of 2 Mark Questions | Total Number of Questions | Total Marks |
General Aptitude | 5 | 5 | 10 | 15 |
Section P (Chemistry) | 5 | 10 | 15 | 15 |
Section Q-U | 10+10 | 10+10 | 20+20 | 30+30 |
Total | 30 | 70 | 65 | 100 |
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