The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination that primarily tests the comprehensive understanding of various undergraduate subjects in engineering and science. GATE is conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) on behalf of the National Coordination Board – GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD),Government of India.
Pattern of Question Papers
In the papers bearing the codes AE, AG, 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 70% percentage of the total marks is devoted to the subject of the paper.
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 are in General Aptitude (GA).
In the papers bearing the codes AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH 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.
GATE 2016 would contain questions of two different types in various papers:
(i) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all 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 mark the correct answer(s).
(ii) Numerical Answer Questions of 1 or 2 marks each in all papers and sections. For these questions the answer is a real number, to be entered by the candidate using the virtual keypad. No choices will be shown for this type of questions.
Design of Questions
The questions in a paper may be designed to test the following abilities:
(i) Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline of the paper. The candidate is expected to be able to obtain the answer either from his/her memory of the subject or at most from a one-line computation.
(ii) Comprehension: These questions will test the candidate’s understanding of the basics of his/her field, by requiring him/her to draw simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.
(iii) Application: In these questions, the candidate is expected to apply his/her knowledge either through computation or by logical reasoning.
(iv) 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. Questions in this category could, for example, involve candidates in recognizing unstated assumptions, or separating useful information from irrelevant information.
Marking Scheme
For 1-mark multiple-choice questions, 1/3 marks will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-marks multiple-choice questions, 2/3 marks will be deducted for a wrong answer. There is no negative marking for numerical answer type questions.
General Aptitude (GA) Questions
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 2marks each (sub-total 10 marks).
Negative Marking for Wrong Answers
For a wrong answer chosen for the multiple choice questions, there would be negative marking. For 1-mark multiple choice questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-mark multiple choice questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. However, there is no negative marking for a wrong answer in numerical answer type questions.
