GATE Exam Pattern: A Detailed Analysis
GATE 2023 registration via online application commenced on 30th August 2022, which indicates that now is the time to gear up with full-fledged GATE exam preparation. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exam is one of the most challenging exams in the field of engineering. Therefore, if you aspire to pursue M.Tech from the country’s premier institutes such as the IITs and NITs, or take up government jobs in the top PSUs present across the country, you must put in your best effort to excel in this exam. If you are new to this entrance exam’s preparation or want to realign your exam preparation on the right track, then you must learn and understand the GATE 2023 exam pattern properly to secure the top scores in this exam.
Here is the GATE 2023 exam pattern that the organizing committee, i.e., the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) has released. The GATE aspirants must keep a note of the particulars and details associated with the GATE exam pattern during the GATE exam preparation journey:
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
| Sections |
General Aptitude (GA) Candidate’s Selected Subjects |
| Types of Questions |
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) Numerical Answer Type Questions (NAT) Questions (optional) |
| Abilities that these questions test in the GATE 2023 exam | Recall, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, and Synthesis |
| Distribution of marks of all papers except papers such as AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST, XH, and XL. | General Aptitude = 15 marks; Engineering Mathematics = 13 marks (in the respective subject papers); Subject marks = 72 marks; Total marks = 100 marks (Note: XE includes Engineering Mathematics – section XE-A of 15 marks) |
| Distribution of Marks in papers AR, CY, EY, XH, XL, GG, MA, PH, and ST. | General Aptitude = 15 marks and Subject related questions = 85 marks; Total marks = 100 marks |
Therefore, GATE aspirants must keep a check on the GATE Question Paper pattern to prepare themselves expertly. Another important aspect of the GATE 2023 exam pattern is the detailed marks distribution of this competitive exam. Aspirants can find the marks distribution related to the GATE 2023 exam pattern for CSE, GATE exam pattern for mechanical engineering, and GATE exam pattern for civil engineering with other engineering streams below. GATE aspirants must prioritize the following marks distribution according to the IIT Kanpur GATE paper pattern to prepare for the exam in the best possible manner:
| Paper Code | General Aptitude (GA) Marks | Subject marks | Total marks | Total Time (Minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AE, AG, BM, TF, BT, CE, CH, CS, CY, EC, EE, ES, EY, IN, ST, MA, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PH | 15 | 85 | 100 | 180 |
| AR [Part A + Part B1 or B2 (B1: Architecture or B2: Planning] | 15 | 60+25 | 100 | 180 |
| GE (Part A + Part B1 or B2 (B1 – Surveying and Mapping or B2 – Image Processing and Analysis)] B1 or B2 can be selected during the exam. | 15 | 55+30 | 100 | 180 |
| GG [Part A + Part B] (Section 1: Geology or Section 2: Geophysics] | 15 | 25+60 | 100 | 180 |
| XE (Section A + Any two sections); Candidates can select these two sections in the exam. | 15 | 15+(2*35) | 100 | 180 |
| XH (Section B1 + Any one section) | 15 | 25+60 | 100 | 180 |
| XL (Section P + Any two sections); Selections can be selected during the exam. | 15 | 25+(2*30) | 100 | 180 |
This indicates that the GATE exam pattern for mechanical engineering comprises the General Aptitude paper of 15 marks with the mechanical engineering (technical subject) for 85 marks. This leads to the total marks of this respective engineering stream in the GATE 2023 exam to 100 marks. Similarly, both the GATE exam pattern for civil engineering and the GATE exam pattern for CSE have the marks weightage of 15 and 85 marks for the General Aptitude and technical subjects respectively. Therefore, the entire GATE exam is for 100 marks.
The marks distribution of the technical paper in the different GATE papers varies from one another, but the marks distribution of the General Aptitude (GA) is the same for each of the papers. In addition, the total marks of the paper remain the same, i.e., 100 marks for each paper. Along with this, the duration of the GATE exam is 180 minutes (3 hours).
In addition, GATE aspirants preparing for the GATE 2023 exam must keep a note that they can prepare and attempt one or up to two papers according to the paper combination published on the official site. One must understand that the combination of the two papers depends on the infrastructure availability and respective schedule. The two papers combination that the organizing committee has permitted is as follows:
| Code of the First (Primary) Paper | Codes of Papers allowed as the second paper | Code of the First (Primary) Paper | Codes of Papers allowed as the second paper |
|---|---|---|---|
| AE | CE, ME, XE | GG | GE |
| AG | CE | IN | BM, EC, EE, ME |
| AR | CE, GE | MA | CS, PH, ST |
| BM | BT, IN | ME | AE, IN, NM, PI, XE |
| BT | BM, XL | MT | XE |
| CE | AE, AG, AR, ES, GE, NM, XE | NM | CE, ME |
| CH | ES, PE, XE | PE | CH |
| CS | EC, GE, MA, PH, ST | PH | CS, EC, EE, MA, XE |
| CY | XE, XL | PI | ME, XE |
| EC | CS, EE, IN, PH | ST | CS, MA, XH |
| EE | EC, IN, PH | XE | AE, CE, CH, CY, ME, MT, PH, PI |
| ES | CE, CH, GE | XH | ST |
| EY | XL | XL | BT, CY, EY |
| GE | AR, CE, CS, ES, GG |
The organizing committee of the GATE 2023 exam, i.e., the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur) has set a particular list of paper codes for the GATE 2023 exam pattern. To understand the GATE 2023 exam pattern in a better way, here is the list of paper codes:
| GATE Paper | Code |
|---|---|
| Aerospace Engineering | AE |
| Agricultural Engineering | AG |
| Architecture and Planning | AR |
| Biomedical Engineering | BM |
| Biotechnology | BT |
| Civil Engineering | CE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH |
| Computer Science and Information Technology | CS |
| Chemistry | CY |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC |
| Electrical Engineering | EE |
| Environmental Science & Engineering | ES |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY |
| Geomatics Engineering | GE |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG |
| Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Mathematics | MA |
| Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Mining Engineering | MN |
| Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | NM |
| Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Physics | PH |
| Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Statistics | ST |
| Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | TF |
| Engineering Sciences | XE |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | XH |
| Life Sciences | XL |
Therefore, the GATE 2023 exam pattern is a crucial aspect of the GATE papers listed above. As a GATE aspirant, you must keep a check on the exam pattern with other aspects associated with this competitive exam if you want to excel in this highly competitive exam.
FAQs:
1. What is the examination mode of the GATE 2023 exam?
The organizing committee of the GATE 2023 exam is in online mode.
2. What is the duration of the GATE 2023 exam?
The total duration of the GATE 2023 exam is 3 hours. Note: The total duration of the GATE 2023 exam for the PwD candidates is 4 hours. (These candidates get 20 minutes of compensatory time for every one hour of the competitive examination, which gives them an extra one hour with the usual exam duration.)
3. What is the total number of papers included in the GATE 2023 exam?
The total number of papers included in the GATE 2023 exam is 29.
4. What is the total number of questions present in the GATE 2023 exam?
The total number of questions present in the GATE 2023 exam is 65. The division of these questions is as follows:
- General Aptitude (GA): 10 questions
- Subject-oriented questions: 55 questions
5. What is the marking scheme of the GATE 2023 exam?
The marking scheme of the questions included in the GATE 2023 exam is 1 mark and 2 marks depending on the type of questions and part of the respective exam paper.
6. Is there a negative marking in the GATE 2023 exam?
Yes. There is a negative marking in the GATE 2023 exam for the respective wrong answers. If the candidate attempts a wrong answer for a 1-mark question, then there will be a deduction of 1/3 mark for every wrong answer. In case the candidate attempts a wrong answer in case of a question that is of 2 marks, then the negative marking for the respective question will be 2/3 marks. Therefore, GATE aspirants must keep a check on the negative marking aspect of the GATE 2023 exam to avoid losing marks in the final exam.
Thus, this completes the analysis of the different aspects associated with the GATE 2023 exam pattern.
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Hope this blog post has simplified the understanding of the GATE 2023 exam pattern that plays a key role in the GATE exam preparation strategy.
Good luck with your GATE 2023 exam preparation!
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Now that you have read and understood the GATE 2023 Exam Pattern, it’s time to know about the GATE 2023 Syllabus: A detailed analysis. Read the syllabus and kickstart your GATE 2023 exam preparation in the best way.
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