The GATE entrance examination is taken by thousands of students every year and the numbers keep increasing with each passing exam. All the students, who have already filled up their GATE 2018 application form, need to know the structure of the exam before starting their preparation.

The exam is tentatively scheduled for the month of February, and it will be conducted as a computer-based examination. This makes it really important to prepare yourself for the examination, by not just attempting mock tests, but also by understanding the format and structure of the exam.

Exam Type and Its Duration

The GATE exam is held for a duration of 3 hours and it is conducted as a single paper. The exam has a total of 65 questions that have up to a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper is a mix of both multiple choice questions and numerical kind of questions.

As mentioned earlier, the exam is conducted online, and students will get to see the questions on their computer screens. The students need to select the right answer from the options provided for the multiple choice questions and need to enter the answer for the numerical questions using the mouse and the virtual keyboard that is provided.

Students, who are taking the GATE exam, are also given blank rough sheets that they can put to use to for calculations and rough work. These sheets have to be returned after the exam is completed. Make sure you mention your registration ID and name on each rough sheet as it will checked by the examiners to find out how you arrived at your answer.

Once the 3-hour test window is completed, the screen of the computer goes off automatically and no last minute changes can be made or submitted. So, it is also important to make a note of the time when you start attempting the paper and periodically check how much time you have left to complete it. However, this doesn’t mean that you must rush through the paper or run yourself into panic mode. Deliberate for a minute on each question and answer it if you are confident. Remember, there is negative marking, so simply skip questions you are unsure of.

The Marks Distribution

As mentioned earlier, the GATE exam that is conducted for a time period of 3 hours and has a total of 65 questions that are multiple choice and numerical questions. Let us have a look at the marks distribution in detail.

  • The exam will have 10 questions that are based on General Aptitude and these carry a total of 15 marks.
  • The other 55 questions are from the syllabus. Each of these questions has 1 or 2 marks. For example, the questions from number 1 to 25 will have 1 mark each and the questions from 26 to 55 will have 2 marks each. A deduction of 1/3 mark for every wrong answer applies for the 1 mark questions and a deduction of 2/3 mark applies for 2 marks questions where wrong answers are provided.

Once the examination is complete and the marks are calculated, the score cards are sent to the students through mail to the address mentioned in their application forms. It is also important to note that only one score card is sent to the students and they cannot receive another copy of the same. So, it is important to provide the right zddress for correspondence while you are filling your GATE 2018 application form.

The marks of the GATE exam are decided by a committee, which also decides the qualifying marks for every paper. In case of any disputes, students can contact the committee or clear their doubts with the Courts and Tribunals in Kolkata.