Exam Preparation Tips

Scoring tips

The following tips would certainly help you in scoring well in the exam:

Go through previous years’ question papers along with solutions, and analyse the subject pattern and focus on those subjects which have maximum weightage.

Books can further be divided into two categories: Books that deal with the fundamentals and focus on conceptual clarity. Here textbooks by reputed publishers are a must. Books that provide a great deal of difficult and time-consuming questions and are used essentially as practice material.

Do not rely on just one book for a topic; instead consult a couple of books for the same topic. Prepare notes after completing each chapter.

Practise the maximum number of questions possible on a given topic. This certainly strengthens your preparation.

Keep in mind that those topics which are not in GATE syllabus could be certainly left out.

Make a list of topics in which you think you are ‘weak’ and focus on them. Have all essential formulae on your fingertips. Try to see if there are shortcut methods for a particular problem.

Joining a coaching institute is beneficial as you would be exposed to a regular systematic study. Also, joining a peer group would make one more competitive. Online coaching classes/test series are beneficial too.

Theory preparation should be completed one month before the exam and then practise many number of times.

Keep oneself updated about any changes or developments in the GATE examination for the coming year.

How to tackle the paper

Start the paper with one-mark question (25 in number). Since these are easy to attempt, they will help in building confidence. Proceed then to two-marks questions from Common Data and Linked Answer Questions.

Attempt this part with caution. These add up to eight more questions in addition to the 25 attempted above. Then go to General Aptitude section of 10 questions. All these will add upto 43 questions attempted. All these should be done in a timeframe of 100-110 minutes.

Now we are left with 22 questions in the technical portion and we can allot 50 minutes to this comfortably. At the end, you must have 15-20 minutes for a quick revision of the answer sheet to ensure all is in order.

While attempting the paper, leave questions which you are not sure of. The most deciding factor is negative marking. Avoid making any guesses and try to eliminate choices by analysis and calculations.