GATE Exam Pattern 2020: Along with the GATE 2020 brochure, the officials of IIT Delhi have released the GATE 2020 Paper Pattern. GATE Exam Pattern 2020 consists of all important information, such as a total number of questions, the number of sections, types of questions asked, and marking scheme of the exam. So, candidates planning to appear for GATE 2020 exam must be aware of GATE 2020 Exam Pattern. Having an idea about the GATE exam pattern will help candidates in their preparation as it will help them formulate the best strategy required for taking the exam successfully.
GATE 2020 will be conducted for 25 papers and candidates must choose any one of these papers. GATE will be conducted in online mode. The duration of the GATE exam is 3 hours and the maximum marks are 100. In this article, we will give detailed information about GATE Exam Pattern 2020 to help you with your preparation. Read on to find more about GATE 2020 Paper Pattern.
About GATE – GATE score facilitates admissions Post Graduate Programmes such as ME, M.Tech, MS, direct PhD in institutes like IIT and IISc along with financial assistance offered by MHRD. Scores from GATE are also accepted by PSUs of the Indian government.
CHECK OUT DETAILED GATE 2020 SYLLABUS HERE
GATE Exam Pattern 2020
The highlights of the GATE 2020 exam pattern is tabulated below:
| Mode of Exam | Online (Computer-based mode) |
| Sections | Three |
| Time Duration | 3 hours |
| Total Questions | 65 |
| Question type | MCQ and NAT (Numerical Answer Type) |
| Negative Marking | Only for MCQ’s: 1/3rd for 1-mark questions, 2/3rd for 2 marks questions |
| Total Marks | 100 |
Note:
- a. General Aptitude acts as a compulsory section for all papers and it carries 15% weightage of the total marks.
- b. A scribble pad will be provided to the test takers for rough work.
- c. A virtual calculator will be provided to candidates for calculation.
GATE Exam Pattern 2019: GATE Paper Codes
GATE 2020 exam will be conducted for 25 papers. The paper names and paper codes are tabulated below. A candidate can appear for any one of the following papers.
| GATE Paper | Code | GATE Paper | Code |
| Aerospace Engineering | AE | Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Agricultural Engineering | AG | Mathematics | MA |
| Architecture and Planning | AR | Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Bio-medical Engineering | BM | Mining Engineering | MN |
| Biotechnology | BT | Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Civil Engineering | CE | Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH | Physics | PH |
| Computer Science and Information Technology | CS | Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Chemistry | CY | Statistics | ST |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC | Textile Engineering and Fibre Science | TF |
| Electrical Engineering | EE | Engineering Sciences | XE* |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY | Life Sciences | XL** |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG |
The XE* & XL** paper codes are of general nature. The list of subjects available under XE and XL are tabulated below:
| *XE Paper Sections | Code | **XL Paper Sections | Code |
| Engineering Mathematics(Compulsory) | A | Chemistry (Compulsory) | P |
| Any two optional sections | Any two optional sections | ||
| Fluid Mechanics | B | Biochemistry | Q |
| Materials Science | C | Botany | R |
| Solid Mechanics | D | Microbiology | S |
| Thermodynamics | E | Zoology | T |
| Polymer Science and Engineering | F | Food Technology | U |
| Food Technology | G | ||
| Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences | H |
Note:
- For paper code XE, “Engineering Mathematics” acts as a compulsory section
- For paper code XL, “Chemistry” acts as a compulsory section.
- Under XL, candidates can select any two of the subjects as optional from code Q to U.
- In case of XE, candidates can select any two subjects as optional from code B to H.
GATE Exam Pattern 2020: GATE Question Type
The GATE 2020 question paper consists of two types of questions and they are listed below:
- Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs): For every question, 4 options will be there out which one is correct.
- Numerical Answer Type :
- a. All the answers to these questions will be real numbers where the candidate must enter the answer with the help of virtual keyboard.
- b. No choices will be provided for this type of questions.
- c. No negative marking will be there for NAT questions.
GATE Exam Pattern 2020 For Various Paper Codes
The GATE 2020 exam pattern for various paper codes are tabulated below:
|
Paper Code |
Exam Pattern |
| CE, CS, EC, AE, AG, BT, CH, ME, MN, MT, EE, IN, TF, XE, PE, ST and PI |
|
| AR, CY, GG, EY, XL, PH and MA |
|
GATE Exam Pattern 2020: GATE Marking Scheme
The GATE 2020 Marking scheme will vary from one code to another. The GATE marking scheme is tabulated below:
|
Paper Code |
General Aptitude Marks | Subject Marks |
Total Marks |
| CS, CY, EC, EE, CE, CH, AR, AE, AG, EY, BT, GG, IN, ME, MA, PH, PI, TF, MN, MT, PE, ST | 15 | 85 | 100 |
| XE (Section A +
any two sections) |
15 | 15+2*35 | 100 |
| XL (Section P +
any two sections) |
15 | 25+2*30 | 100 |
Note:
- The paper codes AE, AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN ME, MN, MT, PE, PI, TF and XE will have Engineering Mathematics (15%) & General Aptitude (15%) as compulsory sections. The rest of the sections will be based on the subject selected by the candidate.
- The paper codes AR, CY, EY, GG, MA, PH, ST and XL will have only 2 sections – 15% will be based on General Aptitude and the remaining 85% of the question paper will based on the subject which candidate has selected.
- For 2 mark question, 2/3rd marks will be deducted for incorrect answer.
- For 1 mark question, 1/3rd marks will be deducted for incorrect answer.
GATE Exam Pattern For All Papers
GATE Exam Pattern For General Aptitude
- General Aptitude acts as a compulsory section in all GATE papers.
- 15 % weightage of total marks will be given to General Aptitude section.
- In this section, candidates will be examined based on their language and assessment skills.
- The detailed GATE exam pattern for General Aptitude is tabulated below:
Question Type
Total Questions Total Marks
1- Mark questions 5 questions 5 marks 2- Mark questions 5 questions 10 marks Total 10 Questions 15 marks
GATE 2020 Exam Pattern For All Papers Except GG, XE, XL
- For all the papers except for the paper codes GG, XE, XL, the questions will be MCQs and numerical answer type in nature.
- There will be a total of 55 questions out of which 25 questions will be of 1 mark and 30 questions will be of 2 marks each.
GATE Exam Pattern For GG
- Geology and Geophysics paper consists of two parts. Part A consists of Mulitple Choice Questions and Part B is further divided into 2 sections i.e., Section 1 – Geology and Section 2 – Geophysics.
- Part A consists of 25 questions each carrying 1 mark.
- Part B consists of 30 questions each carrying 2 marks.
GATE Exam Pattern For Engineering Sciences (XE)
- There will be a total of 33 questions.
- Engineering Mathematics (Section A) acts as a compulsory subject.
- A total of 11 questions will be asked in Engineering Mathematics.
- Now coming to the Section B, candidates can select any two subjects as optional from the paper code B to H.
- The detailed GATE Exam Pattern for paper code XE is tabulated below:
|
Section |
Total Questions |
Total Marks |
| Section A (Compulsory) | 7 (1-mark question) | 7 |
| 4 (2-mark question) | 8 | |
| Section B to H (Any two)
|
9 (1-mark question) in each of the two sections | 18 |
| 13 (2-mark question) in each of the two sections | 52 | |
| Total ( 2 Sections) | 55 Questions | 85 marks |
Note – General Aptitude section of total 15 marks should also be attempted along with the above sections.
GATE Exam Pattern For Life Sciences (XL)
- General Aptitude section of total 15 should be attempted.
- Chemistry acts as a compulsory subject in section A.
- Now in Section B, aspirants can choose any 2 optional subjects from the paper code Q to U.
- The detailed GATE Life Sciences exam pattern is tabulated below:
|
Section |
Total Questions |
Total Marks |
| P or Chemistry Section | 5 (1-mark each) | 5 |
| 10 (2-marks each) | 20 | |
| Sections Q to U (Any two) | 10 (1-mark each) in each section | 20 |
| 10(2-marks each) in each section | 40 |
GATE 2020 Exam Pattern – Design Of Questions
The GATE 2020 design of questions is picturized below:
Download GATE Previous Year Papers Here
GATE Exam Pattern 2020 – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding GATE Exam Pattern 2020 are as under:
Q1. Is GATE conducted offline as well?
A: No, GATE is conducted only in the online mode.
Q2. What kind of questions are asked in GATE?
A: There are two types of questions asked in GATE – 1) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), and 2) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.
Q3. Is there any penalty for wrong answers in GATE?
A: Yes, for 1-marks questions, the penalty is 1/3 mark; for 2-marks questions, the penalty is 2/3 marks. However, there is no negative marking for wrong answers of NAT questions.
We hope that this detailed article on GATE exam pattern 2020 helps you plan your preparation. If you have any query regarding GATE 2020, drop a comment and we will get back to you.
Embibe wishes you all the best for your exam.
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