Marking Scheme for GATE

Get top class preparation for GATE right from your home: get questions, notes, tests, video lectures and more- for all subjects of GATE.

For 1 mark multiple choice questions, mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2 marks multiple choice questions, mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. However, for the linked answer question pair, where each question carries 2 marks, mark will be deducted for a wrong answer to the first question only. Negative marking will not be there for the wrong answer to the second question of the linked answer question pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is left unattempted, then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be examined. Negative marking is not there for the numerical answer type questions i.e. … Numerical answer type questions will appear only in the papers for which the exam is organised ONLINE only.

General Aptitude (GA) Questions

In every paper, GA questions will be of multiple choice and with a total of 15 marks. The GA section comprises 5 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 5 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 10 marks) .

Question Papers Other Than GG, XE and XL

Such papers would have 25 questions carrying one mark each (sub-total 25 marks) and 30 questions carrying two marks each (sub-total 60 marks) . Out of these, two pairs of questions would be general data questions and two pairs of questions would be linked answer questions. In case of the ONLINE papers, the question paper will consist of questions of multiple choice type and numerical answer type. In case of the multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices. For numerical answer type questions, each question will have a number as the answer and choices will not be given. The answer needs to be entered with the help of a mouse and a virtual keypad that will appear on the screen.

GG (Geology and Geophysics) Paper

Apart from the General Aptitude (GA) section, the GG question paper consists of two parts: Part A and Part B. Part A is general for all candidates. Part B contains two sections: Section 1 (Geology) and Section 2 (Geo-physics) . Candidates need to attempt questions in Part A and either Section 1 or Section 2 in Part B.

Part A consists of 25 multiple choice questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 25 marks & some of these may be numerical questions) . Each section in Part B (Section 1 and Section 2) consists of 30 multiple choice questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 60 marks and some of these may be numerical questions) . Two pairs of questions would be general data questions and two pairs of questions would be linked answer questions.

XE Paper (Engineering Sciences)

In case of XE paper, Engineering Mathematics section (Section A) is mandatory. This section contains 11 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 15 marks: 7 questions carrying 1-mark each (sub-total 7 marks) and 4 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 8 marks) . Some of the MCQs may be substituted by numerical questions.

Each of the other sections of the XE paper (Sections B through G) contains 22 questions carrying a total of 35 marks: 9 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 9 marks) and 13 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 26 marks) . Out of the 2 mark questions, 2 pairs are general data questions and 1 pair is linked answer questions. Some of the MCQs may be substituted by numerical questions.

XL Paper (Life Sciences)

In case of XL paper, Chemistry section (Section H) is mandatory. This section contains 15 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 25 marks: 5 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and 10 questions carrying 2-marks each (sub-total 20 marks) . Out of the 2-mark questions, 1 pair is general data questions, and 1 pair is linked answer questions. Some of the MCQs may be substituted by numerical questions.

Each of the other sections of the XL paper (Sections I through M) contains 20 multiple choice questions carrying a total of 30 marks: 10 questions carrying 1 mark each (sub-total 10 marks) and 10 questions carrying 2 marks each (sub-total 20 marks) . Some of the MCQs may be substituted by numerical questions.