Practice does makes one perfect, but only if done in the right manner. The GATE (Graduate Aptitude test in Engineering) is conducted every year as a gateway to postgraduate courses at the Master’s and Doctoral level across the country.
As you all have already done your graduation in engineering, you might still be having your B.Tech books. And as GATE is just an extension of your engineering syllabus, you should practice as many questions from those books as possible.
But apart from books, solving practice papers and mock test papers are equally important. Books may pertain to particular chapters and questions from the content present in it but mock tests are a bunch compiled by experienced faculties, professors from reputed institutes, coaching institutes and from inputs by toppers. There are thousands of mock test papers which are available in the market as well as all over the internet.
One may evaluate his/her GATE preparedness by attempting these tests which cover the entire syllabus.
The exam is expected to take place from January 30 till February 7 next year. The scores obtained in GATE 2016 will be valid for a period of three years, from the date of announcement of results. GATE 2016 will be jointly administered by the IISc and seven IIT’s namely Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Roorkee, Madras, Kharagpur, Guwahati. The syllabi for GATE 2016 papers have been revised and differs from that of GATE 2015.
How can mock test papers help?
1. Firstly you may find a variety of important questions in these papers. These papers will also contain questions which have a possibility of appearing in the exam as they might have appeared in the previous year exams too. Attempting those should form an integral part of your preparation.
2. Though students start preparing for GATE months before the exam, most of the students are unaware of the importance of giving mock tests. Adequate practice plays a crucial role in earning good marks and satisfactory rank in GATE. Hence, mock tests become a significant part of your preparation. But one has to be very careful while selecting the website or consulting mock test paper books, as many of them are not genuine and contain wrong answers and information.
3. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses. You need to check whether you are prepared to handle changes in the pattern and different variety of questions. The mock test series reflects on preparation and guides you in recognising and working on your weak areas.
This year, the students are not allowed to carry a calculator to the exam center. If you are consuming more time in solving questions than required, it means that your efficiency in solving papers is not upto the mark, which too might act as a hurdle in clearing the exam.