These 7 last minute preparation tips will help you ace GATE 2021

GATE 2021: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Bombay) is all set to conduct the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) exam on February 6, 7, 13, 14. Qualifiers of the GATE exam can get admission into PG and doctorate courses in engineering/ technology viz ME/ MTech and PhD. Many PSU organisations also utilise GATE score for recruitment of technical workforce. With only few hours left before the exam, it is just about time to adopt certain last-minute preparation tips to secure place in the merit lists.

Before anything else, it must be noted that the syllabus exhibits significant change. This year, the national level exam is being conducted for 27 subjects instead of 25. The syllabus of the papers has been revised with the omission of some topics. As such, it is vital to adopt last-minute preparation strategies in line with the revised syllabus.

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An effective study method to implement before the exam is to identify the topics carrying a high weightage of marks in the GATE exam in the last few years. One must identify these topics and indulge in extensive revisions during the final hours before the exam. Furthermore, candidates can also refer to sample papers to practice such important topics before the exam.

The qualifiers in the previous exams recommend that aspirants do not attempt to start studying any new topic during the last few hours in a bid to cover the syllabus. On the contrary, they recommend leaving what has already been left. Thus, candidates should focus on revising extensively what they have already learned. The end result of such a strategy is indeed evident in the response sheet of previous qualifiers of the GATE exam.

The exam pattern exhibits multiple choice-type, multiple select-type and numerical value-type questions. Considering such a diverse variety of questions asked from the revised syllabus, mock tests become crucial during the last few minutes. IIT-Bombay has released mock tests for the exam which can be downloaded from gate.iitb.ac.in without the necessity of candidate login.

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Solving these mock tests can help candidates get acquainted with the latest exam pattern. However, as a more effective last-minute preparation strategy, one must solve a diverse variety of mock tests. Numerical answer type questions are not new to the GATE exam. Such questions have been consistently asked in the previous year exams. Needless to say, for solving numerical questions, two things are essential viz. a clear understanding of fundamental concepts and extensive practice.

For a more focused revision during the last few hours, aspirants can refer to the previous year question paper of the GATE exam. The solutions to such numerical questions asked in previous year exams can also be easily found in the answer keys of the corresponding year. We would also like to recommend that candidates refer to previously prepared short notes, flashcards, charts, rough work as much as possible to memorise important facts and figures for the engineering entrance.

With little time left, one must become extremely selective in terms of what to study during the final hours. One must be selective in choosing only the most important topics for the exam. Chalk out those chapters which constitute about 70 to 80 per cent of the paper and revise them extensively. Adopt a similar strategy for preparations of the general aptitude part, which carries 15 marks.