The GATE exam pattern and marking scheme

The pattern, in one paragraph

GATE 2027 is a three-hour Computer Based Test, held in English, across 30 test papers. Every paper has 65 questions carrying 100 marks: 10 General Aptitude questions worth 15 marks, and 55 subject questions worth the remaining 85. Every question carries either 1 mark or 2 marks. Questions come in three types — MCQ, MSQ and NAT — and only one of those three, the MCQ, can take marks away from you for a wrong answer. All calculation must be done on the on-screen virtual scientific calculator.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 2, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 4, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 22, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026

The three question types side by side

Only the MCQ can take marks off you

The deduction is proportional to the question. For a 1-mark MCQ, one-third of a mark is deducted for a wrong answer; for a 2-mark MCQ, two-thirds is deducted. MSQ and NAT questions carry no negative marking at all. Sitting alongside that rule in the same table is a shorter one: there is no partial marking for any question. The two do different jobs — the deduction rule fixes what a wrong MCQ costs, and the no-partial-marking rule fixes that an answer which is only partly right earns nothing at all.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 4, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026

What a guess is worth

The one-third figure is not arbitrary. On a four-option MCQ, a blind guess is right one time in four and wrong three times in four, so the average outcome is (1/4 × 1) − (3/4 × 1/3) = 0 marks on a 1-mark MCQ, and (1/4 × 2) − (3/4 × 2/3) = 0 marks on a 2-mark one. The penalty is calibrated so that guessing at random is, on average, worth nothing — neither a trap nor a free lunch. The table below extends that arithmetic to the case where you can rule some options out. It is IAE's arithmetic, worked from the deduction rule the brochure prints; it is not an official figure, and an average across many questions says nothing about what happens on any single one.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 4, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 22, as on 15 September 2026

Worked example: the average value of one MCQ attempt

Two things that follow from it

First, eliminating even one option turns an MCQ guess from break-even into a positive bet, which is why partial elimination is worth the seconds it costs. Second, wrong MCQs add up: at 1/3 and 2/3 of a mark, twelve wrong 1-mark MCQs cost four marks and six wrong 2-mark MCQs cost the same four (this is our arithmetic from the printed deduction rule, not a figure the brochure states). How much is at risk on your paper is not knowable in advance, because the brochure does not publish how the 55 subject questions divide between MCQ, MSQ and NAT. Any source that gives you a precise type-wise breakdown for your paper is not reading it from the brochure.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 22, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026

"No negative marking" does not mean "easy"

Source: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026

NAT questions: nothing to lose by answering

A NAT answer is a signed real number keyed in on the virtual numeric keypad; the computer keyboard is disabled and no options are shown. The answer may be an integer such as 10 or −10, or a decimal to however many places the question itself specifies, and the brochure advises rounding off only at the end of the calculation and not at intermediate stages. Because a wrong NAT scores zero and a blank NAT also scores zero, there is no arithmetic case for leaving one empty. The same holds for MSQs. The only question type where leaving it blank can beat attempting it is the MCQ, and only when you can rule nothing out.

Source: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026

Where the 100 marks sit, and how that differs by paper

General Aptitude is 15 marks in every one of the 30 papers, and it is always 10 questions — 5 carrying 1 mark and 5 carrying 2 marks. The remaining 85 marks are the subject component, but the brochure describes those 85 differently depending on the paper. In AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE and PI, the subject marks include 13 marks of Engineering Mathematics, which is paper-specific. In AR, CY, DA, EY, GE, GG, MA, PH, RA, ST, XH and XL, the whole 85 is the subject component with no separately stated Engineering Mathematics allocation. AR, GE, GG, RA, XE, XH and XL split their 85 further into common and optional sections, which the other papers do not.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 24, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 26, as on 15 September 2026

The split for the seven papers taught at IAE

How many questions carry 1 mark and how many carry 2

The brochure prints the 1-mark/2-mark split for General Aptitude, and again for each of the seven papers that divide their 85 into common and optional parts. For an ordinary single-subject paper it prints only the totals: 65 questions and 100 marks, with General Aptitude fixed at 10 questions and 15 marks. Because every question carries either 1 or 2 marks, the subject component of such a paper resolves to 25 one-mark questions and 30 two-mark questions — 55 questions, 85 marks. That last line is IAE's arithmetic from the printed totals, not a figure the brochure itself states. It is also as far as the arithmetic goes: nothing in the brochure lets you work out how many of those 55 are MCQs, so nothing lets you work out the maximum you could lose to negative marking.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 4, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 23, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 24, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 25, as on 15 September 2026

What the pattern means inside the hall

• Three hours, and you sit all of them: candidates are not permitted to leave the examination hall before the scheduled end.
• Only the on-screen virtual scientific calculator may be used. Personal calculators, mobile phones, smart or analog watches, books, loose sheets and data handbooks are prohibited, and being found in possession of one is enough for disqualification whether or not it was used.
• Scribble pads are provided for rough work, one at a time — the first must be returned to the invigilator before a second is issued, and all of them returned before you leave.
• You can log in and start reading the instructions 20 minutes before the start, and you will not be allowed to log in more than 15 minutes after it.
• PwD candidates are eligible for compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour, taking the paper to a maximum of four hours, with additional documents to be submitted.

Sources: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 2, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 4, as on 15 September 2026; GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 22, as on 15 September 2026

One thing to check before you build a plan on this

The pattern is the stable half. The syllabus is not: the brochure states that the syllabus of GATE 2027 test papers has been revised and advises candidates to check it. An attempt strategy built on a 2026 topic list can have you rationing time across sections that no longer describe your paper. The official 2027 syllabus PDFs and our paper-by-paper comparison of what changed are linked below, along with the application checklist that covers eligibility, dates and fees — none of which this post touches.

Source: GATE 2027 Information Brochure, p. 2, as on 15 September 2026