NMAT 2017 in the 11:30am slot on 12th Oct ’16 was just as it was expected. The paper was of moderate level of difficulty. Aspirants must not forget to carry a photocopy of their primary ID proof along with them. There were no technical glitches throughout the exam.
An attempt in excess of 80 questions in 120 minutes will be considered as a good attempt. The remaining questions should have been calculated attempts (educated guesses) since there was no negative marking scheme involved. However, a solid strategy was the need of the hour. NMAT, being an exam of speed, yet again highlights the importance of a good reading speed. Anyone with a weak reading speed would have faced a tough challenge due to the strict sectional time constraints.
The pattern of the paper was as follows:
S. no |
Section |
No. of Questions |
Time (in Minutes) |
Difficulty Level |
Possible |
1 |
Language Skills |
32 |
22 |
Easy - Moderate |
25+ |
2 |
Quantitative Skills |
48 |
|
Easy |
|
|
Quant |
22 |
60 |
Easy |
30+ |
Data Sufficiency |
6 |
Easy - Moderate |
|||
Data Interpretation |
20 |
Moderate - Difficult |
|||
3 |
Logical Reasoning |
40 |
38 |
Moderate - Difficult |
20+ |
|
Total |
120 |
120 |
Moderate |
80+ |
Language Skills
The section on the whole was easy to moderate in terms of difficulty however certain questions of Critical Reasoning had close options which could have posed a few problems. Hence, there is the possibility of a student wasting precious minutes on a few such questions. Then there were two RC passages (four questions each). A student should first solve all the verbal questions and them should be looking as solving the RC in the last 10 minutes or so. In this section, verbal was more scoring and easier to deal with. Overall, an attempt of 25+ questions was realistic. The other questions must be marked with after making an educated guess.
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Reading Comprehension Passages |
8 (2 passages of 4 questions each) |
Para Jumble |
5 |
Error Spotting |
4 |
FIBs |
6 |
Synonyms |
3 |
Antonym |
2 |
Cloze Test |
4 (1 set of 4 questions) |
Total |
32 |
Quantitative Skills
The Quantitative Aptitude section was an easy section compared to the other sections. The section had a good number of questions from Numbers. The DS questions were from diverse topics such as Numbers, Geometry and Algebra. The DI questions were a little difficult and required some time for the aspirant to comprehend them.
The best strategy in this section would have been to maximize the score from Quant and then look for some easy questions in DI. A well prepared student could have easily attempted 30+ questions in this section.
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Profit & Loss |
2 |
Percentages |
2 |
Ratio & Mixture, Average |
3 |
Time, Speed & Distance |
1 |
Work & Time |
1 |
Number System |
5 |
Progression |
1 |
Quadratic and higher degree Equations |
1 |
Co-ordinate |
1 |
Geometry |
1 |
Mensuration |
2 |
PnC, Probability |
2 |
DS |
6 |
DI |
20 |
Total |
48 |
Logical Reasoning
The Logical Reasoning section was of moderate-difficult in nature and was a paint-point of the entire paper. There were four Critical Reasoning questions. There were four Critical Reasoning questions.
There were two LR sets of 4 questions each. Most of the questions were tricky and time consuming. It is advised that the students attempt this section first and get done with it early on in the paper. Students need to maintain their composure and solve as many questions as they can. An attempt of 20+ questions would have been a really good effort for this slot.
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Coding |
4 |
Blood Relation |
4 |
Critical Reasoning |
4 |
Strong and Weak Argument |
1 |
Statement Conclusion |
3 |
Course of Action |
2 |
LR |
8 |
Input/output |
4 (1 set of 4 questions) |
Diagram Based (Find the missing number) |
4 |
Mathematical Puzzles |
2 |
Singlets |
4 |
Total |
40 |