NMAT 2016 in the 2:00 p.m. slot on 25th Oct ’16 was similar to what was expected. The paper was of moderate difficultly level.
An attempt of 80 questions or above 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. 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 restrictive sectional time constraints. An appropriate exam strategy would be helpful for students in this regard.
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 |
Moderate |
25+ |
2 |
Quantitative Skills |
48 |
|
Easy-Moderate |
|
|
Quant |
22 |
60 |
Easy |
30+ |
Data Sufficiency |
6 |
Easy â 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 of moderate difficulty. There were 2 four-sentence parajumbles and 2 five-sentence parajumbles. The five sentence parajumbles were of a moderate-difficult level. 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). The subject of the passage, its nature, and the type of questions asked were easy. But for a student to optimize his/her attempt, he/she should target the other question types first and then solve the passages in the last ten minutes. In this section, verbal was of a moderate difficulty level. There were a few difficult analogy and vocabulary questions. Overall, an attempt of 25+ questions was good. 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 |
4 |
Error Spotting |
4 |
FIBs (vocab) |
2 |
Synonyms |
2 |
Antonym |
2 |
Cloze Test |
4 (1 set of 4 questions) |
Grammar (preposition) |
2 |
Analogy |
4 |
Total |
32 |
Quantitative Skills
The Quantitative Aptitude section was an easy section compared to the other sections. It is advised that the students attempt this section first and get done with it early on in the paper. The section had a good number of questions from DS. The DS questions were from diverse topics such as Numbers, Geometry and Algebra. The DI questions were of a moderate-difficult level 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 |
Average |
1 |
Time, Speed & Distance |
1 |
Work & Time |
4 |
Number System |
4 |
Progression |
1 |
Quadratic and higher degree Equations |
2 |
Co-ordinate |
2 |
Geometry |
1 |
Mensuration (Perimeter and area) |
4 |
PnC |
2 |
DS |
6 |
DI |
16 |
Total |
48 |
Logical Reasoning
The Logical Reasoning section was of a moderate-difficult level. The first 10 questions were from verbal logic and reasoning and their difficulty level was easy-moderate. There were three Critical Reasoning questions which were of a moderate difficulty level. There were no syllogism questions in the exam. There were two LR sets of 4 questions each. Most of the questions were tricky and time consuming. Students need to maintain their composure and solve as many questions as they can. An attempt of 22-25 questions would have been a really good effort for this slot.
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Coding |
3 |
Blood Relation |
2 |
Critical Reasoning |
3 |
Strong and Weak Argument |
2 |
Statement Conclusion |
1 |
Course of Action |
1 |
FIJ |
1 |
Statement Assumption |
2 |
LR |
8 |
Input/output |
4 (1 set of 4 questions) |
Diagram Based (Find the missing number) |
5 |
Venn diagram |
2 |
Singlets |
6 |
Total |
40 |