The paper, except for the Quantitative Skills section, was more or less along expected lines. The QA section saw new type of questions last year. The difficulty levels of Logical Reasoning and Language Skills sections were more or less the same, but that of Quantitative Aptitude stands out.
Overall, one should have solved close to 75-80 questions (across the sections) in 120 minutes.
The pattern of the paper last year was as follows:
S. no |
Section |
No. of Questions |
Time (in Minutes) |
Difficulty Level |
Possible |
1 |
Language Skills |
32 |
22 |
Easy |
24 |
2 |
Quantitative Skills |
48 |
60 |
Moderate-Difficult |
25-28 |
3 |
Logical Reasoning |
40 |
38 |
Easy-Moderate |
22-24 |
|
Total |
120 |
120 |
|
71-76 |
Language Skills
There were two Reading Comprehension (RC) passages of 4 questions each. Remaining 24 questions were all independent. There were around 3 questions on Para Jumbles. Only RC and to an extent Para-jumble questions could be considered time consuming (relatively) in this section. RC passages were small and most of the questions based on them were factual in nature. In Para-jumble, it proved beneficial to look at the options before starting putting these sentences in a sequence as in most of the cases the options helped in finalizing the answer in a jiffy. There were about 3 questions each on Antonyms and Synonyms; these questions did not follow any sequence (e.g. one might get a question on Antonyms followed by two questions on Synonyms, followed by a question on Antonyms again) and hence one should be very careful in marking their answers. One must know for each of these questions whether one is looking for an Antonym or a Synonym. Again around 3-4 questions were on Prepositions. 3-4 questions each were based on Sentence Correction and Cloze Test.
There was just adequate time (22 minutes) to do these 32 questions. Doing RC in the last 2-3 minutes could have been injurious as one might just have finished reading the passage and realized that they do not have any time to mark the answers (despite knowing them). And, the independent questions should not have been missed at all. Keeping these things in mind, the order in which you attempted these questions became extremely important. This can be said to be the most scoring section in NMAT. One should have been able to solve (not merely attempt) at least 24 questions in this section.
Quantitative Skills
This section came as a big surprise. There were a good number of questions which were quite new to even a very seasoned test taker. These were from DS, Geometry, Number System, etc. It is primarily because of this section that it is recommended to take at least two servings of NMAT before CAT.
This section comprises questions on Quantitative Aptitude (QA), Data Interpretation (DI) and Data Sufficiency (DS). There were around 25-30 questions on QA, 8-12 questions on DI and 7-8 questions on DS. Someone who would have practiced a good number of DS questions before the actual test would not have found the topic difficult to deal with. Number system, Permutation and Combination, Algebra, Modern Math and Geometry dominated this section. Many complicated questions in this section could be done by just looking at the options (the people preparing the test have either put the options brainlessly or they want you to assert your smartness). Those who are yet to give the exam, it is recommended to practice DS questions for GMAT (available on MBA.com and other such sites) in order to prepare well for this section. Also, it is advisable to be very thorough with your concepts in Geometry. One might get some good questions on Number System as well here. One should have been able to solve around 25-28 questions here and the remaining questions could have been marked randomly.
Logical Reasoning
This section had questions on Verbal as well as Analytical Reasoning. Questions on Linear and Circular arrangement, Syllogism, Assumptions, Conclusions, Family Tree, Coding, Series, Direction Sense, Syllogism and Arrangements constituted this section. Some questions, in this section, had some fundamental errors which made it impossible to reach to a conclusion. Most of the questions (barring the erroneous ones) were doable. One could have easily solved some 22-24 questions in the given 38 minutes.