GATE 2023 Preparation Strategy for Mechanical Engineering
By : Sandhya S | Apr 25, 2022
Mechanical Engineering is one of the Engineering branches that most students primarily choose. The GATE Mechanical Engineering exam is considered to be the toughest one because there is an increase in the number of candidates registering every year and it has an expansive syllabus.
To excel the exam with a high score, you need to start your preparation early. Read the full article to know about preparation strategy, syllabus, important topics, and much more.
1. GATE Mechanical Exam Pattern
The GATE exam is conducted for 3 hours and has a total of 65 questions for 100 marks. Generally, the exam involves three sections.
- General Aptitude
- Engineering Mathematics
- Core Subject (Mechanical)
Under these sections, the question types include
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
- Numerical Answer Type Questions (NAT)
- Multiple Select Questions (MSQs)
If you choose wrong answer for the multiple-choice questions (MCQ), 1/3 and 2/3 mark will be deducted for 1-mark and 2-mark questions, respectively. MSQ & NAT questions will have no negative marking. GATE Mechanical exam is a computer-based test.
2. Understand the GATE Mechanical Syllabus
The crucial thing you need to know for attempting the GATE Mechanical Exam is to know the syllabus. The syllabus may seem tough, and it is applicable for all streams of GATE exams. So, understand the syllabus and prepare accordingly.
The GATE Mechanical Engineering Syllabus includes the following sections:
- Engineering Mathematics
- Applied Mechanics and Design
- Fluid Mechanics and Thermal Sciences
- Materials, Manufacturing, and Industrial Engineering
Click here to know the entire topics involved in this section in detail.
3. List of Important Topics
As Mechanical Engineering has vast concepts and requires more attention to detail, we have listed some of the important topics.
Although covering the entire syllabus is important, it is equally important to prepare and study the important topics first. You can also make a timetable that prioritizes the essential topics and covers the rest of the syllabus accordingly.
- Engineering Mechanics
- Design of Machine Elements
- Fluid Mechanics
- Theory of Machines
- Industrial Engineering
- Manufacturing Engineering
- Strength of Materials
- Thermal Science
- Thermodynamics
- Heat Transfer
- Vibrations
4. How to Prepare for the GATE ME Exam?
Let's concentrate on generic necessities first like exam pattern, syllabus, important topics, creating a plan, and more.
Make Use of Exam pattern, Syllabus, and Important Topics
From all the details stated above, you will get an idea of negative marking, important topics, and an accurate number of questions occurring in the exam. This helps you not only in preparing your exam but also in creating an incorporative strategy to crack the exam.
Create a Study Plan
With a basic understanding of the exam, create a study plan to complete the entire syllabus in a scheduled period. Doing so let's you allot plenty of time to revise the concepts thoroughly at the time of your exam.
Clear Your Doubts/queries
It is advisable to clear your doubts then and there as every topic is fundamental. Do not leave any topic behind because of your doubts. Instead clear them at instant and complete the rest of the portions. Make use of notes, study materials, and understand the concepts thoroughly without any doubts.
Management of Time
It is essential to manage the time and prepare for the exam accordingly. For example, if you have 2 months to prepare for the exam, you can take 3 days to complete a chapter. If you do that you need to prepare for 5 hours per day to cover the entire topic including the important ones in the chapter. With this continuous effort, you can complete all 16 chapters before the exam.
Question Paper and Mock tests
Once you have completed the chapter or entire syllabus, start preparing the previous years' question papers to give you a glimpse of questions asked repeatedly. Practicing mock tests and subject-wise practice tests will help you understand the difficulty level better and analyze the performance.
5. Recommended Books to Follow for ME Exam
Go to a library or a bookstore to refer to all these books and check whether they have been depicted in a simpler way through which you can understand better. There is no rule that one must stick to a specific book, you can refer to multiple books as one topic might be easier in one and not so easy on the other. You can also ask your seniors who aced the exam already for some guidance on what resources to choose.
- Machine Design by V.B. Bhandari.
- Engineering Mechanics by Bhavikatti
- Fluid Mechanics by R K Bansal
- Engineering Mechanics by Beer and Johnston.
- For the topic Heat and Mass Transfer refer the books by J P Hollman and R C Sachdeva.
- Industrial Engineering- Follow the authors O P Khanna, Buffa, and Sarin.
- Strength of Materials - Gere & Timoshenko.
- Engineering Thermodynamics by P.K. Nag.
- Theory of Machines by Ratan.
- Mechanical Vibration by Grover.
Conclusion
With these preparation strategies, one can choose with their own study schedule. Individuals can opt for self-study but if you are finding it difficult to study by yourself, you can choose our online educational platform VISHWA where our professionals make your learning process easy.
Are you aiming to get top scores in GATE Mechanical Exam? Sit for your GATE Mechanical exam confidently with VISHWA's online courses. Seek our expert's guidance now!
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