GATE 2023 preparation tips for Civil Engineering (CE)

Shiksha shares some GATE 2023 preparation tips for the candidates appearing for Civil Engineering (CE) exam. These tips will help you score well and get a good rank, too.

Since a complete schedule of GATE 2023 is already announced and registration started online on August 30, 2022, only a few months are left for GATE 2023 preparation. Hence, every minute counts for the students preparing to appear for GATE 2023. Civil Engineering (CE) is one of the most popular branches of engineering among aspirants planning to pursue Masters's in Technology (MTech) through GATE 2023. CE, also one of the oldest engineering branches, draws the highest number of candidates every year for the GATE exam.

What makes CE so popular among aspirants appearing for GATE 2023 is that qualifying for this exam will ensure admission to premier engineering institutes and also open avenues for job openings at some of the leading public sector units (PSUs). However, to qualify for the exam, every candidate preparing for GATE 2023 Civil Engineering must have an effective plan for preparation. The success of any aspirant will also depend on how they orient and mould themselves to the demands of the test.

GATE 2023 exam schedule will be released by the conducting body. It is expected that the exam will be conducted in the second and third week of February next year. Registration for GATE 2023 will start in the second week of September 2021 and will last till the second week of October 2021. It is expected that around nine lakh students will participate in GATE 2023. This means the competition is high and the right preparation strategy will only help a candidate score a good rank. Here are some preparation tips that a candidate can follow to gain success in the exam.

Go through the syllabus carefully

Before starting preparation for the exam, it is a must for students to analyse the GATE 2023 Civil Engineering syllabus. It means that one need not complete the syllabus from the first topic to the last topic rather they need to prepare for the exam in a smarter way. Before flagging off their preparation, every candidate needs to find out whether there is any connection between different chapters, the weightage carried by the topics or sections, and also the difficulty level of each one of them. After analysing these things, students can have a more practical and effective preparation plan. For example, a chapter with heavy content but less important from the exam point of view can be given lesser priority than a chapter with lesser content but more weightage from exam point of view.

Know GATE 2023 exam pattern

It is important for every aspirant to be aware of the GATE 2023 exam pattern even before starting their preparation. It is so as the GATE exam has a mix of different types of questions, including one mark/two mark questions, Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT).

Key points of GATE 2023 exam pattern

• The question paper will be of three hours
• There will be a total of 65 questions with 100 marks
• Question types will be MCQs and NAT questions
• There will be negative marking for MCQs and not for NAT questions
• The question paper will have three parts – General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Subject-specific part

Prepare a study plan

For a good score in GATE 2023, every candidate must ensure that they prepare a long term study plan that includes regular revision, appearing in mock tests and test series, and also time for relaxation. However, the study plan should be actionable. Pushing efforts beyond a certain limit will only put unnecessary stress on a candidate which may hamper their studies and also have adverse effects during the exam. This means you must be realistic about how much time you will need to complete a topic. Also, see to it that the plan covers both short-term and long-term goals.

Follow good books

While the market is flooded with GATE preparation books on Civil Engineering it is not possible for a candidate to follow all of them. In such a scenario it is important for every candidate to be sure about which books they want to buy. The best strategy in this regard is to follow what your teachers suggest. Along with that aspirants can also go through the interviews of previous year toppers for having an idea of the books followed by them. Books having a lot of jargon and over the top explanations are not apt for GATE 2023 preparation as these might confuse a candidate.

Regular revision a must

Only study and no revision will not help a student in retaining what they have studied for the first time. As time will pass you will start forgetting the concepts and shortcut tricks for questions. So, while preparing a study plan, it is important to dedicate a whole day to the revision. Moreover, candidates must also prepare running notes while studying any topic for the first time. It will help them revise the topic quickly and remember any concept in case they forget. In addition to that, there should be different levels of revisions. For instance, topic-wise revision, section-wise revision, revision of syllabus covered so far and any other way as per the aspirant’s choice. There should not be much gap between first-time read and revision after that.

Solve previous years question papers

GATE Previous year question papers are important in a way that they help aspirants in understanding the subject. It means that a student can understand the level of questions asked in GATE, mark sections/topics which are important from the exam point of view and can understand the GATE 2023 exam pattern. Simultaneously, solving GATE previous question papers will edify what candidates have learnt, improve their problem-solving skills, and in finding problem areas that need more focus. Other than this, while solving a previous year question paper, if candidates put a timer on, it will make them learn time management very important component to succeed in the exam.

Take mock tests

A month or so from the exam, authorities will start the mock test of GATE, which will be a simulation of the actual exam. GATE mock tests are designed as per prescribed exam guidelines. Mock tests are important to understand the functionalities of the exam – be it the colour palette describing the status of questions (answered, unanswered, marked for review), navigation process, etc.