MAT 2024 (December)

The examination was conducted smoothly across India. Though students reported a few minor technical glitches, the authorities promptly addressed them.

The following was the pattern of the examination

No. of Sections - 5
No. of questions - 150
No. of questions for each section - 30
Time - 120 minutes

Marking scheme- 1 mark for every right answer and 0.25 mark deducted for every wrong answer. Though these marks will be scaled and reported on the scale of 200 to 800 overall (Composite score).

The following is the snapshot of each of the sections

The Language Comprehension section, spanning 30 questions, was of easy-moderate difficulty. This section commenced with two reading comprehension passages (10 questions in total)—one about smartphones and internet usage, the other about the nutritional importance of eating Breakfast. Every passage had five questions, each straightforward and not inference-based. Most of the questions were easy as the answer options were verbatim the passages. Very few questions were of moderate difficulty. 

There were 20 questions to test the language skills of the students:

- Synonyms (three moderately difficult-difficult questions)

- Antonyms (three questions of moderate difficulty)

- Idioms/phrases (three questions of easy-moderate difficulty:)

- Fill in the blanks (three easy questions)

- Para jumbles (three questions of moderate difficulty)

- Para summary (two questions of moderate difficulty)

- Word substitution (three moderately difficult-difficult questions)

Overall, a well-prepared student could have attempted around 25 questions with good accuracy.

The questions in this section were from a variety of chapters. There was one set each based on comparisons and Distributions-based puzzles. These were pretty simple questions provided students had prepared similar questions. There were multiple questions based on critical reasoning topics. They included questions based on "cause and effect", "statements and conclusions"," statements and assumptions". These were of easy-moderate difficulty level. Apart from this, there were 2-3 questions based on coding decoding and linear arrangements. These too were doable in a very short span of time.

Overall a well-prepared student could have attempted around 25-28 questions.

Mathematical Skills

The questions were straightforward and of moderate difficulty level. Most of the questions were short and easy to read and solve. Students with good conceptual clarity would have managed this section comfortably. Most of the questions were from arithmetic mathematics and algebra. The questions based on time and work and time and distance were pretty easy and should have been attempted without fail. Same was the case with questions based on ratios , numbers. The questions based on SI & CI along with questions based on P & C can be moderate in difficulty level. 

Overall a well prepared student could have attempted around 20 to 22 questions.

The questions based on DS were easy and straightforward, students may have felt some of the DI questions to be time-consuming. There were also questions based on quantitative comparison. These were of easy-moderate difficulty level. It would have been advisable for students to attempt DS along with Quantitative comparison questions for sure, they could have scanned through the DI questions and attempted the ones which were less time consuming. The DI questions were based on bar graph, pie chart and line graph.

Overall a well prepared student could have attempted around 15-20 questions

Economic & Business Environment

An average student would have found this section tough to manage. Only those students who have been reading the business section of newspapers on a regular basis would have been able to secure high marks here. The questions were based on Government corporate policy, business related current affairs, Banking related current affairs, apart from these few questions tested students' understanding of Business terminology.

Overall 10 attempts can be considered to be good in this section.

Conclusion- Overall around 95-105 attempts with good accuracy can be considered to be pretty good performance.