MAT Dec 2014 was almost similar to MAT Dec 2013 as the format was exactly the same as that of last year’s. There was no change in marking scheme. The important thing was time management. One had to pick the easy questions and leave any questions which were difficult or time consuming.
There were 200 questions (5 Sections) and the time allotted was 150 minutes. The five sections were as follows:
| Section | Sections | No. of Questions |
| (A) | (B) | (C) |
| Section -1 | Language Comprehension | 40 |
| Section -2 | Intelligence & Critical Reasoning | 40 |
| Section -3 | Mathematical Skills | 40 |
| Section -4 | Data Analysis and Sufficiency | 40 |
| Section -5 | India and Global Environment | 40 |
| Total | 200 |
| Time Allotted | 2Hrs. |
| Total no. of questions | 200 |
| Marking Scheme | 1 mark per question |
| Sections | 5 |
| Number of choices | 4 |
| Negative Marking | 0.25 marks per question |
| Expected cut-offs* | 70+ marks out of 160 (Excluding GK) for 98+%ile |
| Area Tested | Description | No. of Question |
| Verbal | Vocabulary Based | 6 |
| Reading Comprehension | 20 | |
| Sentence Rearrangement | 3 | |
| Sentence Correction & Grammar | 3 | |
| Fill in the blanks | 4 | |
| Critical Reasoning | 4 | |
| Total | 40 |
Evaluation: Overall the section was easy to moderate. In the verbal section, there were five passages with four questions each. The ability of a student was put to test as the passages were from diverse areas. The passages were easy and most of the questions were direct but still the student should be adept at answering the questions correctly. Only one, out of five passages, was difficult. The intention of the author was to give as much information as possible to the readers. The language was easy to understand. The questions were easy and direct. There were two questions based on sentence completion. The questions were from easy to moderate level as the context of the question could be understood but the student should have a good vocabulary in order to answer these questions correctly. Four questions, based on five sentences Para- jumble, were easy. There were four easy to moderate questions based on capturing the essence of text. There were four grammar based questions, which were again easy. There were six vocabulary based questions in which first the given jumbled word was to be rearranged and then its antonym/synonym was to be picked up from the given options.
Comfortable Attempt: 22-25 questions in about 30-35 min.
Achievable Score: Around 16+ marks.
| Area Tested | Description | No. of Question |
| AR and LR | Series | 5 |
| Analogies | 4 | |
| Analytical Reasoning | 16 | |
| Calendar | 2 | |
| Verbal Reasoning | 10 | |
| Blood Relation | 3 | |
| Total | 40 |
Evaluation: Reasoning was of relatively easy level with very less time consuming questions. This section was a mixture of Analytical and Critical Reasoning. Only one block was tough and other blocks were easy. The attempts in the section should have been more in order to have a good overall percentile.
Comfortable Attempt: 26-28 questions in about 35-40 min.
Achievable Score: Around 20+ marks.
| Area Tested | Description | No. of Question |
| Quant | Percentage & Interest | 4 |
| P&C Probability | 4 | |
| Time & Work | 5 | |
| Geometry | 7 | |
| Number System | 7 | |
| Profit & loss | 3 | |
| Trigonometry | 3 | |
| Allegation & Mixture | 4 | |
| Time Speed & Distance | 6 | |
| Total | 40 |
Evaluation: The section was dominated by question on time and work, speed time distance, probability, geometry etc. This section was of relatively medium level with some time consuming questions which make them avoidable in time pressure. The other questions were moderate.
Comfortable Attempt: 22-25 questions in about 30-35 min
Achievable Score: Around 17+ marks.
| Area Tested | Description | No. of Question |
| DI & DS | Data Sufficiency | 5 |
| Data Caselette | 5 | |
| Line Graph | 5 | |
| Data Table | 5 | |
| Multiple Graph | 5 | |
| Pie Chart | 5 | |
| Data Comparison | 5 | |
| Total | 40 |
Evaluation: DI section was of moderate level with some time consuming questions, as they were calculation intensive which made them avoidable in time pressure. Data Sufficiency questions were moderate and should have been attempted carefully.
Comfortable Attempt: 15-20 questions in about 30-35 min.
Achievable Score: Around 12+ marks.
Evaluation: Most of the questions were based on current events and happenings. Anyone who is in regular touch with newspaper, magazines and internet would have found this section comfortable and familiar.
Comfortable Attempt: 12-15 questions in about 10-15 min.
Achievable Score: Around 8+ marks.
*Disclaimer:All the above given information is based on personal opinion of hitbullseye Expert faculty. Several factors have been considered before giving these cut-offs. However, it has nothing to do with original cut-offs.