Build a GATE-Style Paper: MCQ, MSQ and Numeric-Answer Questions Step by Step

Papers like GATE mix three kinds of question in one sitting, and each has its own marking rule. A generic quiz tool treats them all the same, so students practise on a paper that does not behave like the real one. This guide shows, step by step, how to build a paper with single-answer MCQs, multiple-select questions (MSQ) and numeric-answer questions in Turgor Exam Engine, with the right negative marking for each.

It assumes the plugin is installed. If not, start with the setup tutorial.

The pattern we will copy

GATE-style papers typically use these three types. Always check the official information brochure for the exam and year you are targeting, because patterns and marks change.

How the plugin marks each type

• Single choice: right if the student picks the one ticked answer.
• Multiple choice: right only if they tick exactly the ticked answers. There is no half credit in the free plugin, which matches an MSQ with no partial marks.
• Free answer: right if the answer matches any accepted answer. A range such as 6300..6400 accepts any number from 6300 to 6400.
• Deductions apply only while Negative marking is on in the quiz settings, and unanswered questions are never penalised.

Step 1: Create the quiz

1. Go to Quizzes → Add New and title it, for example GATE Mock 1.
2. In the Questions box, set the Time limit (minutes) for the whole paper.
3. Set a Retake limit if you want to cap attempts.
4. Tick Shuffle question order and Shuffle answer order so each student sees a different sequence.
5. Tick Negative marking. Leave Deduct % at the rate your MCQs use. The next steps override it where needed.

Step 2: Add the MCQs

1. Click Write a new question.
2. Set Type to Single choice.
3. Write one option per row and tick the single correct one.
4. Enter the Marks (for example 1 or 2).
5. Leave Negative marks blank so the question uses the quiz’s deduction rate.

The plugin takes a percentage of the question’s own marks off. For example, 25 gives a +4 / -1 paper. A third of the marks is about 33%. Check the exact fraction your target exam uses and enter it as the Deduct %.

Step 3: Add the MSQs with no deduction

1. Click Write a new question and set Type to Multiple choice.
2. Tick every correct option, however many there are.
3. Enter the Marks.
4. In Negative marks, type 0. A typed zero replaces the quiz’s rate for this question only, so a wrong MSQ costs nothing.

Step 4: Add the numeric-answer questions

1. Click Write a new question and set Type to Free answer.
2. In the answer row, write the range as low..high, for example 6300..6400, and tick it.
3. To accept more than one form, add another row for each accepted answer and tick it too. A student is right if they match any ticked row.
4. Enter the Marks, and set Negative marks to 0.

For a single exact value, just write the number. For a published range, always use the two-dot form so a correctly rounded answer is not marked wrong.

Step 5: Split the paper into sections

1. Save the quiz once so the Sections table appears.
2. Add a section, such as General Aptitude, then another, such as Core Subject. Update after each.
3. Use the section box on each question row to assign it, then update again.

Shuffling stays within a section, so a student never loses the structure of the paper. If you need a separate timer and cut-off for each section, that is what Exam Mode in Turgor Exam Engine Pro is for. See the CBT mock test website guide for that route.

Step 6: Check the marking before students see it

1. Tick Open to every signed-in student and publish. Or keep it private while testing.
2. In a private window, sign in as a test student.
3. Answer one MCQ wrongly, one MSQ partly right, one NAT inside the range and one outside it, and leave one blank.
4. Submit and compare each result with your expectation: the wrong MCQ deducts, the partly-right MSQ scores zero but does not deduct, the in-range NAT scores, the out-of-range NAT scores zero without deduction, and the blank costs nothing.

Fix any question marked cannot be marked first. It stops the entire quiz opening for students.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the zero. A blank Negative marks means “use the quiz rate”, not “no deduction”. Type 0 for MSQ and NAT.
• Using a dash or a comma in a range. Use two dots: 6300..6400.
• Ticking only some correct MSQ options. The student must tick exactly the ticked set.
• Using an old paper pattern. Check the current brochure, then set marks to match.

Sell it as a test series

Once you have one paper, copy the structure for the next. How to sell courses and mock tests covers turning a set of papers into a product. For importing whole papers from a spreadsheet instead of typing them in, see importing questions from Excel, Word or Google Sheets.