Practice
NMAT — Using mock tests as a measurement
NMAT mocks serve a slightly different purpose from CAT mocks. There is no selection skill to train, because you should be attempting everything, and no guessing threshold to calibrate. What mocks build here is pace — the ability to move through a section at the rate it demands without accuracy collapsing — and the confidence that your chosen order works.
What to measure
- Questions reached per section — the primary constraint. If you are not finishing, pace is the problem.
- Blanks — always zero — no penalty applies; there is no reason for any.
- Accuracy under pace — moving faster only helps while accuracy holds.
- Whether your section order helped — try both and keep the one that produces the better overall result.
A mock routine for a pace-limited test
- Use the real section timings, every time Individually timed sections are the structure of this examination, and a mock without them measures something else entirely.
- Take it in your intended section order The order is your choice on the day, so it should be a rehearsed decision rather than an improvised one.
- Record questions reached per section The primary constraint. Accuracy on questions you did not get to is not a meaningful number.
- Check blanks — zero, always One blank means the final-thirty-seconds habit has not been built. It is the cheapest fix available in this preparation.
- Watch accuracy as pace rises Speed only helps while accuracy holds. The useful pace is the fastest one at which your accuracy is stable, and mocks are how you find it.
Between attempts, resist the temptation to prepare broadly again. The gap between NMAT attempts is short and its entire value lies in targeting whatever the last attempt exposed — usually one section, often one specific weakness within it. A candidate who spends the interval doing general practice arrives at the second attempt as the same candidate, which makes the second attempt a repeat measurement rather than an improvement.
Mocks here train pace, not selection
Unlike CAT, there is no meaningful decision about what to attempt, because you should be attempting everything. That removes selection judgement from the analysis and leaves two things to work on: how quickly you move, and how accurate you stay while moving. Analyse for those and ignore the frameworks imported from CAT preparation.
Practising a speed-oriented, sectionally timed test.| Observation | Interpretation | Action |
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| Sections unfinished | Pace rather than difficulty. | Practise at the paper’s own seconds-per-question, which is tighter than it looks. |
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| Accuracy fine, attempts low | Working carefully in a test that rewards volume. | Raise speed on the question types you already answer reliably. |
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| One section consistently weak | Sectional timing means it cannot be compensated. | Study time follows that section. |
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| Score improving then plateauing | Speed gains exhausted; accuracy now the constraint. | Return to error review by cause rather than taking more mocks. |
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| No plan for the attempt window | The retake structure not read. | Plan the window against the current rules before booking. |
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