November Begins with a Reality Check

November has officially begun, and so has the next phase of my GATE CSE 2027 preparation.

After a hectic but productive October, during which I completed four subjects, I had prepared a challenging schedule for November. The focus now shifts towards revision, practice tests, PYQs and identifying the gaps in my preparation.

Day 50 was the first day of that schedule. And it started with a combination of Discrete Mathematics revision and my first C Programming topic test.

Revisiting Discrete Mathematics

I started the day by revising previously covered topics in Discrete Mathematics.

The topics included:

• Propositional Logic
• Logical Translations
• Set Theory
• Partial Order Relations
• Total Order Relations
• Equivalence Relations
• Partitions of Sets

I had initially planned to resume the remaining DM lectures, but decided to revise the earlier topics first so that I could rebuild the flow before moving ahead.

One thing I noticed was that I had forgotten quite a few things. Some concepts needed to be recalled and rebuilt rather than simply read once.

This was a useful reminder that completing lectures and retaining what was taught are two different things.

My next revision targets are POSET, Lattice and Graph Theory.

My First C Programming Test of November

The next major task was the GO Classes CS Test Series C Programming Topic Wise Test 1.

The test covered Number Representation, Control Statements and Operators.

Here are the results:

A score of 58.7% wasn't exactly what I wanted, but the real value of this test came from analysing the questions afterwards.

I decided to discuss all 15 questions individually instead of simply looking at the final score and moving on.

That analysis revealed several things about my preparation.

What Went Wrong in the Test?

1. Checking answers on my phone

This was probably the biggest behavioural issue.

In Q1, I spent more than eight minutes trying to solve a question involving signed and unsigned integer ranges. I had solved similar questions before, but I hadn't revised the formulas for quite some time.

Eventually, I checked the answer on my phone for confirmation.

I got the correct options, but I cannot consider that an independently secured answer.

This is something I need to eliminate completely. During an actual GATE examination, I won't have my phone available to confirm whether I'm right. So there is no reason to develop that habit during practice tests.

From my next test onwards, the phone stays in another room.

2. Forgotten concepts

Several questions exposed concepts that I had previously studied but couldn't recall properly.

The biggest example was unsigned integer wraparound in Q8.

The question contained:

for (unsigned int i = 3; i >= 0; --i)

I somehow reached the correct option, but my approach was incorrect. I assumed that since the maximum number used was 3, I could consider a 2-bit representation.

I hadn't properly considered that unsigned int has an implementation-defined integer width and that decrementing zero causes unsigned wraparound.

There were other gaps too:

• Signed and unsigned integer conversion.
• Bitwise complement (~x).
• Reconstructing operands using XOR and AND.
• Understanding mixed signed/unsigned arithmetic.

Q12 was another example. I spent some time trying to remember the method for calculating the sum using the given XOR and AND results, but couldn't recall it. I eventually skipped the question.

These were not necessarily concepts I had never studied. They were concepts I couldn't retrieve when the test demanded them.

3. Careless mistakes and premature decisions

Q2 and Q3 were particularly frustrating.

In Q2, I didn't interpret the question carefully enough and also struggled with the signed-to-unsigned conversion rule.

In Q3, I actually found the correct matching but selected the wrong option.

Q9 exposed another interesting mistake. I saw the given value of i and immediately judged the first option based on its apparent numerical range. I didn't evaluate the complete C expression before deciding.

Q13 was another learning experience. I couldn't understand the final else if condition because I overlooked how C's operator precedence changes its interpretation.

These mistakes showed that knowing the general idea isn't always enough. I need to evaluate the actual C expression rather than rely on what it appears to mean.

4. Spending too much time rechecking

Some questions were straightforward, but I still spent extra time checking my answers repeatedly.

For example, Q4 took only 45 seconds, but even then I rechecked the result several times.

Q5 was similar. I knew how to solve it, but unnecessary verification consumed additional time.

I need to develop a better balance between accuracy and speed. Solving a question, verifying it once and moving forward should become my normal approach.

A Few Positive Moments

Not everything went wrong.

I independently solved several questions, including Q6, where I correctly applied the signed/unsigned conversion concept.

Q11 was straightforward for me. It tested short-circuit evaluation, and I solved it confidently.

Q14 also gave me an opportunity to clear an important doubt. I wasn't sure whether short-circuit evaluation worked only inside conditional statements or also in ordinary expressions such as:

++x || ++y && ++z;

I understood that short-circuit evaluation is a property of the logical operators themselves. It works wherever an evaluated expression uses && or ||, not just inside if and while conditions.

Finally, I solved Q15 independently, although it took a little longer than expected.

These questions were useful reminders that I do understand several concepts. The challenge is applying them consistently under time pressure.

The Real Lesson from My First Test

My final score was 14.67 out of 25, but the score alone doesn't tell the complete story.

Some correct answers were obtained with external assistance or intuition. Some wrong answers came from careless mistakes, while others exposed genuine conceptual gaps.

I also realised that I need to distinguish between knowing a concept and being able to retrieve and apply it independently during a timed test.

My three biggest takeaways were:

1. Stop checking answers on the phone. Practice tests must reflect my actual preparation.
2. Work on forgotten concepts. Previously studied topics need regular active recall and revision.
3. Improve time management. Avoid spending unnecessary time rechecking questions that I already know how to solve.

My next target isn't simply to cross 70%. I want my score to reflect my actual independent problem-solving ability.

What About the Remaining Schedule?

The C test and its detailed analysis consumed the remaining study time.

I couldn't complete the planned 30-minute Compiler Design warm-up and Error Log update. I'll try to make up for that on Tuesday.

For Discrete Mathematics, my next revision targets are POSET, Lattice and Graph Theory.

One More Thing: Health

There was another concern on this day. I was experiencing a severe cough and sore throat.

It wasn't exactly the ideal physical condition to begin a demanding monthly schedule, but these are also part of the actual preparation journey.

I don't want to document only the productive moments and test scores. The difficulties outside studying matter too.

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November has started with a useful reality check. I have concepts to revise, mistakes to correct and test-taking habits to improve.

The first C Programming test has given me a clearer picture of where I stand. Now the important part is making sure I don't repeat the same mistakes in the next one.