Exam Pattern
TANCET MBA Exam Pattern
Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test for MBA
Two of the five sections appear on almost no other MBA entrance. Data Sufficiency stands as a full section of 20 questions, ranked level with Quantitative Aptitude rather than folded inside it, and Business Situations takes another 20. Both ask for judgement rather than calculation, and time spent computing a value that Data Sufficiency never asked for is time gone. Anna University publishes no sectional time limit, so the whole 120 minutes follows whatever order you choose. That comes to 72 seconds a question across all five sections.
Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency, and General English
Official 2026 pattern| Questions | 100 |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Duration | 120 minutes |
| Negative marking | 0.25 per wrong answer |
| Sections | Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency, General English |
| Test | Qs | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Business Situations | 20 | 20 |
| Reading Comprehension | 20 | 20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 20 | 20 |
| Data Sufficiency | 20 | 20 |
| General English | 20 | 20 |
Timing: Single composite 120-minute timer for all five sections combined: no sectional lock, matching the official test's own no-sectional-time-limit rule.
The official TANCET MBA (conducted by Anna University) has 100 questions for 100 marks in 120 minutes, 1 mark for each correct answer and 0.25 negative marking for each wrong answer, with no sectional time limit, across five equal 20-question sections: Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency, and General English. This mock covers all five sections at their official scale: 100 questions (20 per section), with the same single composite timer and the same +1/-0.25 marking scheme. Business Situations tests analytical judgment and decision-making applied to a described business scenario or case, not memorized business facts, so all five sections are skill-based and no section needed excluding for content-risk reasons.
Official source · checked 18 August 2026The TANCET MBA Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency, and General English exam pattern is 100 questions carrying 100 marks, to be answered in 120 minutes. That works out to about 72 seconds per question on average, before any time spent reading instructions or revisiting marked answers. The 5 sections are Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency and General English. All 5 sections carry 20 marks each, so none of them repays disproportionate preparation and a weakness anywhere costs the same. All sections share one composite timer, so you are free to move between them and spend your time where it earns most.
TANCET MBA Business Situations, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Data Sufficiency, and General English marking scheme
- Each correct answer is worth 1 mark.
- A wrong answer deducts 0.25 marks; an unattempted question scores zero.
- A guess therefore breaks even at 20% accuracy: above that it gains you marks on average, below it loses them. A blind guess between four options is right 25% of the time, which is already above that line, so an educated guess is worth making rather than leaving the question blank.
- Worked example: attempt 80 of the 100 questions and get 60 right and 20 wrong, and you score 55 out of 100.
Practising against the same clock is the point of a mock test: at 72 seconds a question, the difference between a good score and an average one is usually pacing rather than knowledge. Attempt a free TANCET MBA mock test to see where your time actually goes.
TANCET MBA exam pattern: frequently asked questions
Is there negative marking in TANCET MBA?
TANCET MBA deducts 0.25 marks for a wrong answer. An unattempted question always scores zero, so the choice is only ever between guessing and leaving it blank.
How many questions are there in TANCET MBA?
TANCET MBA has 100 questions. That leaves about 72 seconds per question in TANCET MBA.
What are the total marks in TANCET MBA?
TANCET MBA is out of 100 marks, which works out at 1 mark a question.
How long is the TANCET MBA exam?
TANCET MBA runs for 120 minutes.
Does TANCET MBA have a sectional time limit?
No. TANCET MBA runs every section on one composite timer of 120 minutes, so you can move between sections freely and give the slower ones more of your time.