National Aptitude Test in Architecture · Council of Architecture
NATA exam as it actually is
Most NATA material on the internet describes an exam that no longer exists — a four-section paper with a Mathematics block and a General Aptitude block. That was the 2023–24 format. The 2026 exam is two parts: 80 marks offline on paper, including a 3D composition built from a foam kit issued at the centre, and 120 marks of adaptive computer test at 108 seconds a question, with no going back.
Everything here is built from the official Information Brochure V2.0. Where the brochure does not state something, we say so. Where two sections read differently, we show both readings rather than pick one.
The exam guide
Live nowThe reference layer: what the rules are, sourced to the official brochure and dated. Every claim carries its status, so where the brochure does not state something — on negative marking, on marks per question — you are told that rather than given a confident guess.
01
The pattern: two parts, not one
6 sourced facts
02
Six areas — and the ones that are not on it
4 sourced facts
03
Physics is as compulsory as Mathematics
5 sourced facts
04
There is no cutoff, and no second year
7 sourced facts
05
Two attempts, or one — never both
15 sourced facts
06
What you may bring, and what the centre gives you
7 sourced facts
Act I — The exam
2 modulesHow NATA works, how it is scored, and how to sit it.
00Orientation & Strategy3 lessons · 3 live
What the exam rewards, how the two phases differ, and how to plan backwards from your date. The rules themselves live in the exam guide; this is what to do about them.
10Test Craft & the Adaptive Engine3 lessons · 3 live
Part B is adaptive and one-way. The JEE habit of skipping, flagging and returning does not transfer, and drilling it the wrong way is worse than not drilling.
Act II — Part A — on paper
3 modules80 marks, offline, three questions. Drawing, colour, and a 3D composition built from a foam kit.
01A1 — Composition and Colour5 lessons · 25 marks · 5 live
Twenty-five marks for colour composition under dry media, with no wet colour and no instruments. Most candidates lose marks here on composition, not on colour.
02A2 — Sketching & Composition, Black and White5 lessons · 25 marks · 5 live
Twenty-five marks of line and tone with no colour to hide behind. Perspective, observation, and the discipline of value.
03A3 — The 3D Composition5 lessons · 30 marks · 5 live
The highest-value single question on the paper, and the one nobody can rehearse as an artefact. The kit is issued at the centre under a code you cannot know in advance.
Act III — Part B — on screen
6 modules120 marks, adaptive, 50 questions at 108 seconds each. No going back.
04Visual Reasoning5 lessons · 5 live
Understanding and reconstructing 2D and 3D composition. The bulletin's first named Part B area.
05Logical Derivation4 lessons · 4 live
Decoding a situation, composition or context and drawing conclusions from it.
06Design Sensitivity and Thinking4 lessons · 4 live
Observing and analysing people, space, product and environment — semantics, metaphor, and problem identification.
07Language Interpretation3 lessons · 3 live
Meaning of words and sentences, and English grammar. The area candidates most often skip and most cheaply improve.
08Numerical Ability5 lessons · 5 live
Basic mathematics and its association with creative thinking — and unfolding space using geometry. Examined without a calculator.
09General Knowledge, Architecture & Design4 lessons · 4 live
Current issues, important buildings, historical progression, and innovation in materials and construction. Unbounded by syllabus — the least tractable area to prepare.
Alongside this course
Practice — the whole paper
Self-paced Part B drills with explanations, a full 50-question one-way mock, and self-assessment rubrics for the Part A drawing marks no machine can grade.
Part A self-assessment
Score your own A1, A2 and A3 against what examiners reward — because 80 of the 200 marks are judged by a person, not a machine.
Mastery checks
A short scored quiz at the end of every module — the reasoning, not the trivia. Pass it and move on; fall short and you know which module to re-run.
The adaptive mock
108 seconds a question, one at a time, no going back — built to the constraint the real Part B uses. Raw score and band, never an invented percentile.
Design Drawing
Perspective, composition and tone — the Part A spine, taught properly rather than crammed.
Drawing Fundamentals
Line, value and observation from zero, if drawing is your limiting factor.
NATA & JEE entrance guide
The wider admission picture — JEE Paper 2, counselling, and the schools shortlist.
Where this course is. The reference layer — what the exam is, how it is scored, and the Phase 2 brief — is live now, because the 7–8 August sitting has a clock on it. 46 of 46 lessons are live; the rest are in preparation. Nothing is listed as available until it actually is.
The author
Amogh N P
Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.
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