Avoiding Negative Marking in the competitive entrance examination

Avoiding Negative Marking in the competitive entrance examination

Negative marking is a common rule in many competitive examinations. As the name suggests, negative marking negatively affects your overall score. You lose allotted marks for a wrong answer. Negative marking is present in entrance examinations to discourage guesswork and to filter the candidates even further. Negative marking is a common occurrence in examinations like NEET, JEE MAINS, and JEE Advance. It is important for candidates to attempt only the questions they're absolutely sure of, or else they could lose points to negative marking. In this article, you will know the ways that most of the exam preparation apps teaches its students.

Negative Marking is the process that reduces your mark for a wrong answer. If you answer correctly, you get the marks allotted to the question, but if you answer wrong then you have your marks deducted as per the rules and regulations of the examination. No marks are deducted for the questions that you leave unanswered. Negative marking is solely present to filter out the candidates who lack confidence and don't have the exact specific knowledge about the subject matter.

Negative marking is like a thorn in a candidate's shoe they can't get rid of. Here are some pointers as to how you can avoid having your score deducted by negative marking: 1. Forget about guessing One of the main reasons for negative marking is guesswork. Candidates who are not sure of the answer guess the answer to score as many marks as possible which in turn reduces their score because of negative marking. You can't rely on luck when you're writing a competitive exam, hence, make sure to answer only the questions you're absolutely sure to keep the negative marking to a bare minimum.

2. Answer what you know first Find the questions you're absolutely sure about. Locate the easy questions and start with them as answering correctly at the beginning will build confidence and you may also remember the solutions to questions you were not sure about previously. Buy courses from the best online learning platforms to decrease the chances of getting negative marks. Starting with the lengthy and tough questions will only cause you to burn out faster, stress might start to build up and you'll eventually lose confidence at the beginning of the exam. It is highly recommended to start with easy questions first.

3. Make sure you understand the question Don't be in a rush and read the questions carefully and properly. Understand what the question demands from you and browse through the given options to find the right answer. Many candidates who are overconfident in an attempt to finish the exam faster don't even understand the question before answering it which leads to negative marking and reduced overall scores.

4. You can take calculated risks You can take calculated risks on questions about whom you have some sort of prior knowledge. It is not recommended to leave ALL the questions unattempted. You can take a calculated risk, trust in your knowledge and eliminate the options one by one until you're down to 2 options, by then it's a 50-50 chance that you'll get the answer right. It is not recommended to attempt a question you have no knowledge about.

5. Solve previous year's question papers Solving the previous year's question paper will give you a rough idea of the pattern of the examination. You can try to guess the answers in mock papers to see how many of your guesses are actually right. Solving mock test papers will build your confidence and you'll be able to differentiate between questions you want to attempt and ones that you don't.

Conclusion Negative marking is a bane for students appearing for competitive exams but that's actually its sole purpose. The examiners want to eliminate the candidates because of the limited seats available. You don't have to be nervous about the pressure of negative marking. Sign up on the best e-learning platform and make sure to follow the abovementioned points in order to score good at your next exam. Don't be hasty, It's a marathon, not a sprint.