How to tackle negative marking in IAS 2020 prelims exam?

IAS 2020 prelims exam will be conducted with negative marking provisions. See here the tips to tackle the negative marking in IAS prelims 2020

IAS prelims 2020 will be conducted most likely in July or August. The candidates need to prepare for the IAS prelims exam with full concentration and in top gear. The IAS prelims is an objective type of question paper conducted offline with pen and paper mode. The IAS prelims 2020 will be conducted across the nation following the previous year trends but with the safety measures to protect from coronavirus. 

See Here: IAS 2020 exam pattern

Is there any negative marking in IAS prelims?

There is a negative marking of one third in the IAS prelims exam. Negative marking of one third means that one-third of the assigned marks (to a question) will be deducted from the aggregate for each wrong answer marked in the IAS prelims answer sheet. The candidates must mark their answers carefully in the answer sheet, even when marking the right answers.

How to avoid negative marking in IAS prelims 2020?

The negative marking in the IAS prelims takes a heavy toll on the candidates aggregate. The IAS question paper always asks some unexpected questions from current affairs. The questions from the fundamental topics of the general studies are more or less the same. The standard of question varies little from the previous year’s standards.

Since 2010, the option style had been changed. Now, the options given in the IAS prelims question paper are psychologically designed. If the candidate does not have a crystal clear knowledge of all the aspects of the topic, the candidate is likely to be confused and mark the wrong answer.

To reduce the effect of negative marking, the candidates should try to avoid the guesswork in the IAS question paper. But in the real-world scenario, it is very difficult because the candidate has studied the question but he or she gets confused due to the options.

See here: IAS Syllabus 2020

Tips to tackle the negative marking in IAS Prelims 2020

• While IAS preparation, try to write all the aspects of the topic. It will provide an insight into the topic. The candidates should take notes by themselves so they can remember better.
• Try to do an interdisciplinary study of the topics. It will enhance the understanding of the topic and will provide a conceptual clarity of the topic.
• The candidates should mark the answers in the IAS question paper in two cycles. In the first round, the candidates should mark those answers in which they are fully confident and leave the questions which can be marked later.
• Do not mark the answer to the question where there is no idea about the topic and the answer options.
• In the second round, the candidates can think on the question where the candidate has some idea or background knowledge.
• Try to eliminate the options based on the existing knowledge. The options given in the IAS question paper are very confusing. All the options seem to be correct, but only up to a certain extent. Only one option is correct and the candidates need to mark that options.

How do you calculate negative marking?

It is very simple to calculate the impact of negative marking on the final score. Every three wrong answers will eat up one right answer. It means if there are three wrong answers and one right answer, the final score is Zero. In the same way, thirty wrong answers will eat ten right answers.

The IAS prelims 2020 was scheduled to be conducted on May 31, but it was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic across the country. UPSC will announce the new IAS prelims exam dates on June 5 but it is very difficult to announce the exam dates in such a scenario when the number of corona positive cases are rising day by day. The UPSC will likely postpone the decision to a future date again.

See here: IAS 2020 notification