How to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains - Tips & Strategies

Those who are preparing for the upcoming JEE Mains 2026 exam understand that negative marking remains one of the biggest hurdles to scoring high marks in the JEE Mains exam. Four incorrect attempts cancel out one correctly answered question and hence can drastically reduce your score. To avoid this, students must focus on accuracy over attempts. Smart strategy and accuracy can make or break your engineering dream by helping you secure a high percentile among the lacks of students taking the exam each year. Learn how to avoid negative marking in JEE Mains 2026 below.

How to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains: Preparing for the JEE Mains exam requires optimal preparation. Not just attempting, but answering correctly is the objective because there is a provision of negative marking. Candidates can only secure high marks in the JEE Mains exam 2026 by solving the maximum number of questions accurately. In this article, we provide expert tips, strategies and common mistakes to avoid negative marking in JEE Mains 2026.

As per the JEE Main exam pattern, each incorrect response marked by the candidate costs -1 mark. This negative marking affects many students, who lose marks despite having prepared the topics out of the JEE Mains syllabus. Thus, students should be aware of how to avoid negative marking in the JEE Mains exam.

Negative Markings in JEE Main 2026

As we have already mentioned, there is a provision of negative marking in the JEE Main exam. Candidates appearing for the JEE Mains exam can check the negative marks for both papers 1 and 2 from the following table. The marking scheme for both MCQs and NAT questions is the same

Why Avoiding Negative Marking is Important in JEE Mains?

Each wrong answer costs -1 mark, and four wrong attempts cancel out one correct answer. Examinees compete with each other for a higher rank to secure their dream admission to IIITs, NITs, GFTIs and more. Even a slight difference in percentile can change the ranks significantly. This makes it important to avoid negative marking to obtain a higher percentile score.

Negative marking is not the only challenge in this exam. It is also a time-bound exam,  meaning candidates have to attempt 75 questions across three subjects within 3 hours. Students do not have time for guesswork and weighing in their chances while attempting the JEE question paper. Merely attempting the question will do more harm if the candidate is not sure about the accuracy. Thus, the right strategy is focusing on accuracy>attempts.

Tips to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains Exam

Now that we understand the negative marking in JEE Mains 2026 and its impact on the ranking and percentile. The next step is learning to minimise negative marking in JEE. Here are some tips on how to avoid negative marking in JEE Mains:

Read the Question Carefully

Understand the question. Identify what the question is asking and read the complete question to know all the points. Misunderstanding or skipping even a word might cost you. Take your time to read and comprehend the question before looking at the options.

Elimination Method

Once you have read and understood what the question demands, move to the options. In case of MCQs, you will have four options to choose from. Check all the options carefully. Use logic and common sense to filter out the incorrect options. The elimination method is simply eliminating the options which are not true, leaving only the correct one.

Avoid Guesswork 

To avoid negative marking in JEE Mains, one must avoid guesswork. Answer the question with surety. If you are in doubt, you can mark the question for review later. Be sure of the answer before choosing your option. Use the elimination method, but avoid blind guessing, which may cause negative marking.

Attempt with Confidence

Trust yourself and your preparation. Once you have read and understood the question, choose the correct option as per your understanding of the subject. Once marked, stick to it and trust yourself. It is always advised to review the answer, but second-guessing yourself is a big no. This will create self-doubt and hamper your confidence, leading to doubts and underconfidence while solving the rest of the question paper.

Time Management is the Key

The JEE Mains 2026 exam will be a 3-hour paper. Students will have to attempt 75 questions from Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. There will be both MCQs and numerical answer type questions. A candidate must balance time between all the sections. If you see a question is taking too much of your time, it is better to skip that one and move ahead. You can always come back to it if you have extra time left after completion of the test. But do not mark an answer you are not sure of. 

Avoid Last Minute Rush

Rushing to complete the entire paper may cause stress and unnecessary panic. It may also lead to misreading and misinterpretation of the question. This might increase your chance of marking the wrong answer. This will further negatively impact your scores. So avoid rushing and stressing out. Focus on what you know best.

Take Mock Tests 

One of the most paramount preparation resources for the JEE Mains exam is mock tests. The mock test of JEE Main is a simulation of the actual examination. Candidates must take multiple JEE Main 2026 mock tests in a similar way to the exam. Students are advised to take the mock test after covering the majority of the syllabus. This will help candidates learn time management, get used to the paper pattern and improve accuracy.

Practice Previous Year Papers

A time-tested way is practising the JEE Main last 10 years' question papers. Candidates must practice the actual JEE Mains question paper PDFs. The past year papers will help understand the difficulty level and the high-weightage JEE Main topics. Candidates can use this information to comprehend the frequently occurring types of questions and develop accuracy.
👉Last 5 years Question Paper of JEE Main With Solutions

How to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains Exam Hall 

Till now, we have discussed how to avoid negative marking in JEE Mains during preparation and in the exam. Now we will decode how to attempt the JEE Mains 2026 exam to minimise negative marking in JEE Mains. These methods have been suggested by several JEE Main toppers and coaching experts. To avoid negative marking in the JEE Mains exam, candidates should attempt their exam paper as per the following division:

First 30 Minutes - Build Your Confidence

• Start with your strongest subject.
• Solve easy and direct questions first to secure sure-shot marks.
• This will help build confidence in solving the questions.

Next 120 Minutes - Scoring Phase

• Move to the remaining two subjects.
• Attempt moderate-level questions where you have 70–90% confidence.
• Use elimination techniques if required.

Last 30 Minutes - Review and Analyse

• Attempt the tougher/marked-for-review questions.
• Recheck the computer-marked answers carefully.
• Do not try any unnecessary or risky attempts in the last few minutes.