How to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains - Tips & Strategies
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
Exam On - 21 Jan '26 - 30 Jan '26
If you are preparing for the upcoming JEE Mains 2026 exam, then the negative marking stands in your way of obtaining high marks on the test. Four incorrect attempts cancel out one correctly answered question. 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 strategic preparation. Because there is negative marking the exam, attempting questions correctly becomes of great importance. To get high scores in the JEE Mains exam 2026, students have to solve the most number of questions accurately. In this article, we provide expert tips, strategies and common mistakes to avoid negative marking in JEE Mains 2026. Check out a few tips on how to avoid negative marking in JEE Main.
- Negative Markings in JEE Main 2026
- Why Avoiding Negative Marking is Important in JEE Mains?
- Tips to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains Exam
- How to Avoid Negative Marking in JEE Mains Exam Hall
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
| Option Selected |
Marks |
|---|---|
| Correct answer |
(+4) |
| Incorrect answer |
(-1) |
| Unanswered / Marked for Review |
No mark (0) |
Why Avoiding Negative Marking is Important in JEE Mains?
For every wrong answer in JEE mains (-1) mark will be deducted. This means after four wrong attempts a student loses the marks he/she obtained for attempting one question correctly. Even a slight percentile difference will bring a big change in the rank list.
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
JEE Main difficulty level is similar to class 12 board exams. Syllabus of JEE Main is similar to class 11 and 12 syllabus. The questions asked in exam are tricky and need an in-depth understanding of subjects. They need to have conceptual understanding of every topic to score well in exam. Those who study NCERT can get a decent score in JEE Mains.
Till now we have covered what negative marking in JEE Mains 2026 is and its impact on rankings and percentile. Let's look at how we can minimise negative marking in JEE Mains.
Read the Question Carefully
Be relaxed and read the complete question in detail. Understand what the question is asking before looking at the options.
Elimination Method
After understanding the question, move to the options. Check the options given and use logic and common sense to eliminate the incorrect options.
Avoid Guesswork
To avoid negative marking in JEE Mains, one must avoid guesswork. Answer the question with surety. In case of any doubts mark the question for review. Be sure of the answer before marking it.
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.
Give Mock Tests
Practising the JEE Mains mock tests cannot be emphasised enough. It is a simulation of the actual test. Candidates must take multiple JEE Main 2026 mock tests after covering a majority of the syllabus. This will help in learning time management and improving accuracy.
Solve 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 -
- 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 -
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The time period required to complete the JEE Main preparation depends mainly on the students. Every student has their own pace of study. Ideally, 6-month time is good enough to complete the JEE Main preparation. Students who have started preparing from class 11 or 12 can easily prepare for JEE Main in 6 months considering the topics of JEE syllabus have already been studied in classes 11 and 12.
JEE Main preparation is most effective with classes 11 and 12 as almost 90-95 percent of topics are similar in both exams. This way students can easily complete the entire JEE Main syllabus as well as the syllabus of classes 11 and 12. After the board exams, students get 1-2 months' time where they can focus entirely on JEE Main. Students who have started late for the JEE Main exam can make a 6-month plan where in the first three months they have to focus on revising the syllabus studied in classes 11 and 12. In the next two months focus on solving questions of JEE Main and analyzing the mistakes being made, if any. The last month should be focused on solving mock tests and JEE Main previous year question papers.
The difficulty level of JEE Main exam is a little high than the class 12 board exams. Students who are studying in class 12 can score good marks in JEE Main by studying a little extra for the JEE. Students who have studied NCERT textbooks of Physics Chemistry and Mathematics thoroughly can get good marks. The joint Entrance Examination, popularly known as JEE Main is for admission into NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs for B.Tech and architecture courses in India.
- Move to the remaining two subjects.
- Attempt moderate-level questions where you have 70-90% confidence.
- Use elimination techniques if required.
Last 30 Minutes -
- Attempt the tougher/marked-for-review questions.
- Recheck the answer marked.
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Samridhi Mishra is a well-established content strategy expert and writer in the Indian engineering education sector. She is dedicated to providing exam news, prep tips, and counselling advice that help aspirants in
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
NTA will release the JEE Main 2026 question papers a few days after the exam on the official website. Candidates can download the question papers PDFs and the answer keys from the website under their logins.
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