UPSC IAS Prelims 2025: How To Tackle Negative Marking?

The UPSC Civil Service Exam (CSE) Prelims 2025 will be conducted on May 25, 2025. The Commission will conduct the UPSC 2025 prelims exam in offline mode. The candidates will be required to mark their answers in the OMR sheet. There will be a negative marking of One by Three in the UPSC prelims 2025. Let us understand it and see the ways to avoid and tackle the negative marking in UPSC 2025 prelims exam. 

Tackle Negative Marking in UPSC Prelims 2025

UPSC Prelims 2025 - Negotiating Negative Marking: The Union Public Service Commission will conduct the UPSC CSE (IAS) prelims exam 2025 in offline mode at the designated exam centres nationwide. There will be two objective-type papers in the UPSC 2025 exam, and both papers have a component of negative marking associated with the incorrect answers marked in the OMR sheet. The UPSC will conduct the IAS prelims exam 2025 on May 25 at the designated exam centres across the nation.

Also Read: UPSC 2025 Prelims Exam Analysis

The Union Public Service Commission introduced negative marking in the UPSC CSE Prelims exam in 2007 to reduce the number of candidates clearing the UPSC Civil Service prelims exam through guess work. 

See Here: UPSC Prelims Last Minute Tips

UPSC Prelims Exam Pattern

The candidates should note that the Union Public Service Commission is required to take approval from the Ministry of Personnel before making any changes in the Civil Service Exam Pattern. The Commission mention the UPSC exam pattern every year in its official notification. The candidates can see below the UPSC IAS exam pattern 2025.

Understanding the Quantum of Negative Marking in UPSC Prelims

There is a negative marking of one-third in the UPSC 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 UPSC IAS 2025?

The negative marking in the UPSC IAS prelims takes a heavy toll on the candidate's aggregate. The UPSC IAS question paper always asks some unexpected questions from current affairs and basic General Studies. 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 2018, the option style has 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 a 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: UPSC IAS Syllabus 2025

Tips to Tackle the Negative Marking in UPSC IAS Prelims 2025

• 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 provide 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.

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 for those four questions. In the same way, thirty wrong answers will eat up ten right answers.

See here: IAS 2020 notification