UPSC CSE · Prelims tools
Mock Score Analyzer
A mock score is a diagnosis, not just a number. Feed in your attempts and wrong answers, and see exactly what the wrong ones cost, what skipping or converting them would have done, and how far a target score really is.
Enter your attempted and wrong counts from a mock to see what your wrong answers are really costing you.
How to read the analysis
Suppose a GS Paper I mock ends with 90 attempted and 30 wrong. The plain score is 100 of 200, but the analysis shows where it leaked. The 30 wrong answers deducted 20 marks of penalty, and against the alternative of getting them right they cost 80 marks in total. Left blank they would have scored 120; answered correctly, 180. Neither scenario is a promise. They are the two honest levers you control: attempt discipline and accuracy.
The target box turns that into a plan. If your goal is 110, you need 10 more net marks, and at 2.67 marks per wrong-to-correct conversion that is four conversions. Four questions, not forty. For a bare score without the scenarios, the UPSC Prelims Negative Marks Calculator does the quick version, and the Prelims Cutoff Checker tells you what a score like yours has historically meant.
Frequently asked questions
What does converting a wrong answer to a correct one actually gain?
More than the marks printed on the question. In UPSC GS Paper I each conversion earns the 2 marks and also removes the 0.67 penalty, a total swing of 2.67 marks. That is why the analyzer quotes a wrong-to-correct conversion count for your target: four conversions on that paper are worth almost 11 marks.
Should I try to raise attempts or accuracy first?
Run both scenarios here with your mock numbers. If the blank scenario is close to your actual score, your wrong answers are mostly costing the penalty; if accuracy is under about 65 percent, converting guesses into skips usually gains more than fresh attempts add. The cheapest marks in any mock are the penalties you stop paying.
How do I use a target score sensibly?
Set it from evidence, not hope. Take your recent mock average, or a past cutoff for your category from the Prelims Cutoff Checker, and enter that. The analyzer then shows how many conversions separate you from it. A target needing three or four conversions is a study plan; one needing twenty is a signal to rebuild accuracy first.
Does this work for exams other than UPSC?
Yes. Choose the custom pattern and enter the total questions, maximum marks and negative fraction from your exam notification, for example 0.25 for one fourth. The scenarios and conversion maths then follow your exam pattern. For a plain score check without the scenarios, the Negative Marking Calculator covers fixed deduction schemes too.
More calculators
- UPSC Prelims Negative Marks CalculatorEnter your attempted and wrong counts to get your estimated Prelims score after the one-third deduction, plus accuracy and attempt percentage.
- CSAT Marks CalculatorScore your CSAT paper (Paper II) and see instantly whether you clear the 33 percent qualifying line of 66 marks, and by how much.
- Prelims Cutoff CheckerPut your GS Paper I and CSAT marks against the officially published Prelims cutoffs from 2018 to 2025 for your category, and see the margin year by year.
- Negative Marking Calculator for Any ExamFor SSC, CDS, banking and state PSC papers: set the questions, marks and negative scheme yourself and get your score after the deduction.
- Age Calculator for UPSCFind your exact age in years, months and days, with totals and the CSE eligibility limits (age, attempts and relaxations) explained.
- UPSC Attempts CalculatorFrom your date of birth and category, find the first Prelims you can sit, your last eligible year, and how many attempts you have in hand.