UPSC CSE · Prelims tools
UPSC Prelims Negative Marks Calculator
Work out your likely Prelims score after the one-third negative marking rule. Enter your attempts from a mock or the real paper, and the calculator shows your final score, accuracy, and attempt percentage.
Enter your attempted and wrong counts to see your estimated score after negative marking.
How UPSC Prelims negative marking works
Both Prelims papers penalise wrong answers. For every question you answer incorrectly, one third of the marks allotted to that question is deducted from your total. In General Studies Paper I, each of the 100 questions carries 2 marks, so a wrong answer costs you 0.66 marks. In CSAT, each question carries 2.5 marks, so the penalty is about 0.83 marks per wrong answer.
The arithmetic is simple, but the strategic consequence is large. Suppose you attempt 90 questions, get 60 right and 30 wrong in GS Paper I. Your correct answers earn 120 marks, but the 30 wrong ones deduct 20 marks, leaving you with 100. The same paper attempted with 75 right and 15 wrong would score 140. Accuracy, not attempt count, is what decides the outcome.
Using the calculator
The defaults match UPSC Prelims Paper I: 100 questions and 200 marks with the one-third scheme. If you are practising for another exam, change the totals and pick the matching scheme from the dropdown. Enter how many questions you attempted and how many you got wrong, and the calculator handles the rest. Your inputs are clamped automatically, so wrong answers can never exceed attempts, and attempts can never exceed the total.
Frequently asked questions
How much is deducted for a wrong answer in UPSC Prelims?
One third of the marks assigned to that question is deducted for every wrong answer. In the General Studies Paper I, each question carries 2 marks, so 0.66 marks are deducted per wrong answer. An unattempted question costs nothing, so leaving a question blank is always safer than a blind guess.
Does the negative marking rule apply to CSAT (Paper II)?
Yes, the same one-third rule applies to the Civil Services Aptitude Test. Each CSAT question carries 2.5 marks, so a wrong answer costs about 0.83 marks. CSAT is qualifying in nature, but you still need 33 percent to clear it, so careless marking hurts there too.
Is there negative marking for questions I do not attempt?
No. There is no penalty for leaving a question blank. The deduction applies only to questions you mark incorrectly. This is the single most important fact behind every attempt strategy: only mark an answer when your expected gain outweighs the one-third risk.
How many questions should I attempt in Prelims?
There is no fixed number, because the right attempt count depends on your accuracy. A candidate with 90 percent accuracy can safely attempt more than one with 60 percent accuracy. Use the calculator above with your mock-test numbers: enter your typical attempts and wrong counts, and see whether attempting a few more questions raises or lowers your final score.
Why does accuracy matter more than the number of attempts?
Because every wrong answer actively subtracts from the marks you earned on correct ones. Attempting 95 questions with 70 correct and 25 wrong can score less than attempting 80 with 65 correct and 15 wrong, once the one-third penalty is applied. Toppers generally win on accuracy, not on raw attempts.
A note on cut-offs
The Prelims cut-off moves every year with the difficulty of the paper and the number of vacancies. Recent General Studies Paper I cut-offs for the general category have generally fallen in the high eighties to low hundreds out of 200. Use your calculated score as a realistic benchmark against past cut-offs, not as a prediction. Mocks are for calibration; the real paper decides.
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