Tips to minimise Negative Marking in Bank Exams

The nightmare of negative marking in bank exams, be it for the post of Clerk or Probationary Officer, haunts every aspirant taking these exams. The negative marks are awarded to each and every wrong answer and ranges from 0.25 to 0.50 marks deduction. Public and private sector banks in India are hiring employees to meet the rise in bank openings and are likely to continue the same for next few years. While a candidate who has taken this exam previously knows the way to deal with negative marking through tried and tested outcomes of thoughtlessly ticking answers; a candidate who is taking the exam for the first time needs to take care of the methods to evade extreme negative marks.

1. It is advisable that the candidate reads the question carefully and avoids marking answers thoughtlessly.
2. Analyzing the previous question papers will help the candidate to get a clear picture of the pattern of questions asked in each section.
3. Practice makes the man perfect. This quote fits well in each qualifying or entrance exams. It is the only key to avoid negative marking. There are 120-150 questions in bank exam which needs to be completed in 3 hours making it essential for candidates to look for short-cut methods thereby saving precious time for sections unanswered. Practicing mock papers will help the candidate to decide on the required time to answer each question.
4. A candidate should make a habit of preparing short notes of important questions, formulas, theorems etc that can be referred during the last minute preparation.
5. Candidates should make sure not to get lured for answering maximum amount of questions. Trying answering first the questions that you are confident of being correct. Guessing answers will reduce the marks without your knowing. Take calculated risk only when necessary.
6. Avoid overwriting or erasing answers as it would be difficult for computers to read OMR sheets as improper erasing marks will be calculated as wrong answers leading to negative marks.
7. Do not get stuck with questions you are not sure of as exam like bank PO has 225 questions that needs to be answered within 135 minutes leaving 36 seconds spent per question. Proceed to next question as soon as possible and come back if you have time.