NEET PG 2025: Effective Strategies to Avoid Negative Marking

When it comes to scoring a top rank in the NEET PG 2025 exam, one of the biggest challenges that the aspirants face is negative marking. 

Negative marking can prove to be a major setback for candidates and can lower their chances of securing a good rank. In this blog, we will discuss some effective strategies to avoid negative marking in the NEET PG 2025 exam. 

If you are an aspirant looking to ace this exam and secure a seat in your dream medical college, then read on to find out how to tackle negative marking with ease.

Be Calm and Focused 

Firstly and most importantly, you must remain calm during the entire duration of your exam. Stress and anxiety can negatively impact your performance. Whereas, being calm during an exam can help you to think more clearly and make better decisions. It can also help you to remember important information that you have studied for.

Avoid Wrong Answers

When it comes to a competitive exam like NEET PG, there are no shortcuts to getting a top rank or even qualifying the exam. It demands a lot of hard work, dedication and thorough preparation. 

You must have complete knowledge of its entire syllabus, especially the high-yield topics and strong conceptual understanding of all 19 subjects. If you are well-prepared, you can easily avoid wrong answers and attempt maximum questions accurately. 

Brain Warm-up

One tried and tested strategy to answer maximum questions accurately is warming up your brain. You can do this by starting with easier questions in the exam. Identify and answer all the questions that are easy and you are confident about. Doing this will boost your confidence and help you tackle the more difficult questions efficiently.

On the other hand, if you start with difficult questions, it will stress you out and ultimately affect your overall performance.

Read the Questions & Options Twice

It’s crucial to go through all the questions thoroughly, and try to solve those you know well, first. 

By reading the question twice, you can make sure that you have understood the question correctly. Sometimes, the first time you read a question, you may miss an important detail, misinterpret the wording, or overlook a key element. By reading it a second time, you can clarify any confusion or misunderstanding you had initially.

When you read the options for the second time, you can evaluate each option more carefully and compare them to each other. This can help you identify the best answer choice and avoid common pitfalls such as choosing the first option that seems plausible without considering the other options.

Taking the time to read the questions and options twice can also help you reduce errors and improve your accuracy. 

Also Read: Tips for Improving Your Score in Clinical Questions

Elimination Guesswork Strategy 

The elimination guesswork strategy is a helpful approach that can increase your chances of getting the correct answer in multiple-choice exams, especially when you are unsure of the answer. Mentioned below are some tips that can help you benefit from this effective strategy: 

• Before you begin to consider the answer choices, make sure you fully understand the question being asked. Take note of any important keywords, phrases, or context clues.

• Look at each answer choice and eliminate any options that you know are incorrect. This strategy can help you narrow down the choices, even if you are unsure of the answer.

• When you have eliminated one or more answer choices, you have a better chance of guessing the correct answer from the remaining options.

• Use any knowledge or logic you have to determine which of the remaining answer choices is the most likely correct answer.

Effective Time Management 

Effective time management is key to performing well in the NEET PG exam. An effective time management strategy is dividing the allotted time wisely.

• Use the first 150 minutes to answer all the easier questions and questions you are familiar with
• Give each question 30 seconds to answer
• Reserve the next 50 minutes for difficult or ambiguous questions and devote 1 minute per question
• Keep the last 10 minutes for revision

Lastly, avoid spending too much time on a single question, and don't rush through the questions either.

Take Calculated Risks

Guesswork can be tempting, but it can also lead to negative marking. Therefore, you must only take calculated risks. Only attempt a question if you have a fair idea about the answer, or if you can eliminate some of the options. Otherwise, it's better to skip the question and move on to the next one.

You must also avoid making hasty changes and it generally has negative consequences.

All the above-mentioned tips will help you avoid negative marking in the upcoming NEET PG 2025 exam, so take them to heart and try to use them to your advantage. 

You can also watch our YouTube video on this topic by Dr Meenakshi Bothra.

All the best!

Also Read: NEET PG Exam Day Checklist