Top 10 tips to minimize negative marks in bank exams

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If you are looking for a banking career, you would need to clear bank exams. Public as well as private sector banks recruit probationary officers and candidates for other positions as well through bank exams only. Bank exams aren’t particularly tough, but if you don’t pay attention to the negative marking rule, your attempt in the exam could be a disaster.

Here are 10 tips to help you minimize negative marking in bank exams.

1. Practice, practice, practice- Before the exams, make sure you take a lot of mock tests. Mock tests help you build speed and accuracy, which then helps you attempt the exam without panicking. When you panic less, you are less likely to answer incorrectly, and hence, avoid negative marking.
    
2. Avoid guessing- Guessing game seldom works. Most of the times, our guesses turn out to be incorrect. Unless and until you have answered less than 60% of the paper, do not rely on guesswork. It could bring your score down substantially.
    
3. Avoid revising answers at the last minute- Most of the times, what we answer at the first go is correct. Don’t get confused at the last minute and try revising the answers to some questions. It could increase chances of negative marking for wrong answers.
    
4. Avoid erasing, or overwriting- You have to answer in OMR sheets, which are read by computers. Try and avoid erasing an answer you have already marked, as the computer may fail to read it properly.
    
5. Do not get stuck with one question- It is a rookie mistake which most people taking the exam for the first time make. Do not get stuck with one question, as it could leave you will little time for the rest of the questions. It could then lead to panic, and in panic, often, people tend to rely on guesswork, which is never good for the score.
    
6. Read questions thoroughly- It is common sense to read questions thoroughly before answering, and yet, people tend to ignore it. Go through the question carefully and answer it only if you are very sure. If you have a doubt, move on to the next question and come back to it at the end, if there is time left.
    
7. Build a strategy- Don’t take the mock tests just for improving your speed and accuracy. Use them to build a strategy for answering questions as well. Try different strategies, for example, answering English first and then moving on to quant, and then trying vice-versa the next time. Try to figure out what suits you best. Accordingly, strategize for the D-day. It helps to minimize wrong answers and hence, minimize negative marking.
    
8. Attempt easier questions first- Every year, question paper for bank exams has some easy questions and some really complex ones. Go through the entire question paper and solve the easier ones first. Answering the easier ones gives you an idea of how much more you need to attempt. Accordingly, you could draft your risk strategy for the remaining questions.
    
9. Try avoiding answering questions at the last minute- It is important to utilize every second available when attempting bank exams. But try and avoid answering questions as the very last minute, especially for the quant and reasoning section. For English section too, vocabulary based questions are the safest bet if you are going for the last minute approach.
    
10. Try and practice short cut techniques- There are techniques which make even large calculations very simple and quick. Practice these techniques to help save time, which ultimately means more times to answer questions, and hence, lesser chance of answering incorrectly.