NISM Series XIX-D Negative Marking and Guessing Strategy
0.25 marks come off for every wrong answer on a 100-mark paper. That changes when guessing pays and when it does not.
NISM Series XIX-D deducts 25% of a question's marks for a wrong answer. The paper has two kinds of question, so there are two penalties. A 1-mark multiple choice question costs 0.25 if wrong. A 2-mark case question costs 0.5 if wrong. A blank costs nothing on either.
The ratio is the same for both: you win four times what you risk. That is large enough that wrong answers add up, but small enough that a guess is still worth making in most situations. The case questions double both the reward and the risk.
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What one question is worth
Expected marks from one four-option question, depending on how many wrong options you can rule out.
Leave it blank
Chance of being right
None
1-mark question
0.00
2-mark case question
0.00
Blind guess on four options
Chance of being right
1 in 4
1-mark question
+0.0625
2-mark case question
+0.125
One option ruled out
Chance of being right
1 in 3
1-mark question
+0.17
2-mark case question
+0.33
Two options ruled out
Chance of being right
1 in 2
1-mark question
+0.375
2-mark case question
+0.75
You know it
Chance of being right
Certain
1-mark question
+1.00
2-mark case question
+2.00
| Your position | Chance of being right | 1-mark question | 2-mark case question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave it blank | None | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Blind guess on four options | 1 in 4 | +0.0625 | +0.125 |
| One option ruled out | 1 in 3 | +0.17 | +0.33 |
| Two options ruled out | 1 in 2 | +0.375 | +0.75 |
| You know it | Certain | +1.00 | +2.00 |
The arithmetic, worked through
- 1
A blind guess on a 1-mark question
One time in four you gain 1 mark; three times in four you lose 0.25. Expected value: 0.25 x 1 minus 0.75 x 0.25 = 0.25 minus 0.1875 = +0.0625 marks.
- 2
A blind guess on a 2-mark case question
One time in four you gain 2; three times in four you lose 0.5. Expected value: 0.25 x 2 minus 0.75 x 0.5 = 0.5 minus 0.375 = +0.125 marks. Twice the 1-mark figure, with twice the spread.
- 3
One option ruled out
One time in three you are right. On a 1-mark question: 0.333 minus 0.667 x 0.25 = about +0.17. On a case question: 0.667 minus 0.667 x 0.5 = about +0.33.
- 4
Two options ruled out
A straight choice between two. On a 1-mark question: 0.5 minus 0.125 = +0.375. On a case question: 1 minus 0.25 = +0.75.
- 5
The break-even point
For either type, a guess beats a blank when your chance of being right, p, makes p minus 0.25 x (1 minus p) greater than zero. That works out to p above 0.2, or 1 in 5. On a four-option question even a blind guess clears it, just.
What you need right if you attempt everything
With all 80 questions attempted, score = correct multiple choice x 1 + correct case x 2, minus 0.25 per wrong multiple choice and 0.5 per wrong case answer. The pass mark is 60.
50
Case correct (of 20)
12
Score
67.50
Result
Pass
48
Case correct (of 20)
10
Score
60.00
Result
Pass, exactly
54
Case correct (of 20)
7
Score
60.00
Result
Pass, exactly
45
Case correct (of 20)
11
Score
58.75
Result
Short by 1.25
42
Case correct (of 20)
10
Score
52.50
Result
Short by 7.50
| Multiple choice correct (of 60) | Case correct (of 20) | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 12 | 67.50 | Pass |
| 48 | 10 | 60.00 | Pass, exactly |
| 54 | 7 | 60.00 | Pass, exactly |
| 45 | 11 | 58.75 | Short by 1.25 |
| 42 | 10 | 52.50 | Short by 7.50 |
Free questions, scored the way the exam scores them.
Why 68, not 60
If you attempt every question, your correct answers must be worth at least 68 marks to reach 60. Count 1 for each correct multiple choice answer and 2 for each correct case answer: 48 plus 2 x 10 is 68, and so is 54 plus 2 x 7. Anything below 68 falls short.
Leaving some blank lowers that bar, because blanks cost nothing, but it also gives up any chance of marks on them. Say you are sure of answers worth 64 marks and unsure of 10 multiple choice and 4 case questions. Leaving those blank scores 64 if your sure answers are right. Guessing them all blind adds about 10 x 0.0625 plus 4 x 0.125, roughly 1.1 marks on average, with a wide spread. If you can rule out one option on each, the average gain rises to about 3 marks. Elimination, not blind guessing, is where the value is.
A practical approach on exam day
- checkFirst pass on the multiple choice section: answer what you know and flag the rest
- checkWork each case from the top: the 5 questions often share the same figures, so check your first computation before building on it
- checkOn a flagged question, try to rule out at least one option before answering
- checkOn case questions, check whether one or more options are impossible on the figures given; that can rule out an option quickly
- checkIf you truly cannot rule out anything, a guess still has a small positive average; decide in advance whether you will take it, and stick to that rule
- checkDo not change a confident answer on a vague second thought
Here time is part of the risk
80 questions in 120 minutes is 90 seconds on average, but the case questions need computation in Excel or LibreOffice. A rushed computation that lands on a wrong option costs 0.5 plus the 2 marks you could have earned. Plan your time so the cases are not left to the last few minutes.
How Series XIX-D tests you
Computation questions can list options that each come from a plausible mistake, such as the hurdle on committed capital instead of contributed capital, a waterfall with no catch-up, or a return before tax instead of after. A confident wrong answer on a case question costs 2.5 against the right one: the 2 marks you missed plus the 0.5 deducted. The best protection is having worked enough examples from chapters 6, 7, 11 and 13 that you know where each step goes wrong.
Use full practice papers to learn your own pattern. Count how many of your wrong answers were guesses and how many were answers you were sure of, separately for the two sections. If most were confident mistakes, the fix is more practice on the computations, not a different guessing rule.
FAQs
Is there negative marking in NISM Series XIX-D?expand_more
Yes. 25% of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer: 0.25 on a 1-mark multiple choice question and 0.5 on a 2-mark case question.
Are unanswered questions penalised?expand_more
No. A blank scores zero.
Should I guess in Series XIX-D if I do not know the answer?expand_more
A blind guess on four options is worth +0.0625 marks on average on a 1-mark question and +0.125 on a case question, slightly better than a blank. Ruling out one option roughly triples that, so try to eliminate before you guess.
How many correct answers do I need to pass Series XIX-D?expand_more
The pass mark is 60 out of 100. If you attempt every question, your correct answers must be worth at least 68 marks, counting 2 for each correct case answer. For example, 48 multiple choice and 10 case questions right gives exactly 60.
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