NISM Series XVII 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 XVII deducts 25% of a question's marks for a wrong answer. Every question carries 1 mark, so a wrong answer costs 0.25. A blank costs nothing. A correct answer earns 1.
So a wrong answer sits 1.25 marks below a right one: the mark you did not earn plus the 0.25 taken off. That gap is what the strategy below is built on.
You save ₹500
- Full-length mock tests
- Chapter-wise question bank
- AI study plan
One payment, no subscription · Valid for 1 month
What one question is worth
Expected marks from one question, by your chance of picking the right option. 1 mark if right, 0.25 deducted if wrong.
Leave it blank
Chance of being right
None
Expected marks
0.00
Blind guess on a four-option question
Chance of being right
1 in 4
Expected marks
+0.0625
One option ruled out of four
Chance of being right
1 in 3
Expected marks
+0.17
Two options ruled out of four
Chance of being right
1 in 2
Expected marks
+0.375
You know it
Chance of being right
Certain
Expected marks
+1.00
| Your position | Chance of being right | Expected marks |
|---|---|---|
| Leave it blank | None | 0.00 |
| Blind guess on a four-option question | 1 in 4 | +0.0625 |
| One option ruled out of four | 1 in 3 | +0.17 |
| Two options ruled out of four | 1 in 2 | +0.375 |
| You know it | Certain | +1.00 |
The arithmetic, worked through
- 1
A blind guess on a four-option question
One time in four you gain 1 mark; three times in four you lose 0.25. Over four such guesses: +1.00 minus 0.75 = +0.25, or +0.0625 per question. Positive, but small.
- 2
The break-even point
A guess beats a blank when your chance of being right, p, satisfies p minus 0.25 x (1 minus p) above zero. That gives p above 1 in 5, or 20%. A blind guess among four options is just above that line.
- 3
Ruling out one option changes a lot
With one option eliminated the chance rises to 1 in 3 and the expected value to about +0.17, almost three times the blind guess. With two eliminated it is +0.375. Partial knowledge is worth using.
How many you need right if you attempt everything
Score = correct answers minus 0.25 x wrong answers, with all 100 attempted. The pass mark is 60.
80
Wrong
20
Score
75.00
Result
Pass
75
Wrong
25
Score
68.75
Result
Pass
70
Wrong
30
Score
62.50
Result
Pass
68
Wrong
32
Score
60.00
Result
Pass, exactly
67
Wrong
33
Score
58.75
Result
Short by 1.25
| Correct | Wrong | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80 | 20 | 75.00 | Pass |
| 75 | 25 | 68.75 | Pass |
| 70 | 30 | 62.50 | Pass |
| 68 | 32 | 60.00 | Pass, exactly |
| 67 | 33 | 58.75 | Short by 1.25 |
Free questions, scored the way the exam scores them.
Blanks or guesses?
If you attempt every question, you need 68 right to reach 60. Leaving questions blank lowers the number you need right, because blanks cost nothing. Say you are confident on 64 and leave 36 blank. If all 64 are right you score 64 and pass. If 4 of them are wrong, you score 60 minus 1.00, which is 59.00, and fail.
Guessing on the 36 blind would add about 36 x 0.0625, or 2.25 marks on average. That is a thin cushion, and it can go either way. Ruling out one option on each first raises it to about 6 marks. The useful rule is: never guess on a question you have not read properly, but do answer any question where you can eliminate at least one option.
A three-pass approach
First pass: answer everything you are sure of. Second pass: return to marked questions, including the calculations you skipped, and answer those where you can rule out at least one option. Third pass, in the last few minutes: decide on the rest. At 0.25 a wrong answer, a blind guess is worth very little either way, so spend the time on questions you can narrow down.
Where the penalty really bites on Series XVII
The costly errors are confident ones. On a calculation question, a wrong input such as a nominal return where a real one was needed, or a monthly figure treated as annual, can lead you to one of the wrong options with full confidence. NPS rules learnt from older notes do the same. Each confident wrong answer costs 1.25 against the right one. Checking how a calculation is set up, and revising NPS from the current workbook, saves more marks than any guessing plan.
Practise with negative marking switched on. A practice paper scored without the deduction will show a higher score than the real exam would, and hides the habit of answering too quickly.
FAQs
Is there negative marking in NISM Series XVII?expand_more
Yes. 25% of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer. Each question carries 1 mark, so that is 0.25 per wrong answer.
Should I guess in NISM Series XVII if I don't know the answer?expand_more
A guess beats a blank when your chance of being right is above 1 in 5. A blind guess among four options is worth about +0.06 marks; ruling out one option raises that to about +0.17.
How many correct answers do I need to pass Series XVII?expand_more
The pass mark is 60 out of 100. If you attempt every question, 68 correct and 32 wrong gives exactly 60. 67 correct gives 58.75, which is short.
Is there negative marking for unanswered questions?expand_more
No. Only wrong answers are penalised. A blank scores 0.
Access exam-specific mock tests directly from your Android device.Trusted by learners and rated 4.6★ on Google Play.