How many questions should you attempt? The definitive answer f | UPSCPrep.com

How many questions should you attempt?
The definitive answer for UPSC Prelims 2023:

Exam Difficulty Variability
Attempts depend on how HARD or EASY Prelims is in a given year. For example, look at the cutoffs.
2016-116
2017-105
2018-98
2019-98
2020-92
2021-87
2022-85 (projected)
The lower the cutoff, the lower you can attempt & still succeed.

So what do I do with this info, you might be asking.
Read on.

Sure Shot Qs in Prelims
No matter the difficulty, every year, out of a 100 Qs most aspirants can solve at least 15-20 Qs.
These are unevenly distributed across the paper and it's your job to find these questions, wherever they are in the Prelims paper.

Solving Order Matters
You don't have to solve the exam from Q1 to Q100. Do the easy Qs first.

THREE Rounds Method:
R1 - Sure shot questions.
R2 - Qs where you can eliminate 1/2 options.
R3 - If you've got extra time & are feeling lucky.
Most aspirants will only do 2 rounds.

How does that help?
This is where the fun starts.
You can bet that in the years the cutoff goes high, you should be able to solve more sure shot questions in Round 1.
That's the test.

How many Qs should I attempt?
If you can solve more than 35 Qs in round 1, attempt more than 85.
If can only solve 20 Qs or less in round 1, don't attempt more than 75.
Lying between 20-35? Attempt between 75-85 Qs.

Pro Tip
Eliminated 2 options in a Q? Don't hesitate & mark it - any of the 2 options works.
By eliminating two options you have increased the probability of success to 50%.
Over 10 Qs you'll get:
5 correct: +10 marks
5 wrong: -3.33 marks
Net Score: +6.67 instead of O.

Judgement Call
This is a way to assess risk in the exam and take chances.
These are not HARD rules.
If, despite doing less than 20Qs in round 1, you can eliminate options for most Qs - attempt more.
And there you have it.

Best of luck for your UPSC journey!