How should I attempt SBI Clerk with negative marking? Should I guess?

The rule: SBI deducts one quarter of the marks assigned to a question for each wrong answer. Unanswered questions lose nothing. In Prelims every question is 1 mark, so a wrong answer costs 0.25. In Mains Reasoning and Computer, questions carry 1.2 marks, so a wrong answer costs 0.3.

Expected value of a guess

So: never guess blindly in bulk, but do answer when you have narrowed it down to two or three options.

Accuracy matters more than attempts

Net score = correct − 0.25 × wrong. Compare two candidates in a 35-question section:

• 28 attempts, 26 right, 2 wrong: 26 − 0.5 = 25.5
• 33 attempts, 25 right, 8 wrong: 25 − 2 = 23

The candidate who attempted fewer scored more.

Practical rules

1. If your mock accuracy in a section is below 75%, attempt fewer questions and choose the ones you are sure of.
2. Do not guess on questions you did not read; you cannot eliminate options in a question you have not understood.
3. Calculation questions with one clearly matching option are safe. Puzzle questions solved from an unfinished arrangement are not.

Avoid last-minute random marking

Some candidates fill every blank option in the final minute of a section. On average a blind guess among five options gains nothing, and in a bad run it costs marks. Use the last minute instead to review questions you marked, where you already have a reason to choose an answer.