The Prelims stage of the UPSC CSE Exam has two papers (General Studies and CSAT). Both the papers of this stage have objective type questions. The General Studies paper of the UPSC Prelims has 100 questions, whereas the CSAT paper has 80 questions.
The maximum marks of these two papers are 200 each also there is a ⅓ negative marking for the wrong questions.
This article will provide some idea on the number of questions to be attempted by the aspirants in the prelims stage of the IAS Exam.
Number of questions to be attempted in UPSC Prelims – An Overview
In order to qualify for UPSC Prelims, the candidates must attempt a certain number of questions correctly. Since there is a ⅓ negative marking, the candidates have to be careful and attempt the right number of questions to clear the cut-off marks for the particular year.
After the candidates pass the prelims by attempting a good number of questions, they can prepare for the other stages of the UPSC Exam from the below links:
How many questions to attempt in the CSAT paper?
The qualifying mark in the CSAT paper is 33%. Earlier, the CSAT paper was also a competitive paper and the marks were included in the cut-off. At present, the UPSC has made CSAT as only a qualifying paper for the General Studies I paper of the preliminary examination.
In order to be on the safer side, the aspirants must at least solve 30+ questions correctly in the CSAT paper in order to pass. Attempting the questions correctly will create an opportunity for the aspirants to clear UPSC prelims and get ready for the next stage.
The candidates can refer to other useful links related to CSAT preparation below:
| CSAT Mock Test | Tips to Prepare for CSAT with Non-English Background |
| Previous year CSAT question papers | Tips to Prepare for Reasoning Questions in UPSC CSAT |
Out of 80 questions, attempt the easier and confident ones first. In recent years, the standard of the CSAT paper has also increased, and the difficulty level is rising each year. The candidates must focus on attempting the questions correctly rather than concentrating on increasing the number of questions to be answered.
Even though the CSAT paper is made just qualifying, yet it holds significance to clear the first hurdle of the Civil Service examination. Check more about CSAT Syllabus and Strategy, from the linked article.
How many questions to attempt in Prelims Paper I?
Unlike Paper II of the UPSC Prelims, paper I is not qualifying in nature and the candidates have to clear the competitive cut-off marks which vary each year for each category to clear the first stage of the UPSC Exam. The below table mentions the official cut-off marks set up the UPSC for different categories. Depending on this, the aspirants can get an idea of how many questions to attempt in the Prelims Paper I.
| Cut off Marks of UPSC Prelims, 2021 [Official] | |
| Category | UPSC Cut Off Marks |
| General | 87.54 |
| EWS | 80.14 |
| OBC | 84.85 |
| SC | 75.41 |
| ST | 70.71 |
| PwBD-1 | 68.02 |
| PwBD-2 | 67.33 |
| PwBD-3 | 43.09 |
| PwBD-4 | 45.80 |
The cut-off marks usually vary from 90 to 120 and to be on the safer side, the candidates have to attempt the number of questions according to this range. It is usually presumed that the entire paper, that is 100 questions, should not be attempted. There is no such hard and fast rule that attempting this number of questions will make one clear the exam. Instead, it is generally understood that approximately 70-85 questions can be answered to be within a safer limit.
Other UPSC Preparation Links:
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