The UPSC Prelims examination has evolved into a test of logic, elimination, pattern recognition, and intelligent guessing — not just knowledge. In recent years, more than 70% of questions could be solved using elimination, even when the candidate did not know the complete answer.
UPSC rarely asks direct factual questions now. Instead, they create MCQs with:
If you can remove even one or two wrong statements, the question becomes a 50–50 or even 100% correct selection.
UPSC repeatedly uses certain tricks. Recognizing them gives you a strong advantage.
Words like always, never, entirely, solely, must usually indicate incorrect statements because UPSC avoids absolutes.
Long options look knowledgeable, but many times they are deliberately incorrect or contain twisted information.
UPSC often introduces unfamiliar terms that are actually correct. Eliminating them because "I haven’t seen this before" is a common mistake.
These are the hardest to catch. The statement is 70% correct and 30% misleading. Eliminating these correctly is what makes elimination technique powerful.
If you know only 25 questions fully:
But with elimination:
This brings your total score to 80–100 marks, even if your content knowledge is average.
The most effective way to improve elimination is to practice real UPSC-style questions and analyze:
The ORA Elimination Analyzer gives you exactly this — a deep breakdown of how your mind behaves during UPSC MCQs.
Practice Elimination Now →