So I'm working on my PSAT prep and I was wondering about the guessing penalty. If I come across questions I'm not 100% sure on, should I guess or skip them? What's the best strategy here so it doesn't hurt my score?
The PSAT does not penalize for incorrect answers, which means there’s no downside to guessing. For every question you leave totally blank, that’s actually a potential point you’re not earning. On the PSAT, you'll earn 1 point for each correct answer and 0 points for incorrect or unanswered questions; no points are subtracted for wrong answers. So, it is in your best interest to answer every question, even if you have to guess on some of them.
That being said, don't just guess blindly. Eliminate as many incorrect options as you can first, which increases your chances of getting the question right. The more choices you eliminate as definitely incorrect, the higher the probability is of your guess being correct. In short, always give your best-informed guess before moving on to the next question.
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