Here is the tentative highlights of NEET 2021’s exam pattern for your reference:
| Number of questions | 180 |
| Total marks | 720 |
| Number of questions in each section | Physics-45, Chemistry-45, Biology-90 (Botany-45, Zoology-45) |
| Marking pattern | +4 marks for the correct answer and -1 for the wrong answer |
| Type of question | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
| Exam Mode | Offline |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Tentative 2021 NEET exam date | 1st August, 2021 (To be notified if any changes) |
NEET 2021 Exam Pattern
Tentatively the exam will be in offline mode in May 2021 where students have to answer using an OMR sheet. The exam will include questions from the Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology syllabus of class XI and class XII. The exam will comprise a total of 720 marks where 180 marks will be given for Physics and Chemistry each and 360 marks for Biology. The exam pattern will include questions only from the updated syllabus of CBSE class 12 which is only 70% of the original.
NEET 2021 Marking Scheme
The marking scheme of NEET 2021 will be as follows:
- 4 marks will be awarded for the correct answer and 1 mark will be deducted for an incorrect answer
- No marks will be deducted for an unattempted answer
- It is not compulsory to attempt every question
- You cannot change an answer once you have marked and submitted it
- Multiple answers to the same question will be considered an incorrect answer
How is NEET Score calculated?
According to the marking scheme mentioned above the following formula is used to calculate the NEET score
- NEET Score= (Correct answer*4)-(Incorrect answer*1)
- The scores are normalized to nullify the varying difficulty levels of question papers in various exam sessions.
Important points to remember while marking the OMR sheet
Students need to be extra careful while marking their answers on the OMR Sheet. This is because a few mistakes may confuse the answer checking machine and could also lead to your correct answer being marked as wrong, making you lose some precious marks and overall rank. Here are a few factors you should keep an eye on:
- Use a ballpoint pen to mark your answers, which shall be provided in the NEET Exam Hall.
- The candidate must mark the test booklet code on the OMR sheet.
- Do the rough work using the space in the test booklet only.
- Candidates are not allowed to change answers in the OMR sheet and erasing any information printed on the OMR sheet is a punishable offense.
Language options in the exam pattern of NEET 2021
NEET 2021 will be conducted in 11 languages. Candidates will be able to select their preferred medium of NEET 2021 from Hindi, English, and Urdu in all the centers. However, if the candidate has chosen a vernacular language, then they will be allotted their center accordingly.
The following is the tentative list of languages for NEET 2021
| NEET Language | The NEET Exam State or City |
| English, Hindi and Urdu | All states and cities |
| Telugu | Andhra Pradesh and Telangana |
| Bengali | West Bengal and Tripura |
| Kannada | Karnataka |
| Gujarati | Gujarat, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli |
| Tamil | Tamil Nadu |
| Marathi | Maharashtra |
| Assamese | Assam |
| Oriya | Odisha |
Important points to remember while choosing the medium of NEET 2021:
The medium of question paper has to be selected in the NEET application form 2021 when it will be announced.
- The language of the paper cannot be changed once it has been chosen.
- Candidates opting for any language other than English will be provided a Bilingual Test Booklet, their selected language preference, and English.
- The English version of the NEET question paper shall be treated as final in case of any ambiguity in the translation of any of the questions. Candidates are free to ask their doubts to the examiner during the exam.
