Most large recruitment exams in India have moved from paper to computer-based tests (CBT). Candidates prepare for the syllabus and then lose marks to the interface: a missed save, a misread timer, an unvisited section.
Every CBT has a grid of question numbers with colour states: not visited, not answered, answered, marked for review, and answered and marked for review. Rules differ on whether a marked question with an answer is evaluated. That rule is printed on the instruction screen, and it is the one line you should read twice.
Selecting an option does not always record it. In most interfaces the answer counts only after you press Save and Next, and moving away with another button can discard the selection. This is the most common way to lose attempted questions.
Some exams have one overall timer and free movement between sections. Others lock each section with its own timer and move you on automatically. The pattern is given in the notification and repeated on the hall ticket that comes with admit card releases.
Raise your hand at once. Invigilators can move you to another seat, and answers already saved are normally kept. Note the time you lost and make sure it is recorded before you leave the hall.
When an exam runs in many shifts, each shift gets a different paper. Scores are then put on a common scale by a statistical method, so your final figure is a normalised score, not a raw count. Two candidates with the same raw marks in different shifts can end up with different results.
After the exam, boards usually publish your recorded responses together with a provisional key and open a window for objections. Check that the response sheet matches what you remember marking. Releases are tracked under answer keys and response sheets, and the scores that follow under results and cut-off marks.
New recruitments and their exam patterns are listed in the latest government job notifications, and entrance tests that use the same format appear with admission notices.