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Product 4 min readJan 28, 2026

What the Diagnostic Quiz Tells Us About Your Prep

The 20-question diagnostic isn't just a warm-up. It maps your accuracy across syllabus topics and seeds your first AI-generated weekly plan. Here's the methodology.

The 20-question diagnostic at the start of pscprep.ai isn't a warm-up or a placeholder. It's the seed for your first AI-generated weekly plan. Here's how we pick the questions, what we measure, and how that map turns into your schedule.

How we pick the questions

Syllabus coverage + difficulty spread

We sample across the exam syllabus (Polity, History, Geography, Economy, Science, CA, Reasoning) so that no single topic dominates. Each question is tagged by topic and difficulty (easy / moderate / tough). The mix is fixed so we get a comparable baseline for every user — not random.

What we measure

Accuracy by topic, time, and weak spots

  • Correct vs incorrect per topic — so we know where you're strong and where you're not.
  • Time per question — fast and wrong suggests guessing; slow and wrong suggests concept gaps.
  • We don't use the diagnostic to rank you. We use it to allocate time in your first week: more time on weak topics, less on strong ones.
First plan is personalised from day one. Your Week 1 schedule is already adjusted to your diagnostic result — no generic "one size fits all" start.

How it becomes your first plan

Topic weights and session allocation

We map your topic-wise accuracy to syllabus weightage (e.g. from PYQ analysis). Topics where you scored below a threshold get more sessions and more PYQs in the first two weeks. Topics where you did well get maintenance slots. As you take mocks later, the plan keeps updating — the diagnostic is just the first input.

Key takeaways

  • · 20 questions, syllabus-wide and difficulty-balanced. Comparable baseline for everyone.
  • · We measure accuracy by topic and time per question to flag weak areas and guessing.
  • · Your first weekly plan is built from this — more time on weak topics, then the plan adapts with mocks.

Take the diagnostic

Sign up, answer 20 questions, and get your first personalised week. Free.

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