SBI PO (Associate banks) Exam was conducted on November 09, 2014. The test was conducted in two parts – Objective and Descriptive. The former was a computer based test while the latter was Paper/Pen. The descriptive test started immediately after the objective part was over. In this section, the questions appeared on the screen and the candidates had to write the answers on the answer sheet provided to them.
There were 200 questions in Part A (Objective), which had to be answered in 120 minutes. Part B (Descriptive) had 5 questions, which had to be answered in 60 minutes.
There were four sections in the Objective Test:
1. Reasoning
2. General Awareness, Computer Knowledge and Marketing Awareness
3. Data Analysis and Interpretation
4. English Language
All the other sections, except the English language section, were available bilingually, that is, in both English and Hindi. Each question had 5 options and was of 1 mark each. There was a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer.
Part B (Descriptive) tested the English language skills of the candidates. It comprised questions on Reading Comprehension, Précis, Essay and Letter Writing.
The exam is being conducted in two time slots – morning and evening.| Section | Total Questions | Level of difficulty | Good Attempts | Good Score | Approximate time taken |
| Reasoning | 50 | Moderate | 34-36 | 30-32 | 35-40 |
| General Awareness/ Computer Knowledge/ Marketing Awareness | 50 | Moderate | 30-32 | 25-27 | 15-20 |
| Data Analysis and Interpretation | 50 | Moderate-Difficult | 32-34 | 28-30 | 40-45 |
| English Language | 50 | Easy – Moderate | 36-38 | 33-35 | 20-25 |
| Total | 200 | 132-140 | 116-124 | 120 |
Expected Cutoffs
| Subject | General | SC/ST/OBC |
| Reasoning Ability (Out of 50) | 13 - 15 | 9 - 11 |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation (Out of 50) | 12 - 14 | 9 - 11 |
| General Awareness/Marketing/Computer Knowledge (Out of 50) | 13 - 15 | 9 - 11 |
| English Language (Out of 50) | 13 - 15 | 9 - 11 |
| Overall Objective Test (Out of 200) | 90 - 100 | 80 - 90 |
Reasoning
This section primarily saw questions that were moderate in terms of difficulty. This section was a bit time consuming. Majority of the questions in this section were from Data Sufficiency, Statement and Argument, Input & output, Syllogism, Inequality Comparison and Sitting arrangement.
The detail breakup is as follows:
| Topics | Number of Questions |
| Inequality Comparison | 5 + 3 |
| Syllogism | 6 |
| Data Sufficiency | 5 |
| Statement-Assumption | 2 |
| Arrangement+ Comparison (problem based on age) | 5 |
| Input-Output | 5 |
| Height Arrangement | 5 |
| Sitting Arrangement (Circular + Linear) | 11 |
| Blood Relation | 3 |
General Awareness/Computer/Marketing
This section consisted of questions from Static G.K. (Banking), Current Affairs, Computers and Marketing. However, it was dominated by questions on Static G.K. and Current Affairs. Questions based on Computer Awareness were easy. Candidates who have kept themselves abreast with current affairs of the past six months would have easily answered 15-17 questions on General Awareness. Overall difficulty level of the section was moderate.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
Exam Setters focused on all the type of questions to test the exam takers. Majority of the questions were based on Probability, Bar Charts and Pie Charts. This section was lengthy and time consuming. The overall level of difficulty of the section was moderate to difficult.
The detail breakup is as follows:
| Topic | No. of Questions |
| Probability (Set) | 3 |
| Number series (Wrong Number) | 5 |
| Data Sufficiency (Two statements) | 5 |
| Data Interpretation (Bar Graph) | 5 |
| Data Interpretation (Pie Chart) | 5 |
| Data Interpretation (Table 2 Sets) | 11 |
| Data Interpretation (Line Graph) | 6 |
| Data Interpretation (Caselet 2 sets) | 10 |
English Language
The overall level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. The section comprised questions on Phrase Replacement, Error Spotting, Reading Comprehension, FIB (2 blanks), Para-jumbles and Cloze Test. While the passages were not difficult to read, the choices were quite close and required careful examination.
The detail breakup is as follows:
| Topic | No. of Questions |
| Phrase Replacement | 5 |
| Sentence Completion (2 blanks) | 5 |
| Error Spotting | 5 |
| Reading Comprehensions (2 sets) | 20 |
| Para Jumble | 5 |
| Cloze test | 10 |
Part B
Part B of the test was descriptive in nature. There were five different types of questions in this section. The Reading Comprehension was based on subsidies. The questions could be directly answered from the passage and were easy in nature.
The details of this part are as given below:
| Topic | Description | Marks Allotted |
| Letter writing | 1 letter with a choice of 3 topics (2 formal and the other informal) | 10 |
| Paragraph Writing | 1 question with a choice of 3 topics | 8 |
| Précis Writing | 1 précis of 150 words | 10 |
| Reading Comprehension | 1 passage with 5 questions | 10 |
| Essay Writing | 1 essay with a choice of 3 topics | 12 |
Expected Cutoffs
| Subject | General | SC/ST/OBC |
| Descriptive Test (Out of 50) | 20 - 22 | 18 – 20 |
Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.
All the Best!
Team CL
