Today was the first day of the IBPS PO Preliminary Exam 2018. The exam is being conducted in four time slots: 2 each in the morning and the evening.
A total of 100 questions had to be answered in 60 minutes. All the sections, except English Language, were available in both English and Hindi. Every correct answer will fetch 1 mark, while every incorrect answer will reduce the score by 0.25.
| Section | Total Questions |
Level of difficulty |
Good Attempts |
Time taken (in minutes) |
English Language |
30 |
Moderate-Difficult |
15-17 |
20 |
Quantitative Aptitude |
35 |
Moderate |
15-17 |
20 |
Reasoning Ability |
35 |
Moderate-difficult |
17-20 |
20 |
Total |
100 |
Moderate-Difficult |
52-58 |
60 |
| Subject | General |
SC/ST/OBC |
English Language (Out of 30) |
5-7.5 |
3-5 |
Quantitative Aptitude (Out of 35) |
7.5-9.5 |
5-7 |
Reasoning Ability (Out of 35) |
10-12.5 |
7-9 |
Overall Objective Test (Out of 100) |
48.5-51.5 |
OBC: 47.5-50.5 |
English Language:
| Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Reading Comprehension (Two questions were based on vocabulary.) |
7 |
Moderate |
Spot the Error (Out of 4 bold words, one was wrong.) |
4 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Phrase/Word replacement |
5 |
Moderate |
Word Usage: Meaning of word appropriately used in which sentence. |
3 |
Moderate |
Parajumbles |
6 |
Moderate |
Match the statements from Column 1 with column 2 |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
The English Language section comprised of questions based on Reading Comprehension, Spot the Error, Phrase/Word replacement, Parajumbles, Word usage and Match the statements. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate to difficult.
Quantitative Aptitude:
| Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Number Series (Wrong numbers based) |
5 |
Moderate |
Data Interpretation (Bar Graph) |
5 |
Moderate |
Data Interpretation (Table) |
6 |
Moderate |
Data Interpretation (Caselet – Ratio based) |
5 |
Moderate |
Comparison of Variables: Quadratic Equations |
6 |
Easy-Moderate |
Probability |
1 |
Moderate |
Simple Interest & Compound Interest |
1 |
Moderate |
Ratio and Proportion |
1 |
Easy - Moderate |
Partnership |
1 |
Moderate |
Time, Speed and Distance - Boats and Streams |
1 |
Moderate |
Time and Work |
1 |
Moderate |
Percentage |
1 |
Moderate |
Time, Speed and Distance – Average Speed |
1 |
|
The Quantitative Aptitude section saw questions from a variety of topics. Some commonly asked topics were Time Speed and Distance, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Partnership, Probability, Time and work, Percentage and Ratio & Proportion. There were 3 sets of Data Interpretation. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate, since most of the questions were calculative and hence the questions asked for the approximate value for the answer.
Reasoning Ability:
| Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
AR (Data Arrangement – Box arrangement) |
5 |
Moderate |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement – facing north) |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
AR (Data Arrangement - Floor Arrangement) |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
AR (Circular Seating Arrangement – facing the center) |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
AR (Data Arrangement – Year/born based) |
5 |
Moderate |
Blood relation |
2 |
Easy- Moderate |
Mathematical Inequalities |
5 |
Easy- Moderate |
Coding – Decoding |
1 |
Easy- Moderate |
Alphabet based single questions |
2 |
Easy |
The Reasoning Ability section was dominated by questions based on Analytical Reasoning. There were five different sets of based on various kinds of Seating Arrangement and Data Arrangement. There were no questions based on Syllogism in this exam. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate to difficult.
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