The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducted the Main Examination, for the recruitment of Probationary Officers/Management Trainee across the country on November 26, 2017.

There were 155 questions, which had to be answered in 180 minutes. There were four sections, namely, Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language and Data Analysis & Interpretation. All the sections except the section on English Language were available bilingually, that is, both in English and in Hindi. Each question had 5 options. One-fourth or 0.25 marks will be deducted for every incorrect answer.

Objective Part of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017:

The detailed break-up of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017 is as follows:

Sections	Number of questions	Maximum marks	Level of difficulty	Good attempts (in marks)	Time allotted for each section
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude	45	60	Difficult	17-20	60 minutes
General/Economy/Banking Awareness	40	40	Moderate	25-28	35 minutes
English Language	35	40	Difficult	13-15	40 minutes
Data Analysis & Interpretation	35	60	Moderate-Difficult	20-22	45 minutes
Total	155	200	Difficult	76-85	180

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude Section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017:

Questions featured in the Reasoning section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017 were difficult in terms of difficulty level. There were no questions asked from Computer Aptitude. The reasoning part saw questions from Data Sufficiency, Seating Arrangements (Linear and Circular), Coding-Decoding and Machine Input Output. There were questions based on seating arrangement. Logical Reasoning part was moderate to difficult in terms of difficulty level. There were questions based on Statement- Cause and Effect, Statement Inferences.

Topics	Number of Questions	Level of Difficulty
Data Sufficiency	3	Difficult
AR (Seating Arrangement - 6 people sitting in two rows)	1	Moderate
AR (Seating Arrangement - 7 people sitting in a row and like different colors)	3	Difficult
Symbol based Directions question	5	Difficult
Symbol based blood relations questions	1	Moderate
AR (Circular Seating Arrangement -Total no of people were more than 10)	5	Moderate-Difficult
Machine Input Output	5	Difficult
Coding-Decoding	5	Difficult
AR (Data Arrangement - Puzzles based)	5	Difficult
Figure based puzzle	5	Difficult
CR (Statement -cause and effect, Course of Action, Statement Inferences)	5	Moderate-Difficult
Data based Question (A company was hiring candidates and qualifications and eligibility criteria were given then based on that answers have to be given)	2	Difficult

General/Economy/Banking Awareness Section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017:

In general, the difficulty level of this section was moderate. This section saw a mix of questions from Current Affairs and Banking. Some questions were from Static Part.

English Language Section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017:

The overall difficulty level of the English Language section in IBPS PO Main Exam 2017 was difficult. This section was more difficult as compared to the previous year. There were questions on Para Jumbles, Sentence connectors, Fill in the Blanks (double filler) and Spot the error. There were two Reading Comprehensions.

Topic	Number of questions	Level of difficulty
Reading Comprehensions (2 RC 5 Qs. each)	10	Difficult
Synonyms or Antonyms	4	Difficult
Cloze test	5	Moderate-Difficult
Para jumbles (New Pattern)	3	Difficult
Fill in the blanks (Double)	2	Moderate-Difficult
Spot the Error	5	Moderate-Difficult
Rephrasing sentence to correct grammatical form	3	Difficult
Sentence connectors	3	Difficult

Data Analysis & Interpretation Section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017:

Questions in the Data Analysis & Interpretation section of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017 were difficult and calculation intensive. There were questions on Data Interpretation- Pie Charts, Line Graph and Table. The questions on Data Sufficiency and Number Series were moderate to difficult.

Topic	Number of questions	Level of difficulty
Data Sufficiency	5	Moderate
Comparison of two quantities (Q1-Q2 type)	5	Moderate-Difficult
Data Interpretation (Table based)	5	Difficult
Data Interpretation (Line Graph)	5	Moderate
Data Interpretation (Pie Chart)	5	Moderate-Difficult
Number Series (Find the wrong number)	5	Moderate-Difficult
Mensuration	1	Moderate-Difficult
Time, Speed and Distance	1	Moderate
Ratio based question	1	Moderate
Mixture /Alligation	1	Moderate
Ages	1	Moderate-Difficult

Descriptive Part of IBPS PO Main Exam 2017 -

There were two writing tasks (for 25 marks) to be completed in 30 minutes.
Essay writing:
One essay with a choice of 3 topics (Memory based):
1. Advantages and Disadvantages of Cashless Economy
2. Are gadgets interfering with the Intellectual capabilities of the humans?
3. Which reform in Indian education can be compared with International level?

Letter writing:
One letter with a choice of 3 topics (Memory based):
1. Being a team leader you noticed that some of your subordinates are not efficient in interaction with the customers. So write a letter to the HR to conduct training in Effective Communication Skills for the same.
2. Write a letter to your friend who wants to open a new business leaving his well paid job. Give your suggestions to him.
3. Write a letter to your Bank Manager requesting him to block your credit card as you have lost it and request him to issue the new one.

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