Today was the first day of the SBI PO Preliminary Exam 2018. Spanning a period of one week (ending July 08, 2018), the exam is being conducted in four time slots: 2 each in morning and 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.
The detailed break-up of SBI PO Preliminary Exam 2018 is as follows:
| Section | Total Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Good Attempts |
Good Score |
Time Taken (In Minutes) |
English Language |
30 |
Moderate |
18-21 |
16-19 |
20 |
Quantitative Aptitude |
35 |
Moderate |
19-22 |
17-20 |
20 |
Reasoning Ability |
35 |
Moderate |
17-19 |
16-18 |
20 |
Total |
100 |
Moderate |
57-63 |
53-58 |
60 |
PS: The overall difficulty level and pattern of the exam was almost similar to that of the last year’s exam.
Sectional and overall expected cut-off of SBI PO Prelims Exam 2018:
| Subject | General |
OBC |
SC |
ST |
English Language (Out of 30) |
8.5 -10.5 |
5.5-7.5 |
5.5-7.5 |
5.5-7.5 |
Quantitative Aptitude (Out of 35) |
10 -12 |
6.5-8.5 |
6.5-8.5 |
6.5-8.5 |
Reasoning Ability (Out of 35) |
6 – 8 |
3.5-5.5 |
3.5-5.5 |
3.5-5.5 |
Overall Objective Test (Out of 100) |
51-55 |
48-52 |
43-47 |
31-35 |
English Language
Topic |
Number of questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Reading Comprehension (Paradox of plenty based): There were 2 vocab based question. |
7 |
Easy-Moderate |
Para-jumbles |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Fill in the Blank |
5 |
Moderate |
| Phrase/Word Replacement | 6 |
Easy-Moderate |
| Spot the Error (Four statements were given in 4 options. 5th option was all are correct.) | 5 |
Easy-Moderate |
| Statement Connection (Appropriate conjunction for 2 given sentences) | 2 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Reading Comprehension (RC) was easy-moderate. Two questions were from Vocabulary (1 Synonym and 1 Antonym). The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate to difficult.
Quantitative Aptitude
| Topic | Number of questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Number Series (Wrong Number Series) |
5 |
Moderate |
Simplification/Approximation |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Data Sufficiency |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
DI (Pie Chart + Table) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
DI (Table) |
5 |
Moderate |
Installment |
1 |
Moderate |
Simple Interest/Compound Interest |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
Profit, Loss and Discount |
1 |
Moderate |
Mixture/Alligation |
1 |
Easy |
Ages |
1 |
Easy |
Mensuration |
1 |
Moderate |
Time and Work |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
Linear Equation |
1 |
Easy |
Partnership |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
Time, Speed and Distance – Boat and Stream |
1 |
Easy-Moderate |
DI part was calculative and time taking. The questions on Number Series were moderate. The Arithmetic-based questions were primarily from Time and Work, Partnership, Profit, Loss & Discount, Time, Speed and Distance, SI/CI, Mixture, etc. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.
Reasoning Ability
| Topic | Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
AR (Floor Arrangement – 3 variables) |
5 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Blood Relations- Set based |
3 |
Easy |
Input-Output |
5 |
Moderate |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement – 2 Parallel Rows - 2 variables) |
5 |
Moderate |
AR (Data Arrangement – Box based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement – 2 variables) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
AR (Comparison of Heights) |
3 |
Easy |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement) |
4 |
Moderate |
Some analytical reasoning sets were moderate-lengthy, not easy. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.
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