IBPS PO mains consists of Objective Tests of 200 marks and Descriptive Test of 25 marks. Both the Objective and Descriptive Tests are conducted online. The Descriptive Test of 30 minutes duration with 25 marks is a Test of English Language (Letter Writing & Essay). Here is the IBPS PO Mains exam pattern 2019:
S.No. |
Name of Tests(Objective) |
No. of Questions |
Time in Mins |
Maximum Marks |
1 |
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude |
45 |
60 |
60 |
2 |
English Language |
35 |
40 |
40 |
3 |
Data Analysis & Interpretation |
35 |
45 |
60 |
4 |
General/ Economy/ Banking Awareness |
40 |
35 |
40 |
Total |
155 |
180 |
200 |
IBPS PO Mains 2018 Exam ANALYSIS (OVER-ALL): |
|
SECTIONS |
GOOD ATTEMPTS |
English Language |
11 to 16 |
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude |
15 to 18 |
Data Analysis and Interpretation |
8 to 12 |
General Awareness |
23 to 25 |
TOTAL |
69 to 74 |
Given below are some General tips to attempt each section of the exam
Reasoning and Computer Aptitude
The breakup of the reasoning section of last year is given below
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Level |
Sitting Arrangement and Puzzles |
23 |
Difficult |
Machine Input Output |
3 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Alphabet arrangement |
1 |
Moderate |
Coding-Decoding |
3 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Critical Reasoning(Statement Assumption, Inferences, etc) |
10 |
Difficult |
Miscellaneous |
5 |
Difficult |
Total |
45 |
Difficult |
General Strategy
There are 30 questions of 1 mark and 15 questions of 2 marks in the Reasoning Section.
Three things should be kept in mind while attempting the Reasoning Section
Topic WISE Strategy
The Reasoning section of the IBPS PO Mains exam consists of questions such as – Coding-Decoding, Seating Arrangement (Circular, Square), Linear Arrangement, Puzzle, Blood Relations, Ranking, Direction Test, and Critical Reasoning Section.
Here are some of the key things that you need to take care of.
MATHEMATICAL Strategy
Here are the various Scenarios to get some sample scores in the reasoning section. The negative marking is 1/4th of the maximum marks. Also, I have assumed that the mind remains fresh at the beginning, hence you attempt more in the 1st block and less in the 2nd Block of attempts. I have considered 3 cases of 70,80 and 90% accuracy and accordingly kept the attempts to be same
|
|
Block-1 of 30 mins |
Block-2 of 30 mins |
Scenario 1 at 80% Accuracy |
Total questions to Attempt |
16 |
9 |
Accuracy at (80%) |
13 |
7 |
|
2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy) |
2 |
1 |
|
Net Marks in Each block |
14.25 |
7.25 |
|
Total Score in Reasoning section |
21.5 |
||
|
|
Block-1 of 30 mins |
Block-2 of 30 mins |
Scenario 2 at 90% Accuracy |
Total questions to Attempt |
16 |
9 |
Accuracy at 90% |
14 |
8 |
|
2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy) |
3 |
1 |
|
Net Marks in Each Block |
16.5 |
8.75 |
|
Total Score in Reasoning section |
25.25 |
||
|
|
Block-1 of 30 mins |
Block-2 of 30 mins |
Scenario 3 at 70% Accuracy |
Total questions to Attempt |
16 |
9 |
Accuracy at(70%) |
11 |
6 |
|
2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy) |
2 |
1 |
|
Net Marks in Each block |
11.75 |
6.25 |
|
Total Score in Reasoning section |
18 |
Reasoning Section had a cut-off of 10.25 in 2018 and 10.5 in 2017. Hence on a minimum, you need to have an accuracy of 70% but maintain a 100% accuracy for the 2 marker questions in order to comfortably clear the cut-off. Alternatively, attempt less in both blocks of attempts but maintain a 90% accuracy.
Last year the overall FINAL cut-off was 74.5(including the Description section which had a cut-off of 10). Let's assume that you just clear the cut-off of 10 in the descriptive section. Hence to get a maximum score of 64.5 and with the weight of the Reasoning section being 30% (60 marks out of 200), you need to have a score of 30% of 64 or around 19 to be in the merit list. This fact has been assumed with the knowledge that the Final cut-off is distributed among different sections according to the weight of each section in terms of marks. To get a 19 score you need to be at around 75% accuracy with 25 attempts with 18 correct. Although in the final analysis, you need to have a score a little more than 10 in the descriptive section. Thus the desired overall score should be below 64.5 and hence the overall score of the Reasoning section will be around 18.5-19 marks.
Below, I have given a scenario to clear the cut-off.
|
|
Block-1 of 30 mins |
Block-2 of 30 mins |
Scenario to clear the cut-off at 90% Accuracy |
Total questions to Attempt |
7 |
6 |
Accuracy at 90% |
6 |
5 |
|
2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy) |
0 |
0 |
|
Net Marks in Each Block |
5.75 |
4.75 |
|
Total Score in Reasoning section |
10.5 |
Now you can get an idea as to what is the difference in effort required to be put between clearing a cut-off and being in the merit list. Even if you lower your efficiency from 90 to 75%, you need to increase your net correct attempts from 11(out of 13 at 90% accuracy) to 18(out of 25 at 75% accuracy). I am not telling you to lower your efficiency, but have various scenarios in mind, the aim of all of them being not only to clear the cut-off but to be in the final merit list. The choice is between lowering your efficiency and increasing the number of attempts thus putting yourself at higher risk or increasing your efficiency but decreasing your number of attempts. Given a choice, you should definitely go for the later one, as that will make you more focussed. To do this task efficiently, in both the blocks of attempts, give yourself at least 1.5 mins in each section just to strategize as to which questions should be attempted in each of the attempt blocks. Keep the effective time of attempting this section at around 28.5 mins. This will make you smarter with regards to the choice of questions.
We will do a similar analysis of the other sections in my next Article on IBPS PO MAINS.
Verifying, please be patient.