Today was the first day of the IBPS PO Preliminary Exam 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.
| Section | Total Questions | Level of difficulty | Good Attempts | Time taken (in minutes) |
| English Language | 30 | Moderate | 17-19 | 20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | Moderate-difficult | 15-17 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | Easy-Moderate | 20-22 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | Moderate | 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 SC: 38-42 ST: 31.5-33.5 |
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| Reading Comprehension (Information circulation based) | 5 | Moderate |
| Spot the Error (Sentence was divided in 4 parts, 5th option was No error) | 6 | Moderate-Difficult |
| Interchange bold words | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Fill in the blanks (Single FIB) | 5 | Moderate |
| Cloze Test (2 Sets – 5 + 1 – Old Pattern) | 6 | Easy-Moderate |
| Phrase Replacement | 3 | Easy-Moderate |
The English Language section of IBPS PO Preliminary Exam 2018 comprised of questions based on Reading Comprehension, Spot the Errors, Cloze test, fill in the blanks, interchange words and Phrase Replacement. The Reading Comprehension was based on information circulation. The interchanging words questions were having 5 to 6 bold words, which needs to be interchanged to make the sentence meaningful. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| Number Series (Wrong numbers based) | 6 | Moderate |
| Data Interpretation (Line Graph Based) | 7 | Moderate |
| Data Interpretation (Table and bar graph based) | 6 | Moderate |
| Comparison of Variables: Quadratic Equations | 6 | Easy-Moderate |
| Profit , Loss and Discount | 1 | Moderate |
| Simple Interest & Compound Interest | 1 | Difficult |
| Average | 2 | Easy - Moderate |
| Partnership | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Time, Speed and Distance - Boats and Streams | 1 | Easy |
| Algebra - Linear Equation | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Mensuration (Cylinder based) | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Age Problem | 1 | Easy |
| Percentage | 1 | Moderate |
The Quantitative Aptitude section of IBPS PO Preliminary 2018 saw questions from a variety of topics. Some commonly asked topics were Mensuration, Time Speed and Distance, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Partnership, Age, and Profit, Loss and Discount. This year data interpretation sets contain more number of questions than usual as one set has 6 question and the other one has 7 questions based on it. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate to difficult, since most of the questions were calculative and hence the questions asked for the approximate value for the answer.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| AR (Data Arrangement - 3 variable | 5 | Moderate |
| AR (Linear Sitting Arrangement - 4 Peoples facing North- 4 facing South) | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| AR (Floor Arrangement - 2 variables) | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| AR (Sitting Arrangement - Square table/opposite direction) | 5 | Moderate |
| Coding-decoding (set based) | 5 | Easy |
| Calendar | 1 | Easy |
| Directions (Set based) | 3 | Easy |
| Mathematical Inequalities | 5 | Easy- Moderate |
| Odd One Out (Alphabet based) | 1 | Easy |
The Reasoning Ability section of IBPS PO Preliminary 2018 was dominated by questions based on Analytical Reasoning. There were two sets of Sitting Arrangement questions with persons facing in opposite direction.. In Floor Arrangement, name and orders placed were to be arranged on 5 different floors. Directions based set was easy and requires no calculation. No questions based on Syllogism were there in the exam. The overall difficulty level of this section was easy to 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