Today was the first day of the IBPS PO Preliminary Exam 2019. 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 | 22-25 | 20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | Moderate-difficult | 18-22 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | Easy-Moderate | 28-31 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | Moderate | 68-73 | 60 |
| Subject | General | SC/ST/OBC |
| English Language (Out of 30) | 8-10 | 5-7 |
| Quantitative Aptitude (Out of 35) | 7-9 | 4-6 |
| Reasoning Ability (Out of 35) | 8-10 | 5-7 |
| Overall Objective Test (Out of 100) | 60-65 | OBC: 57-62SC: 51-55ST: 43-47 |
Topic |
Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Reading Comprehension (Based on Chinese Education System) |
10 |
Easy-Moderate |
Spot the Error |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Word Replacement/Sentence Improvement |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Phrase Replacement |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Cloze Test |
5 |
Easy |
The English Language section comprised of questions based on Reading Comprehension, Spot the Error, Cloze Test and Phrase Replacement. The Reading Comprehension was based on Chinese Education System. The overall difficulty level of this section was easy to moderate.
Topic |
Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
Data Interpretation (Table - Total population of male/female based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Data Interpretation (Line Graph) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Data Interpretation (Caselet - A, B, C, D four hotels based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Comparison of Variables: Quadratic Equations |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Simplification/Approximation |
5 |
Easy |
Quant based word problems: (Profit, Loss and Discount, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Average, Partnership, Time, Speed and Distance - Boats and Streams, Mensuration, Ages, Percentage etc.) |
10 |
Moderate |
There were three sets of Data Interpretation of 5 questions each. Some commonly asked topics were Mensuration, Time Speed and Distance, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Partnership, Ages and Profit, Loss and Discount. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate,
Topic |
Number of Questions |
Level of Difficulty |
AR (Data Arrangement - Months based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
AR (Linear Seating Arrangement - Age based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
AR (Data Arrangement - Box based) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
AR (Square Seating Arrangement) |
5 |
Easy-Moderate |
Coding-decoding (set based) |
5 |
Easy |
Blood Relation |
3 |
Easy |
Alphanumeric Series |
2 |
Easy |
Mathematical Inequalities |
5 |
Easy |
The Reasoning Ability section was dominated by questions based on Analytical Reasoning. There were four sets of Seating Arrangement and Data Arrangement. 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