Today was the third day of the SBI Clerk Preliminary Exam 2018. Spanning a period of one week (ending June 30, 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 | Good Score | Time Taken (In Minutes) |
| English Language | 30 | Easy-Moderate | 21–24 | 18–20 | 20 |
| Numerical Ability | 35 | Moderate | 20–22 | 18–20 | 20 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | Easy-Moderate | 21–24 | 18–20 | 20 |
| Total | 100 | Easy-Moderate | 70–75 | 60–65 | 60 |
Note: Section wise and overall cut-offs are not uniform for all states.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| Reading Comprehension (Globalisation) | 6 | Easy-Moderate |
| Para-jumbles | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Spot the Error (Conventional pattern) | 8 | Easy-Moderate |
| Spot the Error - Inappropriate word (4 highlighted words given in a sentence. Candidate has to find out the incorrect word) | 6 | Easy-Moderate |
| Phrase Replacement | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
The English Language section was more or less along the same lines as the old pattern. Questions on inappropriate words, 4 highlighted words given, were there in which the candidate has to find out the incorrect word. Questions from the RC passage were mainly factual. Two questions in RC were from Vocabulary (1 Synonym and 1 Antonym). Overall, the level of difficulty of this section was easy-to-moderate.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| Number Series (wrong number) | 5 | Moderate |
| Approximation | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Comparison of Variables (Quadratic inequalities) | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Data Interpretation (Bar Graph based) | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Simple Interest & Compound Interest | 2 | Moderate |
| Time, Speed and Distance | 2 | Easy |
| Boats and Stream | 1 | Easy |
| Time and Work | 2 | Easy-Moderate |
| Mixtures & Allegations | 1 | Easy |
| Ratio and Proportion | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Partnership | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Profit, Loss and Discount | 1 | Easy |
| Average | 1 | Easy-Moderate |
| Percentage | 1 | Easy |
| Geometry(square) | 1 | Easy |
| Number system | 1 | Easy |
There was 1 set of five questions from Data Interpretation (Bar Graph based). The questions on Number Series were moderate. The Arithmetic-based questions were primarily from Time and Work, Ratio, SI & CI, Profit, Loss & Discount, Time, Speed and Distance etc. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.
| Topic | Number of Questions | Level of Difficulty |
| AR (Data Arrangement- Person/Birth Month) | 5 | Moderate |
| AR(Data Arrangement– 3 variables) | 5 | Moderate |
| Blood Relation – Set based | 4 | Easy-Moderate |
| Directions – Set based | 3 | Easy |
| AR (Box Arrangement) | 5 | Moderate |
| Alphabet based series - set based | 5 | Easy-Moderate |
| Mathematical Inequalities | 5 | Easy |
| Ranking | 1 | Easy |
| Alphabet based | 1 | Easy |
| Numbers based | 1 | Easy |
There were three sets of five questions each from data arrangement. There was a set of five questions on alphabetical series based. Questions on blood relation and directions were also there. No syllogism questions were asked this year. 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