Nuts and Bolts of IBPS PO VI Mains Exam Analysis

Pattern of the Mains Exam 2016 -

The individual sections were asked in the sequence mentioned above and the students had to answer the questions within the stipulated time for each section.The Overall level of the Exam was Moderate to Difficult. The level of the exam shocked many students since it was on the lines of SBI PO Mains Exam conducted this year and comparatively high when compared with the mains phase of IBPS PO conducted last year. So, it is necessary for you to go through the latest IBPS PO exam pattern and syllabus.

Reasoning Ability

50 Questions were asked from this section IBPS PO exam. The Overall level of this section was Moderate to Difficult. While some like Coding-Decoding and miscellaneous were comparatively doable, others like Puzzle, Syllogism etc left students in a quandary.

• Syllogism – 5 questions were asked from this topic. They were tricky since conclusion was given in the questions instead the of the statement and 2-3 sets of statements were provided in each option.You had to identify the appropriate set for which conclusion followed logically.
• Seating Arrangement/ Puzzles – 4 sets of questions (i.e. 20 questions, 5 from each set) were asked on this topic. They were floor based, row based and 2 tabular arrangements. These arrangements were tricky since a number of parameters were given in each question and hence various possible cases could be formed.
• Logical Reasoning - 15 questions were asked from this topic. They were from Statement - Conclusion/ assumption, based on Selection procedure (A set of parameters for job eligibility was provided and based on those you had to identify if the person with the qualifications mentioned in the questions was eligible for the job.), based on the main idea of the passage (A set of different statements was given in each option and you had to identify which set was not in correspondence with the gist conveyed by the sentences in other options). The level was comparatively difficult. Many students found the language difficult to comprehend.
• Coding Decoding –  5 Questions were asked from this topic. There was a slight change in the pattern of sentence coding asked, however, the questions were doable.
• Miscellaneous – 5 Questions of distance and direction were asked from the miscellaneous section. The questions were moderate and lengthy but doable.

English Language

40 questions were asked in this section of IBPS PO exam. The overall level of the section was again Moderate to Difficult.

• Reading Comprehension – 2 sets of RC were asked with a total of 15 Questions (8+7 from both RC). One of the RC was based on Economy (Informal vs. Formal Economy). The level was difficult.
• Phrase Starter based questions – 5 Questions were asked from this topic. Two sentences were given in the question and you had to combine the sentences using the appropriate starter. The level was moderate. 2-3 questions from this topic were doable.
• Para Completion – 5 Questions were asked from this topic. A short paragraph was given with 5 statements in the options. The sentence which fits the theme of the passage most appropriately had to be identified. The language of the passage was complex.
• Synonym / Antonym – 5 Questions were asked from this topic. Few words were given in each topic and you had to select the synonym or the antonym of the word as asked in the question. In contrast with the earlier pattern, vocabulary based questions asked this year were different, since these questions were asked individually and not from the RC as asked previously. It was thus difficult to figure out the meaning of the word. If not well versed in vocabulary, it is advisable to leave this topic.
• Sentence Improvement – 5 Questions were asked from this topic as well. 2 parts of the sentence were highlighted in the given statement and you has to identify the option that could be used to improve both the highlighted segments of the sentence. The questions were doable if you have enough practice of this topic.
• Identifying the correct sentence among the given options – 5 Questions were asked here. Different statements were given in the option and you had to identify the sentence which was both grammatically and structurally correct among the given options. The level was comparatively easy and 2-3 of them were doable.

General Awareness

40 Questions were asked in this section in IBPS PO exam. Topics covered included the current happenings of 2 -3 months. A question was asked from the demonetization topic as well which was quite unexpected, given the fact that question papers are usually prepared almost 20 days before the exam.The students are thus advised to be in touch with the latest updates as well for future exams. Almost 8 - 9 questions were asked from the static GK part. This included the headquarters of the organizations, country capitals, locations of dams, national parks, stadiums etc. The maximum emphasis in this section was on the current updates as well as banking awareness. For instance, questions related to RBI, Banking app launched, the fund allocated for PSU Banks etc were asked.

Computer Knowledge

20 Questions were asked from this section in IBPS PO exam. This section was doable with good attempts of 10 - 12 Questions if prepared well. Some of them asked included the relationship between nibble and bits, the name of IBM’s supercomputer etc.

Quantitative Aptitude

50 Questions were asked from this section in IBPS PO exam. The Overall level of this section was Moderate. The questions were calculative.

• Data Interpretation – 4 sets were asked from this topic (20 Questions, 5 Questions from each set). The Paragraph and Missing DI asked were comparatively calculative as compared to the Pie and Line graphs. However, questions from this topic were doable.
• Number Series – 5 Questions were asked from this topic. You had to identify the wrong number out of the given series. The level of these questions was moderate. 2-3 questions in this topic were doable if one has a thorough practice of number series.
• Simplification / Approximation – 5 Questions were asked from this topic. The level was easy and the questions were doable among the lot.
• Data Sufficiency – 2 sets of different types of Data Sufficiency was asked with a total of 10 questions (5 from each set).
  (a) One set included the normal Data Sufficiency questions where some information was given in 2 different statements and you had to identify which piece of information is sufficient to answer the question. One could attempt around 3 questions from this topic.
  (b) In the second set, different information was given in two different statements. You had to evaluate the answer from the information provided in each statement and then establish the relationship between the answers to both statements.
  The Quantity based questions were calculative and difficult.
• Miscellaneous – 10 Questions were asked from this topic. They were asked from the following topics - Probability, Partnership, Average, Mensuration, Mixture and Alligation, Boats and Streams, Time and Work etc. These were a mix of Easy and moderate. Probability and average based questions were easily doable while others were lengthy and time-consuming.

While many of the familiar questions in the exam were a welcome sight, a major portion of the exam left the students at sixes and sevens. The level of the exam increased drastically if we compare it with the previous year. Check out IBPS PO cut off to know how much you need to score in each section.

Major Changes in the Exam Pattern of IBPS PO exam -

• The overall level of Reasoning Section was quite high in comparison to last year. The major surprise in this section was the change in the pattern of Syllogism. Seating arrangement and Puzzles were also trickier.
• There was no question from Input-Output this year.
• The Overall Pattern of English was way different from last year. Few new topics like phrase starter, para completion and identifying the correct sentence among the lot were introduced this year.
• Separate questions from the vocabulary (Synonym and Antonym) were asked rather than incorporating them with RC as were asked previously.
• No Para Jumbles and Cloze Test were asked this year.
• A new set of Data Sufficiency (Quantity-based) was introduced in the Quantitative Aptitude section this year.
• General Awareness section included a question from the news as old as just 10 days.

So, it is clear that you need to try more and more IBPS PO test series for practising for the exam as it will help you perform well in the selection procedure for IBPS PO. So, don't worry and keep practising.

All the best for your exam

Team gradeup.