The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) will conduct the IBPS SO Prelims exam on December 26, and 27, 2021. The exam will be of 2 hours duration and 150 marks. It is the first round of the IBPS SO 2021 examination.
This article will explain the pattern of the examination, Previous Year Question Paper Analysis and the Questions asked in the IBPS SO preliminary exam,
Exam Pattern – For post of Law Officer & Rajsabha Adhikari
| S No | Section | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| 2. | English Language | 50 | 25 | 40 minutes |
| 3. | General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
Exam Pattern – For other Specialist Officers (Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer (Scale I), HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer Scale I
| S No | Section | No. of Questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| 2. | English Language | 50 | 25 | 40 minutes |
| 3. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
Previous Year Question Paper Analysis
The question Papers of the past two to three years had a difficulty ranging from moderate to difficult. Therefore the candidates can expect a question paper of about the same difficulty.
Considering the question pattern of the last two to three years the trend followed in the question papers of the IBPS SO Prelims exam is as follows.
The English section comprises Reading Comprehensions of about 20 questions. Scoring marks in the RC section is vital in getting good marks in the English part. There are about 5 questions each from Phrasal Verbs, Word Swap, and Error Detection. Also, there are about 10 questions regarding Clauses and Idioms.
The Quantitative Analysis section comprises about 15 questions each from Data Interpretation and Arithmetics. Even if the questions from Data Interpretation look easy, the candidates must be very careful while answering the same as there are high chances of making careless mistakes. The question paper contains 5 questions from either Missing or Wrong number sequences. Also, there are five Questions from Quadratic equations.
The Reasoning section is where the candidates can score the maximum marks if attempted carefully. It consists of about 25 Puzzles or Sitting Arrangement questions, which is about half of the total questions in the section. The rest of the questions will include 5 questions from Syllogism, 5 questions from Input/Output Patterns, and 10 miscellaneous questions that contain Logical Reasoning, Blood Relation, Order Ranking, Directions etc.
Taking due note of the repeated patterns and preparing accordingly will help the candidates to clear the IBPS SO Prelims Examination. The qualified candidates can appear for the next round of the IBPS SO 2021 Examination, i.e. the Mains Examination.
