The IBPS Clerk Prelims 2016 Exam is being conducted for the recruitment of clerk jobs in 20 public sector banks of India.As part of the selection process, a two stage examination process involving preliminary & main exams are held.Based on candidates feedback, here is the detailed clerk prelims exam review & excepted cutoff scores.
The IBPS Clerk 2016 recruitment was notified in the month of August to fill 19243 vacancies in indian govt banks.
Approximately 8 – 10 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the online test during the these days.Therefore the preliminary exams were scheduled on multiple dates – November 26, 27 & December 3, 4, 2016.
IBPS Clerk Review: Easy but Time Consuming
The clerical prelims exam pattern had 100 questions under 3 sections – English Language, Numerical Ability & Reasoning Ability.
Candidates must 100 questions in 60 minutes for a total of 100 marks.Each correct answer carries 1 mark & for each wrong option, 0.25 will be reduced as negative mark.
The pattern of IBPS clerk preliminary test is framed in such a way that it tests your ability to answer a question with maximum accuracy in minimum time.
A vast majority of participants who took their exams on November 26 & 27 are terming the tests as easy.Now lets us see how they performed in each section.
Now lets look at the review of the complete paper.
English Language: There were 30 questions in this section. Difficulty Level: Easy
Questions were from the following topics:
- Reading Comprehension
- Cloze Test
- Sentence formation
- Spotting errors
- Synonyms/ Antonyms
Some people felt the error spotting questions & sentence formation were confusing to understand.The comprehension passages which usually consume time was infact quite easy.
Safe number of attempts: 12 to 20
Reasoning Ability: Questions: 35 | Difficulty Level: Moderate
This section is often regarded as tough but this being clerical exam, questions were not very tricky as expected.See the topics from which questions were asked:
- Inequality
- Coding & Decoding
- Arrangement (Sitting/ Linear/ Row)
- Series (Number/ Alphabetical)
- Puzzles
- Direction Sense
We were told that reasoning part was easy too & all those who have prepared well could complete it in 15 – 20 minutes.
Safe no of attempts: 15 to 23
Numerical Ability: Questions: 35 | Level of difficulty: Easy
Candidates who are good at numbers & remember the shortcuts, formula, concept etc., will find it easy to complete this section.Questions were from:
- Simplification
- Number series
- Data Interpretation
- Simple/ Compound Interest
- Profit & Loss
- Time/ Work, Boats/ Streams
- Averages
- Partnership
- Age related problem
Safe no of attempts: 16 – 22
With December 3rd & 4th exams pending, there is a chance for IBPS to change the question pattern slightly OR increase the difficulty level to maintain competitiveness.
IBPS Clerk Expected Cutoffs
What will be the cutoffs of IBPS clerk prelims 2016 exam could be the next big thought in all your minds now.
The cutoffs would be fixed state-wise since the clerk vacancies differ for each state.So depending on the number of jobs allotted for a particular state, the qualifying marks will change.
Total Cutoffs: Going by that logic, the ibps clerk prelims 2016 expected cutoffs could be in the range of 42 – 50 for general category & for other categories (OBC/SC/ST) it could be slightly lower than this figure.
Few prominent states such as Gujarat, Tamilnadu etc., may have cutoffs ranging between 31 – 38 because Total vacancies in a particular state, Number of applicants from that state & their performance will determine the pass marks.
Sectional Cutoffs: Candidates must pass in each section by scoring the individual cutoff scores fixed by IBPS.Based on your feedback, we feel the sectional cutoffs might be:
- English: 7 – 9
- Reasoning: 8 – 12
- Numerical Ability: 5 – 8
Can I Start Preparing for Mains?
You should starting for IBPS Clerk mains if you are confident of clearing the prelims.
The IBPS Clerk Main Exam is on December 31, 2016 & January 1, 2017 for which qualifiers of the preliminary test will get shortlisted.
We know how tough was IBPS PO main exam & the same might happen with IBPS clerk mains too.Therefore, its always better to start early.
Make use of these practice books for 2016 IBPS clerk main exam:
* IBPS Clerk Online Mock Tests (10 sets) for Rs.649 – Click here to buy online
* IBPS Clerk Mains 50 Practice Sets for Rs.320 – Click here to buy online
How was your performance.Mention your attempts in the comments to discuss.