Dear Readers,

Many among you have successfully cleared the IBPS Clerk 2015 Prelims exam and would be ready to tackle the Mains exam. IBPS has scheduled the Clerk 2015 Mains exam on January 3rd, 2015. You have little over a fortnight left to wrap up your final preparation and revise topics, especially GK & Computer Awareness. 

In this article, we will discuss the expected cut-offs for the IBPS Clerk 2015 Mains, details for sections and the number of questions you should attempt to be on the safe side. This will help you make the most of the remaining days and score maximum marks in this exam.

Let’s first go through the exam pattern:

IBPS Clerk 2015 Mains exam has 200 questions, which have to be solved within 120 minutes. These questions are divided into five different sections, which are as follows:

Section                         No. of questions          No. of marks

Reasoning Ability                    40                               40

English Language                    40                               40

Quantitative Aptitude              40                               40

General Awareness                 40                               40

Computer Awareness              40                               40

Note: All questions carry one mark each, with a negative mark of 0.25 for every wrong answer. 

How will the Mains exam be different from the Prelims?

a) The 200 questions have to be solved within 120 minutes.

b) Two new sections, namely General Awareness and Computer Awareness will be included.

To tackle these changes and optimise your score in the exam, you need to work target individual areas and devise an apt time management strategy. For this, let us first understand the topic-wise break-up for each section. 

1) Reasoning Ability           Number of Questions

Coding-Decoding                               05

Linear Arrangement                           05

Seating Arrangement                         05

Number Series                                    05

Syllogism                                             05

Inequality                                             05

Data Sufficiency                                  05

Miscellaneous                                     05

2) English Language             Number of Questions

Sentence Improvement                        05

Para Jumbles                                         05

Spotting Errors                                       05

Cloze Test                                              10

Fill in the Blanks                                     05

Reading Comprehension                      10

3) Quantitative Aptitude           Number of Questions

   Data Interpretation                                 10

   Approximation                                        05

   Number Series                                        10                                        

   Arithmetic                                                15

4) General Awareness               Number of questions

     Static GK                                                05           

     Banking Awareness                             8-10

     Current Affairs                                       25 +

5) Computer Awareness: Computer Awareness section tests your knowledge about basic computer operations. Questions asked in this section are fairly easy. A total of 40 questions will be asked in this section.

Overall & sectional cut-offs:

To discuss the overall state-wise cut-offs for the IBPS Clerk 2015 Mains exam, we need to first go through last year’s cut-offs. 

This year’s cut-off might increase by 10+ marks vis-à-vis last year. In order to calculate the cut-off, note the 2014 cut-off for your respective state & category and add 10+ marks to it. For example a General Category candidate from Uttar Pradesh who needed to score 116 marks last year might need to get around 126+ marks this year.

Ideal number of attempts:

Using the above example, a candidate who needs to score 126 marks should attempt at least 155-160 questions out of 200, with at least 80% accuracy. Accordingly, you should decide your target attempt on the basis of your target score.

Sectional cut-offs:

Little change is expected in this year’s sectional cut-offs. Given below is the last year’s cut-offs for all five sections:

Section                            Cut-off marks           Total marks

Reasoning Ability                     16                              40

English Language                     10                              40

Quantitative Aptitude               13                              40

General Awareness                  10                              40

Computer Awareness               18                              40

You can expect similar scores for this year.

Key Strategies:

i) Computer Awareness: It is better to start with this section as questions are based on basics of computer applications. Such questions are fairly easy to solve. So, try to attempt at least 35+ out of 40 questions within first 15 minutes. 

ii) The sectional cut-off for Computer Awareness is the highest considering it is the easiest section. You can use this section as your launch pad to cross the expected total cut-off. Also, attempting this section first will provide you the much needed initial speed so you can have more time to tackle other sections.

iii) General Awareness: As these questions are again straight forward, you should start this section next. With good command over current affairs and thorough revision, you can easily score 25+ marks. Try to attempt 30+ questions in this section within 15-20 minutes. 

iv) For this section, you should study current affairs of the last 3-6 months. PaGaLGuY’s monthly GK bullets will be a useful resource as they provide a comprehensive summary of all the important news of both national and international significance. You can download the GK Bullets for the last 6 months here: 

https://testing.pagalguy.com/articles/the-november-2015-general-knowledge-bullet-37750372

v) After dealing with these two sections, you will have around 90 minutes to solve the remaining 120 questions. So, it is better to start with the section that is your strength in order to boost your confidence and speed. Divide your time according to the number of questions you plan to attempt, keeping the sectional cut-off in mind.

vii) Reasoning Ability: Topics like Syllogism, Coding-Decoding, Number Series, Inequalities, Data Sufficiency are worth 25 marks. As they are based on basic logical reasoning concepts, they are fairly easy and not time-consuming. With sufficient practice, these topics will easily fetch you maximum marks and save a lot of time.

viii) In this section, you might have to solve two sets of Arrangements, namely Seating Arrangement & Linear Arrangement, with five questions in each set. If you are able to arrange the given things/people in order you can solve all the five questions in one go. Though time-consuming, with enough practice you can crack these questions with ease.

ix) Miscellaneous questions based on Directions, Blood Relations, etc. are worth 5 marks in total. Using the diagram approach, you can easily solve these questions.

x) English Language: Vocabulary is of utmost importance in this section as 22 of the 40 questions will be from this topic. You can easily score well in Sentence Improvement, Fill in the Blanks, Cloze Test, Antonym-Synonym, etc. if you have a good vocabulary. 

xi) The second most important topic is ‘Reading Comprehension’. Generally, the difficulty level of passages in the Clerk exam is not very high as that of the PO exam. Your reading speed and capability to understand the gist quickly matters in RC. So, you should practise at least one passage daily and try to solve it within 7-8 minutes.

xii) Para Jumble questions are often asked in groups and are quite time-consuming and confusing. Therefore, practise at least one set of Para Jumbles every day and focus on reducing the time taken to solve the set. If solving the whole question is very difficult, you can identify the first and last sentences of the paragraph. This will get you at least 2 marks.

xiii) Good knowledge of grammar topics like Tenses, Subject Verb Agreement, Prepositions, etc. will help you obtain maximum marks in ‘Spotting the Error’ questions. A daily 10-15 minute revision of basic grammar rules would help you score well in this topic.

xiv) Quantitative aptitude:  Most important topics in this section are based on Arithmetic (15 marks out of 40). These questions are generally direct and not time-consuming. With good command over basic concepts and sufficient practice, you can easily solve questions from this area.

 xv) Data Interpretation is worth 10 marks (2 sets). However, as the pattern for this topic was changed in the IBPS Clerk 2015 Prelims, you should be prepared for some changes in this exam too and be ready to solve more number of questions. Usually, questions are based on simple mathematical processes that test your calculation speed. So, you should solve at least 2 DI sets daily to increase speed and accuracy. 

xvi) Questions from topics such as Simplification & Number Series are fairly easy and will help you save time, which can be utilised to tackle topics like DI.

General Tips:  

a) From now till the day of the exam, focus on revision rather than delving into new topics.

b) Try to devote maximum time to taking speed tests and increasing accuracy. 

c) Spend enough time on each section and attempt at least 20 questions per section. 

d) Do not try to answer questions that you are not sure about just to maximise your number of attempts. You need to ensure speed as well as accuracy. You could lose 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer.

Importance of Mock Tests: Besides working on individual topics, you should regularly attempt mock tests as they are fairly accurate indicators of your actual performance in the exam. Aim to write at least one mock test in the last two weeks. This will help you identify your weak areas.

              Start your final preparation as early as possible. Simple strategies discussed in this article will help you score maximum marks to clear the exam and progress to the final round. If you have any queries regarding the IBPS CWE Clerk 2015 Mains exam, feel free to post them on this website. We are there to guide you. 

Best of Luck!!!