Dear Readers,

The IBPS PO Mains 2015 exam is scheduled to be held on October 31, 2015.

In this article, we will discuss the expected cutoffs for IBPS PO Mains, the required (safe) number of attempts for this exam and how to prepare for this exam. The insights and tips presented in this article will help you gain an edge over others and ace the exam. (Do note that since the gap between the IBPS Prelims and Mains is very small, you should not waste your time and should immediately start your preparation for the Mains exam as soon as you have given the Prelims test.)

So, let us first understand the exam pattern for IBPS PO Mains.

The IBPS PO Mains 2015 will be a 120-minute exam comprising 200 questions on Reasoning Ability, Quantitative Aptitude, English Language, General Awareness (with special focus on Banking Industry) and Computer Knowledge.

The section-wise break-up is as follows:

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

The IBPS PO Mains pattern has not changed since last year.

Let us now look at how different the Mains exam is vis-à-vis the Prelims –

• There are more questions in each of the sections. A total of 200 questions will be given in the exam instead of 100.
• You will tackle two new sections-General Awareness and Computer Knowledge.
• Exam duration is 120 minutes.

The overall and section wise cut-off for different categories as per the IBPS PO Mains 2014 exam was as follows:

This cut-off can give us a base for the expected cut-off for this year’s Mains. You need to aim to score well enough in this year’s Mains in order to easily clear this cut-off.

In order to understand how to tackle this year’s Mains, let us look at the expected break-up of questions per section in the Mains:

(Do note that this assessment is based on the SBI PO 2015 Mains exam)

• Reasoning –

1. Input and Output
2. Visual Reasoning

• Quantitative Aptitude –

1. Data Sufficiency
2. Permutation and Combination
3. Probability

• English Language –

1. Sentence Improvement
2. Synonyms and Antonyms

Key Strategies-

1) Let us now take a look at the minimum number of questions you should try to attempt and the time you should spend per section. This analysis is based on the cut-offs of last year. This year the cut-off is expected to hover around last year’s cut-off unless there is a drastic change in difficulty-level, etc.

2) Order of attempting different sections in the exam –

a) It is ideal to start with the Computer Knowledge section as it mostly comprises questions on fundamentals of computer application. You should be able to complete the section in 5-7 minutes.

b) Proceeding to the General Awareness section will be good as you can solve 30-35 out of the 40 questions in about 15 minutes. If you have the facts at your fingertips, then you can answer questions fast without wasting time in guesswork.

c) Now, you would be left with approximately 100 minutes to attempt the remaining 140 questions. It is best to play to your strengths and start with your strongest section. This will boost your confidence and help you build speed. Divide your time as suggested above so that you can attempt a good number of questions in each of the three remaining sections.

3) Let us now look at how you can get the required number of attempts . The following is a topic-wise break-up that will help you understand which topics should be given importance:

Reasoning Ability:

Let us now look at the kind of scores you can get in the exams.

Let us assume that you attempt 135 out of the 200 questions asked in the exam with 80% accuracy. Hence,

Number of correct attempts – 108

Number of incorrect attempts – 27

Negative marks for the 27 incorrect attempts = – 7 (approx)

Overall score – 108 – 7 = 101

Considering that the previous year’s overall cut-off for general category was 82, 101 is a very safe score.

Now, let us consider another scenario: You attempt 110 of the 200 questions asked with 80% accuracy.

Number of correct attempts – 88

Number of incorrect attempts – 22

Negative marks for the 22 incorrect answers – 5.5

Overall score – 88-5.5 = 82.5

This score is very close to previous year’s cut – off and might not be enough for you to achieve the desired overall cut-off.

Thus, you must try for the ideal number of attempts as discussed.

4) Tips for preparation –

a) As the cut-off for Computer Knowledge is as high as 11 (out of 20) as per the IBPS PO 2014 pattern, you should aim for maximum attempts and accuracy in this section.

b) As you would be thorough with most of the topics in Reasoning Ability, English Language and Quantitative Aptitude, devote time for General Awareness and Computer Knowledge section.

c) You should also focus on new topics like Input – Output, Visual Reasoning, Data Sufficiency, Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Sentence Improvement and Synonyms & Antonyms, among others.

d) Do not try to answer questions that you are not confident of 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.

e) 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 each in the last two weeks. This will help you identify your weak areas.

You can attempt the mock tests on www.prepathon.com

The Mock Schedule for IBPS PO Main –

1. Mock Test 1 – 18.10.2015 – 19.10.2015
2. Mock Test 2 – 25.10.2015 – 26.10.2015

f. Computer Knowledge – The PaGaLGuY Computer Knowledge bullet will soon be available to you. You can also refer to a book on Computer Awareness by any good publisher (for example, you can refer to Computer Awareness for General Competitive Exams by J.P. Khuntia – S.K. Publishers).

g. General Awareness (with special focus on Banking Industry) – For this section you should go through current affairs of the last 3-6 months. PaGaLGuY’s monthly GK bullets will be useful as they provide an exclusive and comprehensive summary of important news of national and international significance. You can download the GK Bullets for the last 6 months here:

September 2015:

http://bit.ly/1NccbV6

August 2015:

http://bit.ly/1IVDXx5

July 2015:

http://bit.ly/1eQ5b0H

June 2015:

http://fi.ge.pgstatic.net/ebooks/GK%20Bullet%20-%20June%202015%20Final%206July.pdf

May 2015:

http://fi.ge.pgstatic.net/ebooks/GK%20Bullet%20-%20May%202015%20pdf%20corrected.pdf

April 2015:

http://fi.ge.pgstatic.net/ebooks/GK%20Bullet%20-%20April%202015%20(Final).pdf

So, do not waste time – start your preparation for IBPS PO Mains as early as possible. The simple strategies and tips discussed in this article will help you prepare well, clear the Mains and progress to the interview round.

All the best!