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IBPS Common Written Test June 2012 Detailed Analysis

This year the IBPS Common Written Test for recruitment to 19 national banks was held on Sunday,
17
th
June, 2012. It consisted of two papers Objective and Descriptive.

Objective Paper:

The objective paper comprised 250 questions and the time duration was 2.5 hours. As announced, it
had 5 sections, with 50 questions in each section. The sections were the same as last year i.e.
Reasoning, Quantitative Ability, General Awareness (with weightage given to the banking sector),
Computer Awareness and English Language. Overall the paper was more or less on standard lines and
a substantial number of questions could have been attempted by the well-prepared student.

Summary
Total Marks 225
Number of Questions 250
Number of Sections 5
Questions Per section 50
Options 5
Marks per question 0.5 (for English language) and 1 for the
remaining sections
Negative Marking 1/4
th
of marks allotted to each question

There were 5 sections in the paper, with 50 questions in each section. These were:

1. Reasoning
2. Quantitative Ability
3. General Awareness
4. Computer Awareness
5. English Language

Reasoning:
The reasoning section was more or less of the same level as seen in the September 2011 IBPS CWE
exam. The section had typical LR question types such as linear and circular arrangements, sequential
output tracing, data sufficiency and syllogisms. There were no surprises in this section in terms of
either question type or difficulty level. A student with decent preparation would find this section time
consuming but fairly solvable. Students could have attempted 30-32 questions easily in around 40 -
45 minutes.




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The breakup of this section was as shown below:

Breakup
Area No. of Questions Difficulty Level
Directions and Arrangements
(Circular Arrangement)
7 Moderate to Difficult
Directions and Arrangements
(Linear Arrangement)
8 Moderate
Implicit Statements 1 Easy
Directions and Arrangements
(Complex Arrangement)
3 Moderate to Difficult
Critical Reasoning 5 Moderate to Difficult
Syllogisms 7 Easy to Moderate
Data Sufficiency 5 Easy to Moderate
Sequential Output Tracing 4 Moderate
Visual Reasoning (Odd man out) 5 Moderate
Visual Reasoning (Complete the series) 5 Easy to Moderate

Quantitative Aptitude

This section had a judicious mix of BODMAS, QA and DI questions like last years paper. The breakup
of this section was :

Breakup
Area Number of Questions Difficulty Level
BODMAS 5 Easy to Moderate
Approximations 5 Moderate
Number Series
(Odd Man Out)
5 Moderate
Quantitative Aptitude 15 Easy to Moderate
Pie Chart 5 Easy
Bar Chart 5 Moderate to Difficult
Line Graph 5 + 5 Moderate

Like most bank exams, this test too had 10 questions on BODMAS and approximations. The weightage
on general arithmetic and quantitative questions was somewhat greater, with 15 questions being
from this area. These were a mix of simple to moderate questions, and covered general concepts in
Arithmetic such as percentages, profit and loss, interest and growth rates, etc. This section also had 20
questions from Data Interpretation, comprising two sets on line graphs and one set each on pie charts
and bar charts. On the hole, the section was of average difficulty level and a well-prepared student
could have attempted 32-34 questions
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English Language

The focus in this section was equally on pure vocabulary, general usage and comprehending the
language. However, this was a simpler section compared to the other two. The breakup of this section
was:

Breakup
Area Number of Questions Difficulty Level
Reading Comprehension
(including Synonyms and
Antonyms)
7 + 4 + 4 Easy to Moderate
Fill in the blanks 5 Moderate to Difficult
Jumbled Sentences 5 Easy to Moderate
Close Passages 10 Easy
Mark the Error 10 Moderate
Word Usage/ Replace the
phrase
5 Easy to Moderate

There was 1 RC passage with 7 questions based on comprehension and 4 synonym/antonym based
questions. The content matter of the passage was dense but the questions were fairly straightforward
and most could have been attempted after a good reading of the passage. The set on jumbled
sentences as well as on close passages was quite simple and could have got the student ample marks
in less time. While a standard question type such as fill in the blanks was covered, the method of
asking was changed, thereby increasing the difficulty level i.e. the questions had one blank, but the
student had to identify the combination of words that could be appropriate in the blank. This was
seen in last years paper as well. The Word usage type questions tested basic speaking skills. This year
there was some weightage on the mark the error type of questions which were relatively simple.
Grammar concepts were tested in these questions.
Overall a student could have easily attempted 37-40 questions in around 30 minutes.

General Awareness

This section mainly had questions from banking products, economics and current affairs (both Indian
and international). There was a lot of emphasis on banking products, retail banking, RBI and
nationalized banks. Socio- economic schemes, educational schemes by the government were also
tested. A person having hands-on experience of bank work would be in a good position to answer this
section. A few questions were asked from sports.



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Computer Awareness

The emphasis in this section was on basic computer applications. Nearly half the questions in this
section were based on day-to-day applications of Microsoft Office products. There were also a few
questions on basic terms related to basic computer applications such as browsers, desktop, USB, CPU,
software, URL etc. The questions tested your knowledge of day-to-day internet usage in areas such as
forums, email, instant chat, and on the desktop like pull down menu and icons. Someone good at basic
computers would have had a very good scoring opportunity in this section.

Descriptive Test

The duration of this section was one hour and 50 marks were allotted to this section. This comprised
3 questions as given below:

Breakup
Area
Word
Limit
Marks Topics
Letter Writing
-

15
To your brother about the importance of
CENSUS
To an authority about poor educational
facilities in your area
To the newspaper about the role of a
citizen in your area
(Any 1)
Essay Writing - 20
Growth of Banking Sector in India
Role of Business houses towards Green
Initiative
Micro Finance Companies role in
Socio- Economic Development
Precis Writing 130 15 Poverty in Indian and the World