Detailed Syllabus and Marks Distribution for IBPS Clerk 2015 Prelims

The Institute of Banking Personnel (IBPS) released its detailed advertisement for the Clerical Officer Recruitment Examination for the year 2015. This year’s major change has been in the exam pattern. Starting 2015, there will be a Preliminary (Prelim) examination followed by a Main examination for those who qualify through the prelims.

The Preliminary paper is distinguished by the fact that it has only three sections and is likely to be easier than the Main paper. However, the 1 hour duration in which you need to attempt 100 questions ensures that the paper will be a competitive one. The Main paper will retain its old pattern of five sections and a composite time of 2 hours. Once you qualify through the Main Paper, a third round is conducted – the Interview. Qualifying the interview makes you eligible to become a Clerical Officer in one of the banks under the aegis of IBPS.
The structures of the Examinations that will be conducted online are as follows:

IBPS Clerk Paper Pattern (Prelims):

Sr. no.	Subject	No. of questions	Maximum marks	Duration
1	English Language	30	30	1 hour
2	Numerical ability	35	35
3	Reasoning Ability	35	35
Total		100	100

IBPS Clerk Paper Pattern (Mains):

Sr. no.	Subject	No. of questions	Maximum marks	Duration
1	Reasoning	40	40	2 hours
2	English	40	40
3	Quantitative Aptitude	40	40
4	General Awareness(with special reference to Banking Industry)	40	40
5	Computer Knowledge	40	40
Total		200	200

Note the following:

1. BILINGUAL TEST: Every section (except English Language) in both stages will be available in both English and Hindi.
2. NEGATIVE MARKING: Each wrong answer deducts 0.25 of the marks assigned to that question from your total. In this case, since each question is worth 1 mark, you lose ¼ marks per wrong answer.
3. CUT-OFFS: Each section has an individual cut-off. Besides this, there is a minimum overall score decided by the IBPS after the results are tallied, that you need to cross to move to the next round. Qualifying the Prelims in this way gets you to the Main Exam. And securing the Mains cut-off qualifies you for the Interview round.

The IBPS, however, has not thrown any light on the syllabus. From the patterns seen in previous years, we know the likely chapters and topics that will make appearances in the Preliminary and the Main papers, as well as their probable weightages.
Here is a subject-wise list of the Prelims syllabus. The list is classified in order of priority – important chapters first. The Nature of Questions tells you whether it is a scoring chapter or a tricky topic or a time consuming one.

Reasoning Ability
Priority Set	Nature of Questions	Chapters	Weightage (# of Questions)	Comments
1	Scoring Easy to Solve Less Time Consuming High Accuracy Possible	Arrangement & Pattern	5-8	Questions on Random Sequence of Alphabets, Number Arrangements, Mixed Series Dictionary or Alphabet based Arrangements etc.
		Analogy	0-5	Includes Meaning based and Letter based questions
		Classification	0-4	Includes GK based and Meaningful Words based questions. Less frequently, number based questions can be asked.
		Mathematical Inequalities	0-5	Non-coded problems on solving inequalities. Either this or coded inequalities asked
		Directions & Distances	0-2	Simple problems that can be solved by just drawing all information on paper.
		Coding-Decoding	4-10	Mostly questions on Coding-Decoding in Fictitious Language and Coding by Analogy. Possible questions could also include Coding-Decoding by Letter Shifting, and Coding Letters of a Word.
		Blood Relations	1-5	Family Tree and General Blood Relation Problems
		Ordering & Ranking	0-1	Questions on arranging by age, floor, rank, order in row etc.
2	Scoring Easy if concepts clear and steps followed Could be Tricky Time Consuming	Syllogisms	3-5	Problems with 2-3 statements and 2-3 conclusions. Questions could be asked on whether the conclusions follow or not.
		Circular Seating Arrangement	5	Includes Uni-Directional and Bi-Directional problems. Tough Square/Rectangular/Triangular problems also possible.
		Linear Seating Arrangement	5-8	Problems involving 2-3 rows facing each other. Can include Double Line-up type problems with information sorting.
		Coded Inequalities	0-5	Can be asked instead of mathematical inequalities
		Input-Output	0-5	Appears less frequently. Use the method shown here.
		Data Sufficiency	0-5	Questions on various topics including Ordering & Ranking, Blood Relations, Coding in Fictitious Language, Circular Arrangements, Directions & Distances, Ages & Birthdates)
3	Tricky or Tough More Time Consuming Lesser Chance of Accurate Solving	Analytical Decision Making	0-5	Appears less frequently. Careful charting needed.
		Double Line-Up	0-5	Requires clean charting, proper technique and step-by-step solving.
		Scheduling	0-5	Less likely to appear. Very similar to Double Line-up problems.
		Grouping & Selection	0-5	Problems on teams and committees asked.
4	Very Tricky/Tough Very Time Consuming Less likely to appear in the paper	Series	0-2	Complete the Alphabet Series problems asked in the past. But Number Series and Mixed Series questions can also be asked.
		Verbal Reasoning	0-5	Statement & Assumptions problems asked in the past. But questions on Statement & Arguments, Statement & Inferences, Statement & Conclusions, Critical Reasoning, Course of Action and Cause & Effect also possible.
		Non-Verbal Reasoning	0-10	Highly unlikely to appear. These questions have not appeared since the exam went online.

Numerical Ability
Priority Set	Nature of Questions	Chapters	Weightage (# of Questions)	Comments
1	Scoring Easy to Solve Less Time Consuming High Accuracy Possible	Simplification	10-15	Questions on BODMAS Rule, Approximate Rule, Fractions, Decimals, Surds & Indices, Percentages
		Number Series	3-5	Problems on Completing the Series, Finding the Missing Term, Finding the Wrong Term
		Average	1-3	Problems on Average Weight/Height/Age/Marks etc.
		Interest	1-4	Simple Interest, Compound Interest and Mixed problems
		Mensuration	1-4	Questions on areas of square, rectangle, circle, semicircle and parallelogram asked in the past.
		Percentage	1-2	Calculation oriented basic percentage problems
		Ratio & Proportion	1-2	Problems on Simple Ratios
2	Scoring Easy if concepts clear and steps followed Could be Tricky Time Consuming	Algebra	3-5	Problems with 2-3 statements and 2-3 conclusions. Questions could be asked on whether the conclusions follow or not.
		Profit & Loss	0-2	Questions on Successive Selling, Partnerships, Discount & MP. Problems can also be asked on Dishonest Dealings.
		Time, Speed & Distance	2-4	Problems on Relative Speed, Average Speed and Crossing Trains. Questions can also be asked about Boat and Stream.
		Data Interpretation	0-5	Can include questions involving Line Graphs, Bar Graphs, Pie Charts, Tables and other miscellaneous infographics.
3	Tricky or Tough More Time Consuming Lesser Chance of Accurate Solving	Time & Work	1-2	Problems on Work Efficiency, Pipe & Cistern. Questions can also be asked on Pipe & Cistern.
		Permutation & Combination	0-1	Basic Selection and Arrangement Problems
4	Very Tricky/Tough Very Time Consuming Less likely to appear in the paper	Mixture Problems	0-1	Problems on making a mixture of two or more entities/mixtures
		Probability	0-1	Very basic problems on probability
		Number System	0-3	Problems on Divisibility & Remainder, Multiples & Factors, Integers, LCM & HCF.
		Data Sufficiency	0-5	Data sufficiency problems on almost all the topics mentioned above

English Language
Priority Set	Nature of Questions	Chapters	Weightage (# of Questions)	Comments
1	Usually Easy Highly Scoring High Accuracy – not much prior knowledge required Time Consuming and/or Tricky depending on the Nature of the Passage and Questions	Reading Comprehension	5-15 (1 or 2 passages)	The passage is usually about banking/finance. Passage may also be on a social issue or based on a tale. The questions based on these are straightforward synonyms/antonyms/phrase meaning in context, fact based questions, inference based questions, and main idea based questions.
2	Usually easy because context given Scoring Accuracy – Medium	Vocabulary	10-15	These include topics where answers can be found contextually. – Cloze Tests (5-10 blanks in 1 passage) – Fill in the blanks (two blanks in one sentence/ two sentences with one blank each to be fit with same word) (0-5 questions)These can also include questions where prior knowledge of popular phrases and idioms as well as words is necessary.- Synonyms or Antonyms  (0-5)- Phrase/Idiom Meaning (0-5)- Error Spotting (0-5)
3	Tougher Can be time consuming Accuracy and time taken per question usually correlated	Grammar	5-10	Knowledge of frequently used rules of grammar is an absolute must.- Error Spotting (0-10)- Phrase Replacement (0-5)There may also be grammar questions on – Fill in the Blanks
4	Tricky Time Consuming Low Accuracy	Verbal Ability	5	Para Jumble questions are asked as a comprehension with five questions.

It is important to start preparing in earnest for the IBPS Clerk Prelim paper before October. Based on the above given syllabus plan out a study map. Allocate time wisely and test yourself regularly on your speed, proficiency and concepts.
All the best!