SBI PO - June 15, 2014 - Exam Analysis & Expected Cut-Off

SBI PO Exam-2014 flagged off on 14th June, 2014. The format of the test has changed this year from paper-pencil to computer based test. It is being conducted in two time slots – morning and evening. It will span over a period of four weeks, ending on 6th July, 2014.


In today's post, we are giving the exam analysis of the exam which happened on 15 June, 2014, both morning and evening shift. We are also providing an analysis on expected cut-off marks. It will give you a rough idea of the final cut-off, which will be released by the SBI.

The test was divided into two parts. Part A was the objective test and Part B was the descriptive test. The time allotted for Part A was 2 hours while the time allotted for Part B was 1 hour.

EXAM ANALYSIS:

Part A:

The detailed break down of the paper is as follows:

Section	Total Questions	Level of difficulty	Good Attempts	Good Score	Approximate time taken
Reasoning Ability	50	Moderate	34-36	30-32	35-40
General Awareness/ Computer/ Marketing	50	Moderate	28-30	24-26	15-20
Data Analysis and Interpretation	50	Difficult	30-32	27-28	40-45
English Language	50	Easy – Moderate	35-37	31-33	20-25
Total	200		127-135	112-119	120

Reasoning Ability

Questions from Course of Action, Cause and Effect, Data Sufficiency, Statement and Argument, Higher Reasoning, Input & output, Comparison of rank, Syllogism, Puzzles, all formed a part of this section. While questions on Syllogisms and Comparison of Rank were easy, questions on Puzzles and Input & Output were moderate in difficulty. The overall difficulty level of this section was moderate.

General Awareness/Computer/Marketing

This section consisted of questions from Static G.K. (Banking), Current Affairs, Computer Awareness and Marketing. Only 5 questions were based on Current Affairs. 15 questions each were asked to test a student’s knowledge on Static G.K. (Banking), Computer Awareness and Marketing Awareness. 5 abbreviations were also asked. Overall difficulty level of the section was moderate.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

This section was heavily dominated by the questions revolving around percentages. Questions from Line Graph, Bar Graph, Pie Chart and Table were asked in this section. No question on probability was asked in this slot. As compared to the last year’s SBI PO Exam, this section was lengthier and more difficult.

English Language

The pattern of this section was the same as that of last year’s. The section comprised of questions based on Antonyms/Synonyms, Error Spotting, Reading Comprehension, FIB (2 blanks), Para-jumbles and Cloze test. The difficulty level of the Reading Comprehensions, which were for 25 marks, was difficult to moderate.  The 10 blanks cloze test was a tad bit difficult. The difficulty level of Error spotting, FIB and Para jumbles was easy to moderate. The overall difficulty level of this section was easy to moderate.  

Part B

Part B of the test was descriptive in nature. There were a total of 5 tasks. Choice of topics was given for most writing tasks.

Details of this part are as given below: 

Topic	Description	Marks Allotted
Letter writing	1 letter with a choice of 3 topics (2 informal and the other formal)	10
Paragraph Writing	1 task with a choice of 3 topics	8
Précis Writing	1 passage on impact of devaluation on inflation	10
Reading Comprehension	1 passage with 5 questions	10
Essay Writing	1 essay with a choice of 3 topics	12

EXPECTED CUT-OFF:

• PART - A: Objective Type Paper

Subject	General	SC/ST/OBC
Reasoning Ability (Out of 50)	12 - 14	9 - 11
Data Analysis & Interpretation (Out of 50)	12 - 14	9 - 11
General Awareness/Marketing/Computer Knowledge (Out of 50)	12 - 15	9 - 11
English Language (Out of 50)	12 - 14	9 - 11
Overall Objective Test (Out of 200)	78 - 82	68 - 72

• PART - B: Subjective Type Paper

Subject	General	SC/ST/OBC
Descriptive Test (Out of 50)	19 - 21	17 - 19