Paper Pattern in IBPS CWE PO/ Clerk

The preparations for common clerk exam to be held in the month of November would be underway.A lot have been discussed here about the IBPS selection process, eligibility etc.,Now moving on, we have decided to explain in detail the question paper pattern.


The written exam is scheduled to take place on November 27, 2011 & similar to the PO test, it might be conducted in 3 sessions to accommodate the large number of applicants (estimated to be approx. 50 lakhs)

Pattern breakup: Structure of the question paper is given below;


Here is a quick look at some of the important titbits,

• Duration: 150 minutes
• Total questions: 250
• Total marks: 250 

Planning for the test in advance like time required for each question & section is necessary because of the equal weightage in objective test.

• As there is no descriptive test, your objective test marks will only be considered in calculating the cut-off score.
• Each question carries 1 mark & for every wrong answer – 0.25 will be reduced as negative mark
• The minimum educational qualification for clerks is 10th/ SSLC, hence the questions could be answerable but twisted.
• Referring school text books to understand the basic concepts shall be useful in solving problems related to mathematics.

Comparison: The Clerk & PO common exam pattern may look same but has two main differences,

Clerks have Numerical ability while Probationary officer CWE had Quantitative aptitude

Numerical ability mostly contains questions involving LCM, HCF, percentage, compound interest, averages, ratio, profit/ loss, choosing the best alternative etc.,To know the formulas, concepts & applying them in mind using short methods is important to complete this paper within the stipulated time.

The maximum marks for english section is 50 while it was 25 in PO

There is nothing new to add in preparing for english language paper as it attempts to measure the english skills of a candidate with questions about the language.Usage of grammar (includes fill in the blanks, choose the best answer) & comprehension type of questions will occupy a major part.

See our detailed post on preparing for each paper – Reasoning, Numerical ability, English, General awareness & Computers.Here, you can also find the important topics to read.

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