IBPS Clerk | 2025
IBPS Clerk Prelims 2025: topic weightage and difficulty analysis
100 questions across 3 sections. Overall difficulty: easy.
IBPS conducts the Clerk Preliminary examination across several shifts, with a different paper in each. The section structure below (30 English, 35 Numerical Ability and 35 Reasoning for 100 marks in 60 minutes, with a separate 20-minute clock per section) is from the official notification and is identical in every shift. The topic-level counts are our own compilation from candidate reports across shifts, not official data, so read them as the typical shape of the paper rather than a record of one sitting. IBPS does not publish a topic-wise breakdown, and no question text is reproduced anywhere on this page.
Where the questions came from
Sorted by weightage, so the topics worth the most preparation time are at the top of each section.
English Language
English Language
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 23 to 27 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Reading comprehension Usually a single passage of 7 to 8 questions, more literal than the PO version, with a couple of vocabulary questions attached. | 23%7 Moderate | |
| Cloze test | 17%5 Easy | |
| Error spotting | 17%5 Easy | |
| Sentence rearrangement and para jumbles | 17%5 Easy | |
| Sentence and phrase fillers | 13%4 Easy | |
| Word usage and vocabulary | 13%4 Easy |
Numerical Ability
Quantitative Aptitude
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 24 to 28 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Simplification and approximation The single largest block. In a clerical paper this is where a third of the section is won on speed alone. | 34%12 Easy | |
| Data interpretation Usually two simple sets, a table and a bar or pie chart. | 23%8 Moderate | |
| Number series Missing number series. | 14%5 Easy | |
| Quadratic equations | 14%5 Easy | |
| Arithmetic word problems Percentage, average, ages, profit and loss and interest. | 14%5 Moderate |
Reasoning Ability
Reasoning Ability
A realistic target for a strong candidate: 26 to 30 attempts. This is our own guidance, not an official figure.
| Topic | Questions | Share of the section |
|---|---|---|
| Puzzles and seating arrangement Three sets that are simpler than the PO equivalents, commonly a linear arrangement, a day or month puzzle and a small box puzzle. | 40%14 Moderate | |
| Inequality | 11%4 Easy | |
| Syllogism | 11%4 Easy | |
| Alphanumeric and symbol series | 11%4 Easy | |
| Coding and decoding | 9%3 Easy | |
| Blood relations and direction sense | 9%3 Easy | |
| Order and ranking | 9%3 Easy |
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What this means for your preparation
The clerical paper rewards attempting easy questions fully rather than solving hard ones. Finishing simplification, series and the direct reasoning topics accurately beats spending eight minutes on the hardest puzzle.
Numerical Ability is dominated by simplification, not data interpretation, so raw arithmetic speed is the biggest single lever. No calculator is provided at any stage.
Reasoning is the most scoring section for most candidates, with only three moderate puzzle sets standing between them and a near-full score.
Each section has its own twenty-minute clock and does not reopen, so plan the time budget before you start rather than during.
There is a quarter-mark penalty. Because the paper is so attemptable, a few careless wrong answers cost more here than a few unattempted questions, so favour accuracy.
Prelims requires clearing both a sectional and an overall cut-off, but it is only a screen. The Main examination alone decides the merit list, as there is no interview.
See the real paper, officially
- IBPS official website
During the objection window after the exam, IBPS publishes a link to view your own question paper, recorded responses and the answer key. The window is open for only a few days, so check it as soon as it opens.
- IBPS online application and candidate portal
Scorecards and response sheets are accessed with your registration number and password or date of birth.
Common questions
- Can I download the IBPS Clerk Preliminary Examination 2025 question paper?
- Not from this site. In India an exam question paper is a copyright work owned by the conducting body, and reproducing it commercially is infringement. What you can do is view your own paper and responses through the official portal during the objection window after the exam, and the links to do that are on this page.
- Are these topic counts exact?
- No, and we would rather say so. The exam runs across multiple shifts with a different paper in each, and the conducting body does not publish a topic-wise breakdown. The section structure, marks and timing are official. The topic counts are our compilation from candidate reports and describe the typical shape of the paper.
- How should I use a weightage analysis?
- To decide what to study next and what to skip. If one block is a third of a section, practising it has several times the payoff of a topic that carries two questions. It also tells you which questions to leave in the exam itself, which matters more than most candidates think.