RRB Clerk Prelims- Previous Years’ Section-wise Topic-wise Analysis; What to Expect This Year?: IBPS RRB-IX 2020 registration ended on Tuesday (July 21, 2020). We hope that you registered for RRB Clerk & RRB PO exams. At this point in time when there was hardly any exam notification getting released because of the COVID-19 pandemic, IBPS RRB notification has given new hope to banking aspirants in the form of 8,424 vacancies. These vacancies are excellent opportunities and you should put all your efforts to clear the exam. This year, there are 4,624 vacancies for RRB Office Assistant and although there are going to be lakhs of banking aspirants in your competition, it is only with the right preparation that you can clear RRB Clerk Prelims.
In this article, we will be analysing the prelims exam of 2019 & 2018 thoroughly to observe the topics from which questions were asked. But before we proceed, please remember that it’s only with your own practice & preparation that you can clear this exam. Let’s now have a look at the analysis of previous years’ RRB Clerk Preliminary exam.
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Analysis
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Shift I Analysis (Conducted on August 17, 2019)
Reasoning
Topic | No. of Questions |
Puzzles● Seating Arrangement (Circular – 7 persons – facing the centre)● Seating Arrangement (Parallel – 10 persons – 5 North and 5 South Facing )● Floor Based Puzzle (7 Persons and 7 Floors)● Unknown number Seating Arrangement (Linear Based) | 20 |
Direction Sense Test | 3 |
Inequalities | 4 |
Syllogisms | 4 |
Alphabet-Numbers based series | 5 |
Order and Ranking | 2 |
Miscellaneous | 2 |
Total | 40 |
Numerical Ability
Topic | No. of Questions |
Data Interpretation● Bar Graph● Table | 10 |
Number Series (Wrong) | 5 |
Equations Comparison (Quadratic) | 5 |
Simplification | 10 |
Word Problems (Averages, Profit and Loss, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Partnership etc.) | 10 |
Total | 40 |
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Shift II Analysis (Conducted on August 17, 2019)
Reasoning
Topic | No. of Questions |
Puzzles● Seating Arrangement (Circular – 7 persons – facing the centre)● Day based puzzle (Monday-Sunday 7 Persons )● Floor Based Puzzle (7 Boxes)● Unknown number Seating Arrangement (Linear Based) | 20 |
Blood Relations | 3 |
Inequalities | 5 |
Syllogisms (Only few based) | 5 |
Alphabet-Numbers based series | 5 |
Miscellaneous | 2 |
Total | 40 |
Numerical Ability
Topic | No. of Questions |
Data Interpretation● Bar Graph● Line Graph | 10 |
Number Series (Wrong) | 5 |
Equations Comparison (Quadratic) | 5 |
Simplification/Approximation | 10 |
Word Problems (Averages, Profit and Loss, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Partnership etc.) | 10 |
Total | 40 |
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Shift I Analysis (Conducted on August 18, 2019)
Reasoning
Topic | No. of Questions |
Puzzles● Seating Arrangement (Square – 8 persons – 4 corner facing outside; 4 middle facing inside)● Seating Arrangement (Parallel – 10 persons – 5 North and 5 South Facing )● Floor Based Puzzle (8 Persons and 8 Floors)● Unknown number Seating Arrangement (Linear Based) | 20 |
Blood Relations | 3 |
Inequalities | 5 |
Syllogisms | 5 |
Alphabet based series | 5 |
Miscellaneous | 2 |
Total | 40 |
Quantitative Aptitude
Topic | No. of Questions |
Data Interpretation● Bar Graph● Table● Caselet | 13 |
Number Series (Wrong) | 5 |
Equations Comparison (Quadratic) | 3 |
Simplification | 11 |
Word Problems (Profit and Loss, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Partnership etc.) | 8 |
Total | 40 |
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Shift II Analysis (Conducted on August 18, 2019)
Reasoning
Topic | No. of Questions |
Puzzles● Seating Arrangement (Square – all facing inside)● Seating Arrangement (Parallel – 10 persons – 5 North and 5 South Facing )● Month Based Puzzle● Unknown number Seating Arrangement (Linear Based) | 20 |
Direction Sense Test | 4 |
Inequalities | 5 |
Coding Decoding | 5 |
Numbers based series | 5 |
Miscellaneous | 1 |
Total | 40 |
Quantitative Aptitude
Topic | No. of Questions |
Data Interpretation● Bar Graph● Caselet | 10 |
Number Series (Wrong) | 5 |
Equations Comparison (Quadratic) | 5 |
Simplification | 10 |
Word Problems (Profit and Loss, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Partnership etc.) | 10 |
Total | 40 |
RRB Clerk 2019 Prelims Shift I Analysis (Conducted on August 18, 2018)
Numerical Ability
Topic | No. of Questions |
Simplification | 12 |
Approximation | 5 |
Data Interpretation-1st set of 5 questions (Tabular DI based on data of subjects, marks and students)-2nd set also had 5 questions (Caselet – the parameters were employees, % of people and different departments) | 10 |
Wrong Number Series | 5 |
Word Problems (Time and Work, Profit and Loss, Ages, Number System, Boats, Geometry) | 8 |
Reasoning
Topic | No. of Questions |
Coding-decoding | 5 |
Puzzles:-Box-based Puzzle (6 questions)-Month-based Puzzle (5 questions)-Linear arrangement (North-South) (6 questions)-Ranking based puzzle (3 questions) | 20 |
Blood Relation | 1 |
Number related | 1 |
Alphabet related | 1 |
Direction Sense | 4 |
Number Series | 5 |
Syllogism | 3 |
Now that we have all the information on the topics from which questions were asked in IBPS RRB Clerk Prelims exams of 2019 & 2018, let’s try to understand the importance of each topic. But first, let’s have a look at this table where we have analyzed the number of questions asked from each topic of Reasoning & Numerical Ability.
Number of Questions asked from Different Topics of Reasoning (Total of 5 Shifts)
Topic | Number of Questions |
Puzzles & Seating Arrangement | 100 |
Direction Sense | 8 |
Inequalities | 19 |
Syllogism | 17 |
Alphanumeric/Alphabet/Number based series | 27 |
Order & Ranking | 2 |
Blood Relations | 7 |
Coding-decoding | 10 |
Number of Questions asked from Different Topics of Numerical Ability (Total of 5 Shifts)
Topic | Number of Questions |
Data Interpretation | 53 |
Wrong Number Series | 25 |
Quadratic Equations Comparison | 18 |
Simplification & Approximation | 58 |
Miscellaneous Word Problems (Averages, Profit and Loss, Compound Interest, Time and Work, Partnership, Age-related etc.) | 46 |
What to Expect in the Reasoning section for RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims
Puzzles & Seating Arrangement
Undoubtedly, when it comes to the Reasoning section, Puzzles & Seating Arrangement becomes very-very important. Questions from Puzzles & Seating Arrangement have been asked in all the shifts of all the days in 2019 as well as 2018. Around 50% of the questions of the Reasoning section are from this section. So, If you are serious about clearing RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims, you have to be good in solving Puzzles & Seating Arrangement. Use these tips to master the topic of Puzzles & Seating Arrangement.
Alphanumeric/Alphabet/Number based series
This is another important topic from which questions were repeatedly asked in the previous years’ exams. It’s highly probable that in the forthcoming exam of RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims questions will be asked from the topic of Alphanumeric/Alphabet/Number based series. The good news is that unlike Puzzles & Seating Arrangement, this topic is easy to learn. In fact, if you have mastered this concept, you can solve questions on this topic first and secure their marks before moving on to other topics.
Inequalities
Questions have been asked on the topic of Inequalities on a frequent basis. If you have understood the concept of this topic well and practiced a lot of questions on this topic, you can easily answer 3-5 questions of Inequalities and secure their marks.
Syllogism
Next important topic is syllogism which is considered a difficult topic by a number of banking aspirants. But don’t worry. We’re here to help you. Use this PDF to understand the concepts of syllogism. Now-days we are seeing that questions based on only & few are asked more frequently. You can practice understand the concept of Only & Few cases of Syllogism and practice questions on this topic as well.
What to Expect in the Numerical Ability section for RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims
Simplification & Approximation
10-11 questions have been repeatedly asked in each shift of previous years’ exam which makes this topic very important. You need to be really good at calculations to solve simplification & approximation questions quickly & with accuracy. Try doing calculations mentally. It will really help you with this topic.
Data Interpretation
In nearly all the shifts, questions on data interpretation have been asked. To get good marks in the numerical ability section, you need to be very good in this section. Be aware of different types of charts/tables (Charts and Graphs: Line Graph, Bar Graph, Pie Chart; Tabular; Caselet; Mixed DI) etc. which are asked in this topic and practice a lot of questions.
Number Series
This is again a topic from which questions have frequently been asked in RRB Clerk Prelims exams of previous years. Unlike data interpretation, this is an easy topic and can be mastered easily if you practice at least 100 questions.
Quadratic Equations Comparison
This topic has also been asked repeatedly and you can expect some questions from this topic in the forthcoming exam of RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims. While these questions look difficult, they are actually easy and at times you can do the calculation in your mind itself. Check out the tips mentioned in this PDF and use the tips in the questions provided for practice.
Remember, that this is only a list of expected topics in IBPS RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims and to clear RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims, you need to practice really well in a controlled environment. So once you have clarified your conceptual knowledge with the help of the PDFs mentioned above, you can start taking mock tests. Take a Free Mock Test of RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims Now and check how much are you able to score.
This is all from us in this article. We hope that you prepare all the topics mentioned in this article and clear RRB Clerk 2020 Prelims exam. If you have any input/feedback for us, please let us know in the comments section below.
Wishing you all the best for your preparation!
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