IBPS Clerk Prelims Paper Analysis, Check 4 Year Trends and Difficulty Level

IBPS Clerk Paper Analysis: The IBPS Clerk exam is a competitive examination for recruiting candidates to clerical positions in public sector banks. The selection process consists of two phases: the Preliminary exam and the Main exam. The Preliminary exam will be conducted on October 4th, 5th, and 11th, 2025. If you are interested and eligible for this exam, you can start your preparation by reviewing past year papers to understand the trends and difficulty levels. In this article, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the IBPS Clerk exam over the past four years (2021–2024). This analysis focuses on exam patterns, difficulty levels, topic-wise weightage, and key takeaways to help aspirants prepare for the 2025 exam cycle.

Overview of IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern

The IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam is a computer-based test of 100 multiple‑choice questions (MCQs), divided into three sections, each of which contains 20 minutes.

• English Language – 30 questions (30 marks)
• Numerical Ability – 35 questions (35 marks)
• Reasoning Ability – 35 questions (35 marks)

Total duration: 60 minutes, with a negative marking of 0.25 marks per wrong answer. Candidates must clear both sectional cut‑offs as well as the overall cut‑off to qualify for the Mains exam.

IBPS Clerk Past Year Exam Trends: 2021–2024 (4 years)

The last year trends of the last 4 years (2021-24) show consistent patterns in Reasoning, Numerical Ability, and English Language topics. Key trends:

Reasoning Ability

• The Puzzles & Seating Arrangements is a most scoring topic that contains 15–20 marks each year, making it the highest-weight topic.
• Syllogism appeared in the range of 2–5 questions, recurring each year.
• Blood Relation, Inequality, Alphanumeric Series, Order & Ranking, Coding-Decoding, and Direction & Distance appeared moderately (1–5 questions each).

Year	Download Link
Reasoning Question Paper 2024	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Reasoning Question Paper 2023	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Reasoning Question Paper 2022	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Reasoning Question Paper 2021	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Reasoning Question Paper 2020	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Reasoning Question Paper 2019	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution

Quantitative Ability

• Data Interpretation (DI) appeared every year with 5–10 questions.
• Simplification consistently contributed the largest share: 10–15 questions.
• Arithmetic Word Problems (e.g. profit-loss, age, mixtures) made up 8–15 questions.
• Number Series and Quadratic Equations occasionally appeared, usually low frequency.

Year	Download Link
Question Paper 2024	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Question Paper 2023	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Question Paper 2022	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Question Paper 2021	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Question Paper 2020	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
Question Paper 2019	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution

English Language

• Reading Comprehension dominated with 8–13 questions.
• Cloze Test appeared consistently: 4–7 questions.
• Error Detection, Phrase Replacement, Fillers, Para Jumbles, Word Usage/Spelling appeared but in fewer numbers (typically 2–6 questions each).

Year	Download Link
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2024	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2023	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2022	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2021	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2020	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution
IBPS Clerk English Section Question Paper 2019	Click & Download the PDF with a Detailed Solution

4‑Year Trend Summary

As per the analysis, the IBPS Clerk Prelims exam has consistently maintained an Easy to Moderate difficulty level across all shifts, so we expect this year’s paper to be easy to moderate level. This trend highlights the importance of mastering recurring topics to maximise scores.

Year	Prelims: Overall Diff.	Prelims: Good Attempts
2021	Moderate to Difficult	70–78
2022	Easy to Moderate	71–77
2023	Easy to Moderate	72–78
2024	Easy to Moderate (easier	73–89

IBPS Clerk Topic-Wise Weightage For the last 4 Years

This table shows the topic-wise weightage from the last 4 years for Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Language sections. Candidates can check topic-wise detailed weightage in the section below.

IBPS Clerk Prelims Topic Wise Weightage – Reasoning

Topics	2024	2023	2022	2021
Puzzles & Seating	15–20	15–20	15–20	15–20
Alphabet Test	0–1	–	–	–
Direction & Distance	0–3	2–4	1–3	1–3
Coding-Decoding	0–5	4–5	3	1–5
Inequality	2–5	1–5	3–5	3–4
Syllogism	2–4	2–4	3–4	4–5
Blood Relation	0–3	2–5	1–4	3–5
Alphanumeric Series	4–5	3–5	3–5	3–5
Number/Letter Series	4–5	4–5	5	–
Order & Ranking	3–5	3	1–3	1
Miscellaneous	1–4	2–4	1–2	2–5

IBPS Clerk Prelims Topic Wise Weightage – Quantitative Aptitude

Topics	2024	2023	2022	2021
Data Interpretation	9–10	5–10	5	5
Simplification	10–15	12–15	13–15	12–15
Number Series	0–5	5	5	–
Quadratic Equation	–	–	–	5
Arithmetic Word Problems	10–15	8–12	10–12	12–13

IBPS Clerk Prelims Topic Wise Weightage – English Language

Topics	2024	2023	2022	2021
Reading Comprehension	9–13	8–10	7–10	8–9
Cloze Test	5	6	4–7	5
Error Detection	4–6	4–5	4–5	5
Word Swap	0–5	2–5	5	–
Fillers	5–6	3–7	2–5	–
Para Jumbles	0–5	3–5	5	0–5
Phrase Replacement	3–5	4–5	3–5	–
Word Usage/Spelling	2–4	1–5	2–6	0–2
Miscellaneous	1–2	1–3	1–2	1–3

Disclaimer:
The information provided is intended solely for educational and informational purposes, offering general insights into exam trends, difficulty levels, and preparation strategies. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and relevance, the content may not fully reflect the actual examination and should be treated as a supplementary resource rather than a definitive guide. The publisher is not affiliated with IBPS or any official examination authority, and all trademarks and names mentioned are the property of their respective owners. Readers are advised to consult official notifications and resources for authoritative information, and the publisher shall not be held responsible for any decisions or outcomes based on the use of this content.

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