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SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025: Previous Year Paper Analysis, Exam Pattern

• Updated on 16 Sept, 2025 by Kollegeapply

SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025 will be released after the exam, which will take place on September 20, 21, and 27, 2025, in different shifts across the country. Since the exam will be conducted in multiple slots, a shift-wise analysis will be provided separately for Prelims and Mains. This analysis is extremely helpful for candidates, as it provides a clear understanding of the questions asked, section-wise weightage, difficulty level, and expected cut-off.

 

Candidates appearing for later shifts or planning for upcoming recruitment can use the analysis to adjust their time management, improve accuracy, and set a realistic number of attempts.

 

In addition, the analysis of previous years’ SBI Clerk exams plays a crucial role in showing the exam trend, the type of questions repeatedly asked, and the topics that carry the highest weightage.

 

Table of Contents
  1. Why is SBI Clerk Exam Analysis Important?
  2. SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2025
  3. SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025
  4. SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025: Exam Trends
  5. SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025 FAQs

 

Why is SBI Clerk Exam Analysis Important?

SBI Clerk exam is highly competitive because of the large number of candidates and limited vacancies. The exam analysis helps aspirants by:

  • Explaining the overall and section-wise difficulty level (easy, moderate, or difficult).
  • Giving details of the topic-wise distribution of questions.
  • Helping estimate the good number of attempts needed for a safe score.
  • Comparing the trend with previous years’ papers.
  • Giving a realistic idea about the expected cut-off.
  • Helping students fine-tune their preparation for future shifts or upcoming SBI Clerk exams.

 

SBI Clerk Exam Pattern 2025

Before checking the analysis, candidates should know the exam pattern. Knowing the exam pattern can help them understand better.

 

SBI Clerk Prelims Exam Pattern 2025

SBI Clerk Prelims is the first stage of the exam and serves only as a qualifying round. To move ahead to the Mains, candidates must clear both the sectional and overall cutoffs. Each section is time-bound, and switching between sections during the exam is not permitted.

Section

No. of Questions

Marks

Duration

English Language

30

30

20 mins

Numerical Ability

35

35

20 mins

Reasoning Ability

35

35

20 mins

Total

100

100

1 Hour

 

SBI Clerk Mains Exam Pattern 2025

Candidates who clear the Prelims move on to the Mains exam, which plays a decisive role in the final selection. The SBI Clerk Mains is held online with sectional time limits, making time management highly important. The paper is objective in nature with multiple-choice questions and is offered in both English and Hindi, except for the General English section, which is only in English.

Section

No. of Questions

Marks

Duration

General/Financial Awareness

50

50

35 mins

General English

40

40

35 mins

Quantitative Aptitude

50

50

45 mins

Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude

50

60

45 mins

Total

190

200

2 Hrs 40 mins

In the SBI Clerk exam, candidates are awarded +1 mark for every correct response, while 0.25 marks are deducted for each wrong answer as negative marking. There is no penalty for questions left unanswered.

 

SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025

Candidates preparing for the SBI Junior Associate exam can benefit by going through the past year’s analysis. It highlights the number of questions, areas of focus, and overall as well as sectional difficulty. This helps identify the important sections where scoring is easier and those that require extra practice.

 

SBI Clerk Prelims Exam Analysis 2024

The Prelims stage primarily tested candidates on English, Maths, and Reasoning. While English presented a relatively simpler scoring opportunity, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning ranged between moderate to difficult across shifts. A detailed view is given below.

Section

Difficulty Level

Maths

Moderate to Difficult

Reasoning

Moderate to Difficult

English

Easy to Moderate

SBI Clerk Prelims Section-Wise Analysis 2024

General English: The English section in Prelims focused extensively on Reading Comprehension, error detection, and vocabulary-based questions. The RC passage was based on Road Rage, falling under the non-fiction theme. Below is the topic distribution.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Error Detection

5 questions

Sentence Arrangement

5 questions

Cloze Test

6 questions

Word Usage

3 questions

Misspelled Word

5 questions

Reading Comprehension (with Antonym questions)

7 questions

Total

30 questions

Quantitative Aptitude: Quantitative Aptitude included multiple DI sets and simplification-based questions, along with a fair mix of word problems covering topics such as Boats, Ages, Trains, Mensuration, Profit and Loss, and Partnership. Caselet DI was not asked. Refer to the following breakdown.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Simplification

10 questions

Missing Number Series

5 questions

Arithmetic Problems

11 questions

Bar Graph DI (weekday sweets data)

5 questions

Tabular DI (materials × months)

5 questions

Total

35 questions

Reasoning Ability: Reasoning continued to be puzzle-heavy. Four different types of arrangement-based questions together formed the majority. Supporting topics such as Inequality, Syllogisms, and Digit Series were also asked. The following list shows the topic-wise question count.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Square-based Arrangement

5 questions

Pair Formation

1 question

Inequality

3 questions

Digit Series

5 questions

Persons Puzzle (n=11)

3 questions

Blood Relation

3 questions

Linear Arrangement

5 questions

Date & Month Puzzle

5 questions

Syllogism

4 questions

Word-Based (OVEN, meaningful word)

1 questions

Misc Word-Based

1 questions

Total

35 questions

 

SBI Clerk Mains Exam Analysis 2024

The Mains exam in 2024 had a balanced mix of moderate and difficult levels across subjects. English turned out to be the scoring section, while Reasoning & Computer Aptitude demanded more time and accuracy. The overall difficulty level was considered moderate. Below is a sectional breakdown with question distribution, difficulty levels, and the number of good attempts.

Section

Total Questions

Good Attempts

Difficulty Level

General/Financial Awareness

50

20–25

Moderate

English Language

40

22–28

Easy

Quantitative Aptitude

50

25–32

Moderate

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

50

19–23

Difficult

Overall

190

86–108

Moderate

SBI Clerk Mains Section-Wise Analysis 2024

General English: The English Section was one of the easiest areas of the Mains exam, with Reading Comprehension and Cloze Test questions forming the core. Minor grammar-based tasks, such as Connectors, Sentence Rearrangement, and Para Jumbles, made the section scoring easier if managed with effective time allocation. Below is the topic-wise weightage.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Para Jumbles

5 questions

Word Usage (Strig)

2 questions

Double Fillers

4 questions

Error Detection (correct/wrong)

4 questions

Sentence Rearrangement

4 questions

Connectors

3 questions

Cloze Test (pattern A–F)

6 questions

RC (general)

3 questions

Reading Comprehension on Profit & Loss

9 questions

Total

40 questions

Quantitative Aptitude: The Quantitative Aptitude section relied heavily on Data Interpretation. Pie Charts, Bar Graphs, and Caselets had prominent weightage. Arithmetic questions also covered a variety of concepts, including simplification and comparison-based questions. Below is the topic distribution.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Number Series (two types, 3 each)

6 questions

Table DI (apples & mangoes sold)

4 questions

Quadratic Equations

5 questions

Pie Chart DI (sports data)

5 questions

Bar Graph DI (students appeared vs passed)

5 questions

Caselet DI (sports-based: Hockey, Squash, Tennis)

5 questions

Simplification

5 questions

Miscellaneous

4 questions

Arithmetic Word Problems

6 questions

Quantity Comparison

5 questions

Tota

50 questions

Reasoning Ability: The Reasoning section was dominated by complex puzzles, coded questions, and critical reasoning. This section was comparably time-consuming and tricky, which pushed the overall difficulty up. Below are the major topics covered.

Sections

No. of Questions Asked

Square-based Puzzle with directions and relations

5 questions

Time-based Puzzle

5 questions

Input-Output

5 questions

Day-based Puzzle (5 people, 2 games)

5 questions

Coding-Decoding

5 questions

Data Sufficiency

4 questions

Critical Reasoning

9 questions

Condition-based Puzzle (Rows 1–3)

4 questions

Coded Inequality

3 questions

Total

50 questions

General/Financial Awareness: General/Financial Awareness asked a mix of direct factual questions and current affairs. Most questions centered on recent international events, Indian sports awards, and global financial updates. Here are some of the memory-based questions asked.

  • The country that withdrew from the WHO in January
  • An Indian cricketer who received the Melbourne Cricket Club award
  • GI Tag-related question
  • Venue of the World Economic Forum
  • Headquarters of the International Olympic Committee
  • The company with the highest UPI transactions
  • New country added to BRICS

 

SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025: Exam Trends

The overall exam trend indicates three consistent focus areas. Puzzle-based reasoning dominated, while Quant had strong DI sets. English remained simple and scoring. For Mains, Current Affairs played a vital role as many GA questions were directly fact-based. Candidates should structure their approach accordingly.

  • Puzzles and seating arrangements dominate Reasoning in Prelims as well as Mains.
  • Data Interpretation leads the Quantitative Aptitude section.
  • English is the quickest and most scoring section.
  • For Mains, last 6 months’ Current Affairs and Banking Awareness are crucial.

 

SBI Clerk Exam Analysis 2025 FAQs

How many sections are there in SBI Clerk Prelims?

The SBI Clerk Prelims exam has 3 sections – English Language, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability.

What was the difficulty level of SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims?

The overall level of SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims was Moderate. Maths and Reasoning were slightly tougher due to lengthy calculations and puzzles, while English was simple.

Which section of SBI Clerk Mains 2024 was hardest?

The Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude section of SBI Clerk Mains 2024 was the hardest, as it contained lengthy puzzles and critical reasoning questions.

How many questions from Current Affairs were asked in SBI Clerk Mains 2024?

In SBI Clerk Mains 2024, around 20–22 questions in the General Awareness section were based on current affairs, mostly related to banking and the economy.

What is the safe number of attempts in SBI Clerk Prelims?

A safe number of attempts in SBI Clerk Prelims is considered to be 75–82 with good accuracy.

How important is English for SBI Clerk Exam?

English plays an important role in the SBI Clerk exam as it is usually straightforward and scoring. It helps balance scores if Reasoning or Maths feels tricky.

Are puzzles always asked in SBI Clerk Reasoning?

Yes, puzzles and seating arrangement questions are always asked in SBI Clerk. They make up about 12–18 questions in Prelims and 18–25 questions in Mains.

What type of DI questions are usually asked in SBI Clerk?

In the SBI Clerk exam, common Data Interpretation (DI) questions include Pie Charts, Bar Graphs, Tabular DI, and Caselets based on real-life contexts such as students, sports, or sales.

Does SBI Clerk General Awareness cover only banking?

No, the General Awareness section of SBI Clerk covers banking awareness, economy, government schemes, sports, awards, national and international summits, and static GK.

Is there a sectional cut-off in SBI Clerk?

No, SBI Clerk does not have a sectional cut-off. Only overall cutoff marks are considered for selection.

Is there negative marking in SBI Clerk Prelims and Mains?

Yes, there is negative marking in both SBI Clerk Prelims and Mains. 0.25 marks are deducted for every incorrect answer.

Can the analysis of the SBI Clerk exam help for the upcoming shifts?

Yes, going through shift-wise SBI Clerk exam analysis can help candidates improve time management and focus on the most expected topics in upcoming shifts.