If you’re gearing up for the banking sector or just took the IBPS Specialist Officer (SO) Prelims today—August 30, 2025—this breakdown is your read. Two shifts, three sections, and a mountain of attempts from aspirants across India—let’s break it down together.
Overall Vibe: Moderate Challenges, Realistic Attempts
Across multiple sources, the IBPS SO Prelims Analysis is clear: today’s exam was moderate in overall difficulty. Nothing left-field, but certainly tested your planning and time management.
Shift 1 (Morning): “Manageable but Keep Up the Pace”
- Difficulty Levels:
- English: Easy to Moderate
- Reasoning: Moderate
- Quantitative Aptitude: Moderate
- Overall: Easy to Moderate
- Estimated Good Attempts (what top scorers are sharing):
- English: 29–31
- Reasoning: 26–28
- Quant: 25–27
- Total: 80–86
- Deep Dive on English Section:
- Reading Comprehension (RC): 16–20 questions (themes: Online Gaming & Lakes)
- Cloze Test: ~6
- Error Detection: 5
- Rearrangement: 4–5
- Swap the Word, Word Replacement, Phrase Connectors, Miscellaneous filled the rest
- Reasoning Highlights:
- Puzzles & Seating (Floor, Parallel, Square): ~20 questions
- Input-Output, Direction, Inequalities, Blood Relation, Coding-Decoding, Data Sufficiency—spread across the rest
- Quant Patterns:
- DI diverse formats (Pie, Table, Line Graph, Caselet): 6 questions each
- Arithmetic: 11
- Approximation, Series, Data Sufficiency balanced the rest
Shift 2 (Afternoon): A Slightly Bumpier Ride?
- Difficulty: Still moderate overall, but with reasoning showing slightly trickier moments
- Good Attempts Snapshot:
- English: 39
- Reasoning: 32
- Quant: 37
- Overall: ~108 (some estimates even go to 103)
- Sectional Insights:
- English: RC, para-jumbles, fillers, match-the-column, swapping, spotting errors
- Reasoning: More seating puzzles (circular, linear, double row), inequality, critical reasoning, input-output
- Quant: A strong DI-heavy section (Pie, Bar, Table, Caselet), arithmetic challenges
What It Means for Your Score
- Aspiring cut-off range (based on good attempts): around 80–95+ depending on shift, accuracy, and section performance.
- Takeaway: If you attempted 85–95 questions with decent accuracy, you’re in the cut-off zone—especially since Prelims is just the qualifier.
What’s Next? Focus on the Mains
- For those who’ve moved ahead: Look forward to the IBPS SO Mains on November 9, 2025, which is more specific and revolves around your chosen officer stream (like IT, Law, HR, etc.)
- The mains exam includes a “Professional Knowledge” section worth 60 marks, with difficulty levels ranging from moderate to tough depending on vertical.
TL;DR Table
| Shift | Difficulty | Good Attempt (Total) | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shift 1 | Easy-Moderate | 80–86 | DI/arithmetic pace matters |
| Shift 2 | Moderate | ~108 | Reasoning bit tricky, strong DI & quant |
| Overall | Moderate overall | 85–95 considered safe | Focus on accuracy and time management |
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