OPSC Exam Pattern 2024: Check Exam Pattern, Marking Scheme for Prelims, Main and Interview

OPSC Exam Pattern 2024:  The exam pattern for OPSC is one of the most essential things one should consider while appearing for the recruitment examination. The OPSC exam pattern is issued by the Odisha Public Service Commission. Understanding the exam pattern is a crucial step for candidates as it consists of the duration of the exam, the marking scheme of the examination and other important details. 

The exam conducting body has already released the exam pattern for the various positions offered by the OPSC. Aspirants can visit the official website to check the exam pattern. The OPSC exam pattern is available in the form of a PDF. Further, candidates must note that the OPSC official notification consists of the syllabus for the recruitment exam along with the marking scheme and exam pattern.  Apart from exam pattern, candidates should also check OPSC syllabus.

While the syllabus includes several subjects and topics, the exam pattern and marking scheme consists of marks for the topics and duration of the exam. Since the exam has three stages, candidates have to qualify for all three stages in order to get recruited to the post for which they have applied.

OPSC Exam Pattern 2024

The OPSC exam has three stages including the prelims, mains and interview round. Hence, candidates should know that the exam patterns for all three stages are completely different. Candidates are always advised to refer to the OPSC exam pattern and marking scheme before beginning the preparation for the examination. 

While the OPSC prelim exam has only two papers, each paper is one 200 marks, which makes a total of 400 marks. On the other hand, the mains exam has 5 compulsory papers and 4 option papers. While the total marks for the compulsory exam are 1400, the marks for the option exam are 1200.  Further, the interview round is 250 marks.  

Candidates must note that they have to score minimum qualifying marks or scores equal to or more than the cut-off in order to qualify for the examination. The OPSC exam pattern will help the candidate to understand the overall question paper and several topics which are asked in the examination. As per the information given in the official notification, the question asked in the examination will be in the form of MCQ.  On different occasions, the exam patterns for different positions are also different. 

OPSC Exam Pattern 2024 for Prelims Exam  

The first stage of the OPSC exam is the prelim stage which is also known as the screening stage. Candidates have to clear this stage in order to be eligible for the OPSC mains examination. 

• The OPSC prelim exam has two papers and both are of general studies. However, the syllabus content of the examination is completely different from one another. 
• The examination is of 4 hours entirely, which means that each paper is of 2 hours. 
• The questions in the OPSC prelims exam will be asked in the format of MCQ. 

OPSC Exam Pattern for Mains Exam

Once the candidate has qualified for the prelim stage, then he or she will be eligible to appear for the OPSC mains exam.  

• The mains exam consists of  5 compulsory papers and 4 option papers and the exam is conducted for 3 hours. 
• While some subjects in the compulsory paper are of 300 marks, others subjects are of 200 marks.  
• On the other hand,  for the optional subject, candidates have to select two subjects from the list given by the authorities for the optional subject. Each subject will have two papers and each paper will carry 300 marks. 

OPSC Personality Test or Interview 

The personality test of the OPSC exam is the last stage in which candidates need to qualify in order to get recruited. Candidates must know that the exam conducting body will conduct the personality test based on a merit list of marks obtained by the candidates in the mains exam.

The personality test is about 250 marks, and the OPSC government's final list of recommended test takers/candidates will be based on the total marks obtained in the mains exam and personality test. Additionally, all of the candidates who were finally chosen for the "OPSC Exam'' are hired for Group A and Group B positions with the OPSC (State Government). 

Candidates will be evaluated based on :

• Leadership Skills 
• Mental Alertness of Candidate 
• Depth of interest of Candidate 
• Clear & Logical Exposition of Candidate 

NOTE: Candidates that pass all of these three stages will be eligible for the position for which they have applied. To obtain a good score, it is essential to study according to the latest exam pattern.  Also, candidates can check OPSC preparation strategy here.