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SBI PO Mains — Descriptive Test

SBI weights its descriptive test heavily enough that it cannot be treated as a formality: fifty marks in thirty minutes, typed straight after the objective paper, and marked on format and expression as much as on content.

SBI PROBATIONARY OFFICER — MAIN EXAMINATION
DESCRIPTIVE TEST (ENGLISH LANGUAGE)
Time Allowed: 30 MinutesMaximum Marks: 50

The test is typed on screen and is evaluated only for candidates qualifying in the objective test.

  1. Q1.Write an essay of about 250 words: Digital lending has widened credit access but raised new risks for the Indian consumer.(25)250 words
  2. Q2.Write a formal letter to the head of your bank's operations division suggesting measures to reduce branch waiting times.(25)150 words
Papers
2
Total
50, in 30 minutes
Written
Typed on screen
Marked on
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One SBI PO Descriptive answer, from question to marked report

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1
You get a question

Scoped to the paper and topic you pick, at the marks it is genuinely set at.

Studio 07:30
Essay25 marks

Write an essay of about 250 words on: Digital lending has widened credit access but raised new risks for the Indian consumer.

2
You write it

Type it against the clock, the way the real paper is answered.

Writing room 04:12
Type Speak Paper
Digital lending has grown very fast in India in recent years. Many apps give loans within minutes without any paperwork. This has helped people who did not have access to banks earlier. Small businesses have also benefited. However there are risks also. Some apps charge very high interest and use unfair recovery methods. Data privacy is also a concern. RBI has issued guidelines to control this. In conclusion digital lending is good but it should be regulated properly. Cheap smartphones and cheap data have carried the internet into small towns and villages, and payment through UPI has made people comfortable with money on a phone. Lenders read this trail along with other information to judge a borrower who has no credit history and no salary slip, and the loan is sanctioned and disbursed on the same screen within minutes. Shopkeepers, delivery workers and daily wage earners who were never served by a branch can now borrow a small amount for a short period, and small businesses use it for working capital when a payment is delayed. On the other side many borrowers do not read the terms and do not realise that the processing fee and the penalty make the actual cost far higher than the rate displayed. Young borrowers take several small loans at the same time from different apps and are trapped when the repayments fall together. Recovery agents call family members and colleagues, and there have been very sad incidents because of that pressure.
247 / 250 words
You haven't signalled a conclusion yet — an examiner looks for one.
3
Your answer comes back marked

Marked in place, with every criterion scored.

Your answer, markedMarked in red
Q. No. 1EssayMax. marks 25
Q1

Digital lending has grown very fast in India in recent years. Many apps give loans within minutes without any paperwork. This has helped people who did not have access to banks earlier. Small businesses have also benefited. However there are risks also. Some apps charge very high interest and use unfair recovery methods. Data privacy is also a concern. RBI has issued guidelines to control this.? In conclusion digital lending is good but it should be regulated properly. Cheap smartphones and cheap data have carried the internet into small towns and villages, and payment through UPI has made people comfortable with money on a phone. Lenders read this trail along with other information to judge a borrower who has no credit history and no salary slip, and the loan is sanctioned and disbursed on the same screen within minutes. Shopkeepers, delivery workers and daily wage earners who were never served by a branch can now borrow a small amount for a short period, and small businesses use it for working capital when a payment is delayed. On the other side many borrowers do not read the terms and do not realise that the processing fee and the penalty make the actual cost far higher than the rate displayed. Young borrowers take several small loans at the same time from different apps and are trapped when the repayments fall together. Recovery agents call family members and colleagues, and there have been very sad incidents because of that pressure.

The RBI digital lending guidelines by name, and one concrete requirementA number: the growth of the segment, or the share of small-ticket loans
17/25
Page 1Marks for each expected point are written down the right margin
The pen marks on your page
StrongConcrete and correct — this is the mechanism behind the access claim.
VagueNaming the digital lending guidelines and one requirement from them — such as disbursal into the borrower's account directly — turns this into evidence.
What the examiner wanted and did not find
  • The RBI digital lending guidelines by name, and one concrete requirement
  • A number: the growth of the segment, or the share of small-ticket loans
  • The regulated-entity versus unregulated-app distinction, which is the real risk boundary
Model answer for this question

Introduce with the tension in one line, not with background. Paragraph two: the access case — underwriting on alternative data, minutes to disbursal, thin-file and small-ticket borrowers reached. Paragraph three: the risk case — pricing opacity, coercive recovery, data harvesting, and the unregulated-app boundary. Paragraph four: the regulatory response, naming the RBI digital lending guidelines and one requirement. Close with a position, not a summary.

Marked in about twenty seconds

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Write this one yourself
4
And you see where each mark went

The scoring behind those pen marks: every criterion, what it was worth, what you earned, and a model answer.

Evaluation reportIllustrative
Examiner criteria
Structure — introduction, developed body, conclusion4/7

All three present, but the body is a list rather than two developed arguments.

Content relevance and banking substance5/7

Both halves of the prompt engaged. No data, no named framework.

Coherence and paragraphing3/5

One block of text. Three paragraphs would make the argument visible at a glance.

Grammar, tone and register5/6

Clear and correct; a few sentences are simple where a linking clause would connect the ideas.

Total 17/25Above averageAI estimate — not an official score

SBI PO Descriptive at a glance

Conducting bodyState Bank of India
ModeTyped on screen
Papers2
Total50, in 30 minutes
MarkingSBI PO Descriptive — examiner criteria
Marked the way SBI PO Descriptive answers are marked — examiner criteria, against this exam's own conventions rather than a generic essay rubric.
Confirm the marks and duration against the year's SBI notification.

What SBI PO Descriptive sets

The papers you sit, and what each is worth.

1Essay

Around 250 words, usually on banking, the economy or technology.

2Letter

A formal letter of around 150 words.

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