By following the correct strategy and approach, clearing any bank exam becomes relatively simple. You just need to give your study plan a proper direction and you can easily clear any bank exam on the first attempt.
Every year a large number of students appear for IBPS PO, SBI PO, and SBI Clerk bank exams. However, only a handful make it to the final list.
In order to prepare for the upcoming bank exams, the first and foremost requirement is to understand the pattern of the exam. Almost all bank exams are conducted in two phases — preliminary and main, which is followed by an interview round. For recruitment at posts of clerks, there are only two phases.
Preparing for Prelims
The exam pattern of almost all major bank preliminary exams is similar and the pattern of the Main phase varies from exam to exam. In some exams, time division is provided for different sections, while a composite time is provided in others. Subjects included in the Mains exam include –
● English Language
● Reasoning Ability
● Quantitative Aptitude
● General Awareness (including current, static, and banking awareness)
● Computer Knowledge
There is usually a slight difference between the syllabus for prelims and the main exam.
Now, let’s see what should be the section-wise strategy to ace Bank Exams.
Language Section
Reading Comprehension: In Reading Comprehension, questions are asked based on the passage. Usually, you should read the paragraph first and underline the important lines, however as it is an online test so markings can’t be done in the passage. So it is suggested to read the questions first and then read the paragraph.
Read questions carefully so that when you read a paragraph or passage you must know what type of questions are asked and which passage in the line fits the best for the answer.
It is, therefore, a time-consuming topic, so it is advisable to attempt all other questions and then turn up to Reading Comprehension at last.
While attempting reading comprehension, one should follow a few tips for better scoring:
● Try and practice more comprehension so you get the idea of how to trick with answers.
● First, read the questions and then the passage.
● Topics usually come from Science & Technology, Economy, Nature, Business, etc.
● Facts and interference-based questions come.
Grammar: In this portion, you cannot figure out what type of questions come. So you need to practice and understand the basic concepts of the topics. After reading this article, check out your grammar basics to find out how much you already know and how much you need to practice in the English section.
Here are some categories that will help you in Prelims-
Error Spotting/Sentence Correction: In this portion, you need to eliminate options by reading the sentence. The error will be given in the sentences and you need to eliminate them by choosing the right option.
Fill In The Blanks: A small passage is given with the blanks and options. Questions to fill in the blanks with the correct options are given. Around 5-10 grammar-based questions are asked on this topic from nouns, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, tenses, subject-verb agreement, conjunctions, parts of speech, etc. so you should be strong with the rules of these topics as it will help you in long run.
Vocabulary: Read newspapers and books to increase vocabulary power. It is an endless topic so you must always keep the new words in mind. you should check the vocabulary section of our page to know where you stand.
Reasoning Ability
First, go through the question papers of the last 3-4 years and solve them. Understand the important chapters, your strength, and your weakness. Start studying important concepts from our app or from any standard book. Practice sectional tests regularly to assess your progress. Revise in an organized way and follow a perfect study plan.
General Awareness
It is important for a student to categorize the sub-topics of this subject in order to properly prepare it.
And dividing any task into sections makes it much easier to complete. Divide the topics to be studied in GA into little packets and prepare them one by one in the same way.
If you prepare well for the General Awareness portion, you will be able to answer most of the questions in the least amount of time. In contrast to other sections, obtaining marks in General awareness is very easy because it contains fewer and simpler questions. This topic can be broken down into the following sections:
● Current affairs
● Static GA
● Banking Awareness
Read Newspaper: The best source is a selective reading of newspapers like The Times of India (TOI), The Hindu, Economic Times, etc. This will also help you improve your reading habits and solve Reading Comprehension problems. You’ll become more aware of what’s going on around you, which will undoubtedly benefit you in the interview round. The finest source of content for GA is the newspaper, which covers all topics relevant to banking and financial awareness.
Focus more on the Current Affairs section: To do well in this area, concentrate on current events from the previous six months. The percentage of questions asked from the current affairs segment has increased in recent banking major examinations. Approximately 65-70 per cent of the questions are directly related to current events. The majority of the banking awareness and static GK questions are focused on current events. As a result, read the financial awareness and static current affairs GK.
Revision: This area is comparably simpler to score in this section, however, it is also a very diversified section. Students have a hard time remembering facts and figures. As a result, it’s critical for candidates to go over the content again once they’ve gone over it completely. Select the most important current events and have a strong emphasis on them. Apart from that, remember to take regular quizzes on these topics to ensure that you retain what you’ve learned. The links to all the quizzes are shared at the end of the article.
Read the Questions Carefully: Sometimes in a hurry to answer the questions quickly, students do not read the question carefully and end up with negative marks. This is one of the most common evils that almost every candidate encounters. But, you can come over this if you hold your horses and mark answers accurately.
Do Not Think too much over a Question: If you are giving a lot of thought to a particular question and still not getting the correct answer then it is advised to mark the question for review and move ahead. It is better to leave a question if you have no idea about the context. You can take calculated risks in questions where you have some background knowledge and you are able to eliminate at least 2 options. So this is all about how should one tackle the General Awareness section in SBI Clerk 2021 Main exam.
Important Preparation Tips For Computer Awareness
The computer awareness section can be a game-changer in any banking examination, so we advise you not to ignore this section as it can fetch you maximum marks in no time. Follow an integrated & systematic approach; finish chapter-wise revision and take regular tests to memorize the same.
Revision is the key to success, so revise whatever you learn. In the computer awareness section in order to answer questions more quickly, it is a good idea to keep practicing conversions as we can expect questions based on calculation.
This section is majorly about the Generation of computers, MS Word, MS Excel, PowerPoint, Internet, Operating systems, Computer Hardware, Abbreviations, Etc. The syllabus is majorly based on the theory of computers so candidates have to select the important topics to be covered in the beginning. Go through the previous year’s papers to get an idea about the type of questions.
Exam Preparation Guidelines
The saying “practice makes the man perfect” is apt for banking aspirants. You must practice the topics as much as you can. You must retain whatever you learn by connecting it to some of your life incidents or by creating sentences.
Speed plays a vital role in bank recruitment exams. Since questions are normally lengthy and so you need to take utmost care of the time you are spending on each question. Try to attempt all the questions with 100 per cent accuracy which will enhance your marks and save time in the exam.
Remember, you do not need to attempt every question. Prelims exams are just qualifying in nature and hence try to solve enough questions accurately to clear the sectional and overall cutoff. Each wrong answer can prove to be costly in your final score on the PO & Clerk exam.
Practice as much as you can because that is what will eventually help you in the exam. You can do so with the help of our test series for bank exams which will make it easy for you to clear the upcoming exams as follows- IBPS PO, SBI PO, & SBI Clerk.
— Authored by Jatin Agarwal, Quant, Reasoning, and DI Expert
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