SBI PO exam is one of the most awaited and desired banking exams every year by banking aspirants. The SBI PO exams are conducted by the State Bank of India (SBI) each year to recruit eligible candidates for the post of Probationary Officer. The exam comprises three stages i.e., Prelims, Mains and Group Discussion and Personal Interview round. The eligible aspirants must keep an eye out for the official notification or any update regarding the SBI PO exam and must register and apply during the SBI PO apply online process to appear for the exam.
However, applying for the exam is not enough, candidates must have top-notch preparation for the exam to crack it. The candidate must ensure the best possible use of his/her time and effort through the right guidance and strategy in preparation for each subject.
On that note, let’s talk about some section-wise preparation tips that can help candidates having limited time to prepare in the best possible way for successful performance in the exam.
Subject-wise Preparation Tips for SBI PO Exam
Reasoning Ability
To score well in this section, candidates must use their limited time to focus on topics that have high weightage and practice as many questions as possible from these topics to become well versed in them.
Some important topics that the candidate must put more effort and time into are Puzzles, Sitting Arrangement, Syllogism, Inequality, Coding and Decoding, Input and Output, Data Sufficiency etc.
Apart from this, candidates must regularly practice questions in topics like puzzles, Sitting Arrangement, Blood Relation, etc where candidates can easily get 3-4 answers right by cracking the correct arrangement. Remember to start from basics and then move onto advanced level questions.
English Language
This is one of the most scoring sections of all, candidates can easily score 25 plus in Prelims and 30 plus in Mains in the English section with basic knowledge and understanding of grammar rules, along with good comprehensive reading and vocabulary skills.
The candidate must go through the basic grammar rules on eight parts of speech and practice as many questions as they can to get well acquainted with them. Also, referring to some best books for SBI PO such as Word Power Made Easy, English is Easy by Chetananand Singh and more can be of great help to candidates in preparing for the English section. Learning a few words each day from this book and daily usage of these words will help you build good vocabulary skills. Reading good English newspapers and magazines daily can help you with both vocabulary and comprehensive reading skills.
Furthermore, candidates must solve questions and attempt quizzes in some important topics which carry high weightage such as Error detection, Fill in the blanks, Para jumble, Cloze test, Reading Comprehension, Idioms and Phrases, Synonyms and Antonyms and more.
Quantitative Aptitude
Candidates must get a good grip on the fundamentals behind concepts and ideas, memorize short tricks and formulas. Candidates are also advised to learn tables, Squares and cubes at least up to 20, 30 and 20 respectively to speed up their calculation.
Furthermore, they must practice as many questions as they can in major topics such as Number series, Mensuration, Average, Ratio and Proportion, Percentage, Profit and Loss, Data Interpretation and Analysis, Quadratic Equation and more.
General and Banking Awareness
This section is the most time-saving section as candidates will only attempt the questions he knows the answers to. Candidates must go through the current affairs of the last six months before the exam date which includes major news and events of national and international importance, Awards, Sports, Technology, Appointments and more.
Apart from this, they must know about India’s Banking History, Banking Terminologies, New initiatives, Policies and new updates in the Indian Banking system. Also, candidates must make notes and follow all major Static GK topics such as names and locations of Sanctuaries, National parks, Headquarters important organization, important events and dates of pasts and more.
Preparation Tips for Descriptive Test
The descriptive test of the SBI PO Mains exam comprises 2 questions that i.e., Letter Writing and Essay Writing.
Given below are some tips to prepare for the Descriptive Test.
Improving speed and Lucid Handwriting
The candidate needs to have a clear thought process and penmanship while attempting the descriptive test. At the same time, he/she should be able to write fast as only 40 minutes will be given to write both Letter and Essay.
Having lucid penmanship is necessary so that the examiner can easily understand what the candidate has written. To improve his/her composition, candidates must read daily editorials and articles, and inculcate a daily habit of writing.
Avoid Grammatical, Punctuation and Spelling Errors
Candidates must keep the number of silly spelling, punctuational and grammatical mistakes to the minimum to score well in the descriptive test. For this candidates must go through basic grammar rules, have proper knowledge of vocabulary and should build a habit of daily reading.