SBI PO exam is just a few weeks away. SBI has decided to reduce the number of candidates called for the mains exam this year. Aspirants can expect a huge increase in the cut offs this year in the prelims stage. In this article, let us see how to crack SBI PO exam in first attempt.
Online preparation for SBI PO can help aspirants to expedite the preparation process. Previous year papers of SBI PO will be of great help to aspirants to assess the level of the exam and the change in the nature of the exam over the years. Taking SBI PO mock tests will help aspirants to reflect on their level of preparation. This, in turn, will help to plan the preparation better.
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Contents
How to crack SBI PO 2018 exam in first attempt?
SBI has tweaked the pattern of the prelims exam a bit. Therefore, the first timers are not at any disadvantage as compared to the repeaters. The only edge a repeater will have over a first timer is the temperamental advantage of how to approach the exam.
Before moving on to how to crack SBI PO exam in first attempt, let us have a look at the pattern of the prelims exam.
S.no |
Section |
Number of questions |
Time duration |
| 1. | English Language | 30 | 20 minutes |
| 2. | Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 20 minutes |
| 3. | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 20 minutes |
| Total | 100 | 1 hour |
Each section in the prelims exam has a sectional time limit of 20 minutes. Therefore, aspirants must avoid banking too much on a single section and develop their competence across all the 3 sections.
The pattern of the mains exam remains unchanged.
S.no. |
Section |
Number of questions |
Time duration |
| 1. | Reasoning and Computer aptitude | 45 | 60 minutes |
| 2. | Data analysis and interpretation | 35 | 45 minutes |
| 3. | General/ Economic and Banking awareness | 40 | 35 minutes |
| 4. | English language | 35 | 40 minutes |
| Total | 155 | 3 hours |
As we can see, the English language, quants and reasoning sections have the major say in determining the selection of a candidate. With just 2 months to go, aspirants must start their preparation for these sections immediately.
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Tips to crack SBI Clerk Prelims 2018
First timers should start with a mock test. The mock test will help them know about the areas of their strengths and weaknesses. Also, the mock test will help aspirants to identify what their ground zero is and hence, can help aspirants to know how much ground is left to cover before the exam.
Then, aspirants must devise a plan such that each of these 3 sections are taken care of. Going through SBI PO syllabus can help aspirants in devising the plan. Aspirants must ensure that they at least score a mark a minute in each of the sections in the prelims exam. Therefore, the first month must be entirely spent on strengthening the basics.
How to crack SBI Clerk in 3 Months:
Things to do in the first month:
Aspirants must develop a habit of reading. This will help them in answering RC and allied questions like cloze test. Also, aspirants should avoid skipping RCs from now on. As each section has a separate time limit, it has now become imperative for aspirants to maximize their scores in each of the sections.
Calculation speed is crucial to ace any bank exam. Therefore, aspirants must be thorough with the tables, square and cube values and the fraction to decimal conversion values. This will help aspirants to save some precious minutes in the exam.
Solving a large number of puzzles can help aspirants to develop the thought process required for the reasoning section. Aspirants must also try solving unconventional puzzles from various sources. This will help them to tackle the unconventional questions that have been appearing in the exam off late.
By the end of the first month, aspirants must be able to solve most of the questions in an untimed environment. Most of the aspirants would have attained some clarity on how to crack SBI PO exam in first attempt by this time.
Things to do in the second month:
Aspirants must spend the second month entirely on taking mock tests and analyzing their mistakes. Also, aspirants must make note of the mistakes they usually make and ensure that they beat down such mistakes with each passing mock.
Aspirants must ensure that they are picking up the right questions to answer. Also, aspirants must develop a strategy for the D-day and put it to test during the mock tests. Then, aspirants must finalize the strategy that suits their nature the most.
Download SBI PO Detailed Syllabus PDF
Read How to prepare for SBI Clerk 2018 exam
General awareness section:
Most aspirants ignore the GA section and start preparing only after the prelims exam. The time available between the prelims and the mains exam is too short to allow any meaningful preparation. Also, memorizing the current affairs of 3-6 months within a span of 15 days can be a daunting task.
Aspirants must ensure that they start preparing for the GA section from now on. Dedicating close to half an hour a day will be sufficient to ace this section. Also, aspirants must make notes and revise it at regular intervals to ensure that the facts remain fresh in the memory. Doing so can save aspirants the pain of drilling down the hard facts 10 days before the exam.
We hope that this article would have helped to know how to crack SBI PO exam in first attempt. Try reading our other useful articles on SBI PO expected cut off and SBI PO in-hand salary after 7th pay commission.
