English Language Preparation tips for IBPS Clerk 2016 Mains

The IBPS clerk mains examination is around the corner and students are giving a final touch to their preparation. The exam pattern has been changed and before starting the preparation, let's have a look at the pattern for IBPS Clerk Mains 2016.

IBPS Clerk Mains Pattern:

Section	Number of Questions	Max. Marks	Time Limit
English Language	40	40	30 minutes
Reasoning Ability	40	50	30 minutes
Quantitative Aptitude	40	50	30 minutes
General Awareness	40	40	25 minutes
Computer Knowledge	40	20	20 minutes

There will be negative marking of 0.25 for each wrong answer.

In today's competitive world, it is necessary to have a good command in English Language.

In every exam, there will be a test of English Language – Grammar, Usage and Vocabulary.

We are giving preparation tips to score well in English Language section of the IBPS clerk exam.

IBPS Clerk Mains Syllabus for English Langauge:

• Reading Comprehension
• Fill in the blanks
• Sentence Rearrangement
• Error Spotting
• Basics of Grammar
• Vocabulary
• Cloze test

Preparation Tips:

The Basic pillars of English :

1. Grammar

Focus on topics you are weak in, grasp and learn the fundamentals of grammar and apply the rules learnt to various Grammar practice exercises.

Revising the basics will help you with frequently asked questions in IBPS English section on

• Spotting the error
• Sentence Correction/ Phrase replacement

2. Vocabulary

Improve your vocabulary from various textbooks, newspapers and magazines.Keep a dictionary(oxford dictionary recommended) for learning new words. Listen to english news channels, Watch some english movies and take part in debates.

3. Reading:

Read newspapers daily. Try to form a summary of each news article in your own words. Also, read novels. Gradually improve the reading speed.

Topic-wise Preparation for English Language:

The english section can be very scoring for you if you study strategically . Read the topic wise preparation tips to score well.

Reading Comprehension

Develop a regular reading habit to help solve reading comprehension questions. Practice at least 1 passage from previous year’s IBPS Clerk papers. This will give you an idea about the difficulty level of the exam. You can then practice similar difficulty level Reading Comprehensions from preparation books.

There are mainly 4 types of questions asked from Reading Comprehension –

• Questions on the information given in the passage
• Antonyms/synonyms of words used in the Reading Comprehension.
• Summary of a the paragraph
• A relevant title for the passage

Solve the passages and fix up a specific time for each of the passages.

Fill in the Blanks/ Cloze Test

Questions on fill in the blanks and cloze test do not require good English vocabulary. The blanks need to be filled with simple words which are easy to choose if you understand the theme of the paragraph. So, It is important to grasp whatever you are reading.

Para jumbles

In Parajumbles section, you need to correct the order of the given sentences. You need a lot of practice for this section.

Solve previous year papers and take mock tests.

Attempt previous year's paper which will help you to understand the type of questions asked in the exam and level of difficulty.

Take Mock tests for English section. Try to attempt 3 to 5 IBPS Clerk mock test series on a daily basis which are available online. This will suggest you better ways to improve your weak areas and explore scoring opportunity.

Time Management Strategy for English Section:

1.Attempt relatively easier questions like cloze test, fill in the blanks, antonym & synonym first.

2.Before attempting the reading comprehension,  read the questions quickly so that you can spot the answers while you read the passage.

3. Try to avoid negative marking.

4. Keep some time for final review of your answers.

IBPS Clerk English Preparation - Books Recommended:

• Objective General English – R S Aggarwal
• Book for Grammar and Vocabulary  - Wren & Martin

Your willingness and efforrt to dust off the failures and move on to bigger, newer dreams along with self-belief will set you apart from others. We wish you Best of Luck for the exam!