SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips and Tricks
SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips – Check useful preparation tips to ace up your preparation level in the English language for SBI clerk preparation tips.
SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips
SBI Clerk exam 2018 is around the corner. We hope that all the students must have prepared for their exams very well and some of them even giving the final touch up to their preparation. With the slight SBI Clerk pattern change in place, it has become mandatory to have a decent grasp of all the sections to do well in the exam. In this article, we will be discussing the SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips. For better and enhanced performance in SBI Clerk 2018’s exam and fetch some very important tips and tricks to prepare for English section in SBI clerk exam.Practice Online SBI Clerk Mock Test.
SBI Clerk Exam Pattern
SBI Clerk 2018 Preliminary Exam Pattern
For the very first time, SBI has introduced sectional timing for the online examination of SBI Clerk
Serial No. | Section | No. of Question | Total Marks | Duration |
1 | English Language | 30 | 30 | 20 minutes |
2 | Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
3 | Reasoning | 35 | 35 | 20 minutes |
Total | 100 | 100 | 60 minutes |
SBI Clerk 2018 Mains Exam Pattern
Serial Number | Section | No. of Question | Total Marks | Duration |
1. | General English | 40 | 40 | 35 minutes |
2. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | 45 minutes |
3. | Reasoning Ability and Computer Aptitude | 50 | 60 | 45 minutes |
4. | General/Financial Awareness | 50 | 50 | 25 minutes |
Total | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
SBI Clerk Exam Overview – SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips
Stages | 3 (Preliminary, Main, and Test of Opted Local Language) |
Mode of Exam | Online |
Level of Difficulty | Easy-moderate |
Negative Marking | 0.25 marks |
Time Duration | 1 hour for Prelims and 2 hours 40 minutes for Mains (Both separately timed) |
Maximum Marks | 100 for Prelims and 200 for Mains |
The English section of the SBI Clerk exam can be mainly divided into 4 important parts inSBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips.
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Reading Comprehension
- Verbal Ability
1. Reading Comprehension – SBI Clerk English Language Preparation Tips
- Questions in reading comprehension can be easy and moderate as well.
- 20% questions in RC are from the vocabulary. Read the question carefully. Sometimes you are asked to ‘select the word opposite in meaning rather thansimilar‘.
- To solve questions from vocabulary, remember that you are NOT expected to know the exact meaning of this word. To answer vocabulary questions, read the passage again and question yourself ‘how is this word used in context’. Predict the meaning of the word and then see the options. Finally, select the one closest in meaning to your prediction.
- Read the first and last paragraph to get the gist of the passage. This is useful when answering questions like ‘What does the author wants to convey in this article or What is the theme of this article etc.’
- It is alright to leave some questions (ones which are detailed or require you to read the entire paragraph. ) They take up precious time leaving you with no time for Quant/Reasoning.
How to Learn VOCABULARY in English for SBI Clerk
- There are direct questions on the following topics in both Prelims and Mains exams.
- Cloze Test (5 or 10 blanks passage)
- Fill in the Blanks (double blanks)
- Error Spotting
- The most interesting thing about building a vocabulary is that it doesn’t require any extraordinary efforts. It keeps on building whether you are reading a newspaper or a book. Whenever you are getting a chance to hear a new word, take a minute to look it up in a dictionary or a thesaurus. Note down its meaning, synonyms and antonyms and its usage. At a later date, try to use these words in sentences of your own to revise the meanings. This would also help you enhance your understanding of the context of the passage.
- Solve the vocabulary sections from previous years’ papers and time yourself.
How to manage READING COMPREHENSION in SBI Clerk
- The passage can either be based on a (moral) story or on topics like banking and economy, social issues, business etc.
- The questions will be mainly fact-based and vocabulary-based. Some questions can also be asked on the main idea while some will ask you to draw inferences.
- Though the passages are short, the habit of reading fast and understanding the intent of the passage needs to be developed to minimize the time and maximize the output.
- Practice one comprehension question daily from questions available on the app. Constant practice will help you achieve accuracy and minimize the time required.
How to master VERBAL ABILITY for SBI Clerk
- Verbal Ability portion of English for SBI Clerk consists of a 6 sentence paragraph jumble with 5 questions based on it.
- This is an easy section and you can practice these questions occasionally from the app.
- Follow the logic while answering these questions. Always keep in mind the overall story, as the passage will always tell you a story with a definite beginning, middle and end.
General Strategy for English for SBI Clerk
Remember that time is of the essence. Spending more than 15 minutes on English for SBI Clerk Prelims is generally not a good idea. Accuracy and speed can only be achieved by taking mock tests and timing yourself while you take those tests.
- Spend time studying basic rules of grammar. The rules and concepts are often repeated which doesn’t happen in vocabulary. So if you practice enough, you will likely secure 5-10 marks in the paper.
- Go through commonly asked word lists and try to revise their meanings for the vocabulary section.
- You should try to solve at least one mock paper every day till the day of the exam.
- Pick the questions you faced difficulty in from past papers and mock tests and solve them by timing yourself.
- Timing yourself is important as it keeps you from utilizing time that you could have otherwise spent on Quant and Reasoning.
- Start with Grammar section first (generally advisable). Move on to the Verbal Ability section next as you can get several marks in one go. Follow this with the Vocabulary section because it is the fastest to get through. Get to the Reading Comprehension section last.