Tips and strategy to crack SBI clerk prelims 2016 exam

SBI aka State Bank of India is one of the phenomenal public banking sector all over the India. Amongst all the government public sectors, it is one of the largest banking sectors. Lakhs of aspirants who are seeking for jobs follow this bank religiously. This year SBI has once again given an opportunity to the candidates to apply for the post of SBI Clerk. The notification for 2016 exam has been released. There are almost 13734 posts that are available for the aspirants. In order to crack the SBI Clerk Prelims 2016 Exam, one needs to create and follow the strategies so that they can easily clear this exam.

SELECTION PROCEDURE OF SBI CLERK

A candidate will have to undergo three steps in order to start their association with SBI. This 3-tier recruitment process has three rounds.
1. Prelim Exam
2. Main Exam
3. Interview
This article will mainly focus on the SBI Clerk Prelim Exam. 

In order to clear the Prelim exam successfully, it is important that the candidate is well versed with the Exam’s syllabus, like how many sections are there, how many questions are present and what all topics are covered in each section.

DURATION OF EXAM AND TOTAL NUMBER OF QUESTIONS IN THE EXAM

This exam is a 60 minute (1 hour) exam and in that 1 hour one will have to solve in total 100 questions. In order to score gracious marks in each section, the candidate will have to attempt maximum number of questions so that the cut off criteria can be met. The cut off is decided by SBI itself.

EXAM PATTERN FOR SBI PRELIMS 2016 EXAM

SECTION	TOTAL NUMBER OF QUESTIONS	MARKS	TIME LIMIT
English Language	30	30	60 minutes (1 hour)
Reasoning	35	35
Quantitative Aptitude	35	35

Now, what section should be attempted first? 

Plan in such a manner that you are aware of your strengths and weaknesses

• Initiate with the section in which you are very confident
• If you are confident in Reasoning section or English language section, start with that particular section first. This way your confidence will boost up in the exam.

Now, sections wise let’s have a look on what all topics you should focus upon and this detailed list will definitely help in cracking the exam and scoring well.

1. ENGLISH LANGUAGE

The level of the English Exam is easy. There are so many candidates who think that they are weak in communications and English language. But, for this exam the 20 questions that appear are comparatively very easy. If you start practicing the below listed topics on a daily basis then it would be much easier for you to crack the exam. Following the below mentioned strategy, start answering the topics in ascending manner

Topics

Fill in the Blanks

Cloze Test

Spotting the Error

Sentence Improvement

Para-jumbles

Reading Comprehension

Note: In the 2016 Prelims Exam, it is being said that the story based reading comprehension will also be asked

2. REASONING

This is one of the most scoring sections. The level of this exam is also easy. In this section, you get an opportunity to answer maximum number of questions. One thing that needs to be taken care of here is that the candidates don’t end up spending their time on the lengthy questions. Attempt the topics in the following order

Topics

Syllogism

Inequality

Coding-Decoding

Miscellaneous Questions

Linear Arrangement

Circular Seating Arrangement

Puzzle

Important note: It is advised that the candidates do not end up wasting their precious time by starting with the puzzle questions nor circular seating arrangement questions.

3. NUMERICAL ABILITY

This section is a very scoring one but then at the same time, it involves a lot of calculations. Here also it is advised that the lengthy questions are attempted in the end. The order is as follows:

Topics

Data Interpretation

Simplification/Approximation

Number Series

Miscellaneous Questions (Average, Time and Work, Profit and Loss)

TIME MANAGEMENT AND ACCURACY DURING THE PRELIM 2016 EXAM

The below table involves the number of accurate attempts that you should give to each section and it also involves the time that should be dedicated for each section.

SECTION	ACCURATE ATTEMPTS (MINIMUM)	TIME FOR EACH SECTION	PRIORITY
Reasoning Ability	15-18	20 minutes	I
English Language	17-19	15 minutes	II
Quantitative Aptitude	15-16	25 minutes	III

The above mentioned time management and attempts might make you feel nervous, but the below mentioned study plan will help you in preparing for all the topics in a well-mannered way.

Week	Expected number of Questions (<5)	Expected number of Questions (5-9)	Expected number of Questions (>=10)
Week 1	Number Series, Simplification (12-14 hours per week)	Analytical Reasoning (includes seating arrangement) (14-16 hours per week)	Reading Comprehension Vocabulary (8-10 hours per week)
Week 2	Arithmetic (Simple, Compound Interest, Speed, Distance, Time and Work, Percentages) (12-15 hours per week)	Coding-Decoding Inequalities (10-12 hours per week)	Grammar and Correct Usage (8-10 hours per week)
Week 3	Data Interpretation (10-12 hours per week)	Syllogism, Blood Relation, Direction Sense (10-12 hours per week)	Parajumbles, Cloze test (6-8 hours per week)
Week 4	Geometry and Mensuration (7-8 hours per week)	Approximately 10 Mock tests that too full length plus Analysis (16-20 hours)
Week 5	Approximately 12 Full Length Mock tests+Analysis

The marks pattern of 2016 Exam for each section is as follows:

Number of Questions	30/35
Total marks	30/35
Marks per correct answer	1
Negative marking for incorrect answer	0.25

DATES OF THE PRELIM 2016 EXAM

The vital dates of this exam are mentioned below:

Events	Dates
Online registration of application Starts	April 5, 2016
Online registration of application ends	April 5, 2016
Last date for editing of application	April 5, 2016
Last date for printing of application	May 10, 2016
Last date of Online Fee Payment	April 28, 2016
Last date of Offline Fee Payment	April 28, 2016
Admit Card of Preliminary Exam	May 11, 2016
Online Preliminary Exam	May 22 to June 6, 2016
Result of Preliminary Exam	June, 2016
Admit Card of Main Exam	June 17, 2016 (tentatively)
Online Main Exam	June, 2016
Result of Main Exam	July, 2016
Admit Card for pre-exam training	May 6, 2016 onwards

According to the above dates, some quick tips and strategies that would be beneficial for the candidates are:

• Manage Time accordingly for each section

As described in detail above, time management is a supreme factor in this exam. It is suggested that the candidates attempt maximum number of questions so that they score a nice cut off. If once a good cut off is achieved then there is surely a seat reserved for you for this post

• Online mock exams

Like any other exam, this exam also requires a regular practice. Before the exams, the candidates should start giving online mock tests on a regular basis. The score achieved through the online mock exams will give you a clear picture of where exactly you stand at that particular moment. Also, you will get to know what all questions appear in the exam, their style and their pattern. The third advantage of giving these online exams is that, they will help you in managing the time for each section accurately

• Reading newspapers

In general also, reading newspapers is a good habit and if you follow this routine before the SBI Clerk exams, then it will be extra beneficial. The General Knowledge questions although appear in the main exam but still it is important to read the newspapers on a regular basis.

• Study Regularly

It is necessary that the aspirants study for at least 6 to 10 hours for a day. Practice questions from each topic on a regular basis. The regular studies will make your concepts clear and will give you a path to clear the exam in a successful manner

Some special tips for the quantitative section as that section is a complex one. The following tips might help you in saving your time and relieving stress

• The topics that have direct formulas, practice them on a regular basis. The direct formulas will give you direct results.

Topics like SI, CI and Partnerships have direct formulas

• Vedic Mathematics and various other shortcut tricks like finding cube, multiplication or division can be used

• The questions in which you are not confident, do not end up wasting time in solving them or even going through them once

• It will be great if you can solve the caselets. The caselets will help you score 5 marks directly

• The other sections that are Logical Reasoning and English language, solve these sections in the fastest possible manner and then switch to the quantitative section and give your hundred percent there

It is not a tedious task to clear the Prelim exam, all that you need to do is focus on the important topics in each section and manage your time accordingly. Practice regularly and appear for the exam will full confidence.

For further information regarding the SBI Clerk Prelims 2016 Exam, you can easily login to www.sbi.co.in and get all the required details.