The 2000 Probationary Officers notification from India's largest bank, State Bank of India, is one amongst the big recruitment announcements in the banking industry. Everyone should be familiar with the SBI PO exam pattern and should have already kick-started their preparations for the Probationary Officer post. If you are facing any hiccups regarding how to kick-start the SBI PO preparation, don't hesitate to read our exclusive article.
The SBI online preliminary exam, which consists of three sections, namely reasoning ability, quantitative aptitude and English language, is a gate pass to the main examination. To help you ace the preliminary examination, we have decided to give you section-wise strategies and tips. A couple of days ago, we have published an article on how to prepare for the reasoning ability section in SBI PO. Here are the preparation tips for the English language section.
8-week Action Plan To Prepare For SBI PO
Start With The Pattern
The English section seems to be difficult for average candidates because of its nature of questions. More than eight questions are expected from the reading comprehension areas and around 5-8 questions on cloze test and error spotting. Hence, aspirants should start their preparation based on the pattern of questions.
Know The Topics
As we said above, majority of the questions will be based on the reading comprehension, cloze test and error finding. However, mastering these three or four areas is not good enough for the English language section. You should also know topics such as parajumbled questions and sentence correction. Hence, never ignore them while preparing.
Grammar & Vocabulary
Due to these two areas, many aspirants feel the English section is very intimidating. There are no specific shortcuts to help you. Pick a book of your choice such as High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren & Martin and start reading it. Make yourself better with the sentence formation and spotting errors while reading the grammar rules. This way you can pick up the skills required.
Focus On The Reading Comprehension
Taking up more than one-third of the questions, reading comprehension is the most important area in the English section. This mainly asks you to draw a logical conclusion based on the given information in a passage. Aspirants should also understand the meaning of words in the given passage. This area eats more time and traps the candidates. The only good thing in this area is that the questions will be direct.
Newspaper Reading
Reading newspapers will not only improve your vocabulary but also provide general awareness, which is useful during the main examination and the group discussion round. Reading the editorial columns in the newspaper will make you better in the reading comprehension area. This will also help you in finding the errors besides increasing your language command.
Prepare For Mains Along With Preliminary
Around two months are there for the SBI PO preliminary examination. Hence, one can start their preparations for both the preliminary and main exams simultaneously. This will give you more benefits, such as understanding the context within no time.
Practise With Time Limit
Always stick to your time, specifically while dealing the reading comprehension. Practise solving the comprehension area within five minutes. This will help you gain a high score in the exam. Keep an eye on the time while taking the mock tests as well.
7-Step Guide To Prepare For The Probationary Officer Exam While Working