Banking & Insurance

How to crack English in IBPS PO?

IBPS PO Prelims and Mains English: The English section in IBPS PO Exam is an important section. Good preparation and strategy can make it easy and scoring section, whereas bad preparation and strategy can make it as hard as the hardest nut to crack. The IBPS PO English section invites 30 questions of 30 Marks in the Prelims Exam & 35 Questions of 40 Marks in the Mains Exam. To clear this section in an easy fashion, you have to make reading a daily habit, clear the basics of Grammar, keep working on enhancing your vocabulary, and keep practicing various structures of sentences.

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The difficulty level of last year’s paper was medium, and this level is expected this year too. But you need to be ready to face tough questions and practice a lot to grab a good score in the upcoming exam.

Before moving on to the best tricks and tips to clear the English part in both IBPS PO Prelims and Mains, let’s take a look at the exam pattern to understand the distribution of Marks and time in the exam!

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Exam Pattern-IBPS PO 2021

The IBPS PO Prelims exam tests a candidate with 100 questions of Objective type (MCQ). In the second stage, you will have to face Objective questions (MCQ) of 200 + 25 marls of Objective (MCQ) nature, except for the English Descriptive Paper. The last stage, the interview, will test you with Verbal questions of 100 Marks.

IBPS PO Prelims-Exam Pattern

The prelims exam of IBPS PO consists of a total of 100 questions with a time duration of 60 minutes.

  • Question type remains Multiple Choice questions.
  • There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks in the exam for each wrong answer.
  • This round of IBPS PO exam is only qualifying in nature.
S. No.Name of TestNo. of QuestionsMaximum MarksDuration
1English Language303020 minutes
2Quantitative Aptitude353520 minutes
3Reasoning Ability353520 minutes
Total10010060 minutes

Note: As per the official IBPS website, Candidates have to qualify in each of the three tests by securing minimum cut-off marks to be decided by IBPS. An adequate number of candidates in each category as decided by IBPS depending upon requirements will be shortlisted for Online Main Examination.

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IBPS PO Mains-Exam Pattern

IBPS PO Mains exam also entertains Multiple Choice type questions with a slightly higher difficulty level. The Number of questions and the duration of the exam is higher as compared to the Prelims Exam. In addition, there is also a negative marking of 0.25 in the IBPS PO main exam for every incorrect answer you will give. Take a look at the table given below to know the No. of Questions asked and the time duration allowed to answer each section of the IBPS PO Mains Exam.

S. No.Section NameNo. of QuestionsMaximum MarksDuration
1Reasoning & Computer Aptitude456060 minutes
2English Language354040 minutes
3Data Analysis & Interpretation356045 minutes
4General Economy & Banking Awareness404035 minutes
Total1552003 Hours
5English Language (Letter Writing & Essay)22530 minutes

Note: As per the official IBPS website, IBPS reserves the right to modify the structure of the examination which will be intimated through its authorized website. Other detailed information regarding the examination will be given in an Information Handout, which will be made available for the candidates to download along with the call letters from the authorized IBPS website.

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English Preparation Strategy-Prelims & Mains Exams

Here are easy topic-wise strategies to counter some important topics of the IBPS PO English Section:

1.    Reading Comprehension

RC is the most important topic for the PO Mains exam. Reading Comprehension is generally easy when compared to other topics and questions asked in the English Language Section. Start your exam with it, if you are good at it. It is better to attempt it in the very beginning as the passage can be lengthy. You can expect 8-10 questions in the IBPS PO prelims. The question or the passage may be based on the economy. Keep reading the newspaper like the Economist or Financial Times to counter such passages. 

2.    Spotting Errors/Sentence Correction/Sentence Improvement

Read the complete sentence carefully and spot the errors of eliminating those questions one by one which you think are completely wrong. You may come across 5-10 questions from this part. You may also have to answer questions on Sentence Improvement instead of spotting errors. Therefore, you need to know grammar rules well to score maximum marks in this section.

3.    Cloze Test

Read the passage carefully, understand the ideas or arguments in it and eliminate the odd one out. You need to practice Cloze test questions regularly in order to succeed in doing it. 4-5 Questions may be asked from this part.

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4. Inferences

Inference questions might sometimes be tricky and confusing. Be ready to face an inference where you will have to go through several paragraphs following the inferences, or in other cases, you might receive a paragraph and several choices of inference that could possibly be the justification of the information asked in the paragraph.

5.    Coherent Paragraph

You might receive a paragraph under which several statements will be given that will form a coherent paragraph. In it, you will have to look for a statement that doesn’t fit in with other statements to form a logical sequence.

6. Phrasal Verbs

You can face questions from Phrasal Verbs even as a cloze test question. Though this topic invites a few questions your knowledge of Phrasal Verbs will help you deal with such questions in the IBPS PO Mains exam.

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7. Double Fillers

In it, your vocabulary power will be judged, so fill in the most appropriate word. Build up your vocabulary arsenal to counter the blanks. 5 questions are expected from double fillers.

8. Para Jumbles/Sentence Rearrangement

In sentence Para Jumbles/Sentence Rearrangement, you will have to read all the options carefully and try to identify which option matches the idea or theme of the given passage. You may be asked 5 questions on this topic.

How to prepare English for IBPS PO Prelims?

Given below are 3 simple tricks to score good marks in the English Section of Prelims:

1.      Analyse previous years’ questions papers

You must properly analyze the syllabus of the given Bank Exam. Make notes, and note down the weightage of various subjects, so that you can decide the topics to give more attention to while studying. By doing so you will get an idea about the exam pattern and your mind will be ready to understand what it needs to do in less time.

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2.      Polish the rules of grammar via Mock Test

Polish up the rules of grammar like:

  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Active and passive voice
  • Reported Speech (Direct and indirect speech)
  • Spellings
  • Tenses
  • Articles
  • Singulars and plural
  • Phrases and idioms
  • Noun and pronoun
  • Preposition
  • Conjunction
  • Conditionals
  • Question tags
  • Adjectives and determiners

Practice a number of examples to learn the application of all the grammatical rules.  This can also be done by reading the newspaper and magazines daily. Practice as many questions as you can on each topic mentioned above.

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3.      Fine-tune your Comprehension skills

Fine-tuning your reading skills automatically fine-tunes your comprehension abilities. Reading Comprehension is the most important topic in the English Language section.

You need to read the newspaper articles and editorials regularly to accelerate your reading speed, reading your daily habit.  After reading, try to write the best and shortest summary and check the number of words you have used in it. Try to write it in as minimum words as possible.  This will help you in finding the answers easily from the given passage.

How to prepare English for IBPS PO Mains?

Given below are 3 simple tricks to score good marks in the English Section of Mains:

1.    Practice with grammar rules

If you have mastered the rules and concepts of English grammar, it will be your key to success. Improve your Grammar and Reading skills along with vocabulary. This can seriously ace your IBPS PO Mains English language preparation.

2.    Make notes for quick revision

Make notes of different important topics that you may require at the last moment of your exam preparation and revise them thoroughly.

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3.    Read Newspapers & Magazines Regularly

Make a habit of reading magazines and newspapers on daily basis to improve not just your reading skills but also your overall comprehending and writing skills. Your writing skills will help you in writing the letter and Essay in the descriptive part of the Mains exam.

4.    Stick to Your Study Plan

Make a perfect study plan consisting of all the important topics with the deadline and stick to it from the day you start your preparation. There is no need to invest more time than needed in the topics you are really good at. Invest more time in the important topics to be covered for English in IBPS PO Mains.

5.    Take the Best IBPS PO Mains Mock Tests

Mock Tests can be regarded as the easiest route to success in any bank Exam. The same is the case with the IBPS PO exam. You need to take the Best mock test for IBPS PO Mains to analyze your performance. This will help you in knowing your weak areas so that you can work on your weak points to improve on them.

Clear the upcoming IBPS PO Exam like Deepthi by Attempting our Mock Tests! Hurry up!

Attempt PM’s Mock Tests & Clear the Upcoming IBPS PO 2021 Exam!

After covering every topic from the IBPS PO syllabus, it is essential to test yourself regularly. To make it easy, you must go for Mock Tests. Make a timetable and draw a checklist in it while you are studying, so that you shouldn’t leave any important topic. Mock Tests can be described as the clones to the actual exams, which provide the students with different types of questions. Hence, you should go for as many Mock Tests as you can to clear the exam on the very first attempt.

Asad Yar Khan

I write and oversee the creation of informative educational blogs centering around study strategies, exam techniques, and more, to guide aspirants in clearing SSC, banking, engineering, and other competitive exams. I ensure a range of subjects are covered with precision and clarity. With over 7 years of diverse writing experience, I share a wealth of wisdom and expertise with thousands of students, through PracticeMock every day, helping them achieve their goals.

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