SBI Clerk Prelims is now over and you must be geared towards the preparation of the Mains exam. Make full use of this time. Familiarize yourself with all the concepts of different sections, practice more and keep reviewing & analyzing your practice. And in this article, we are going to put across a fully-fledged revision plan so that you score as high as possible.
Mains is Different from Prelims
Although the result of SBI Clerk Prelims is not declared yet, you should not wait for it and continue with your preparation for Mains. Since you have already appeared for and experienced the Prelims exam, it is very important that you understand the difference between the Prelims & Mains exam and prepare accordingly. Let’s have a look at the differences:
Prelims | Mains |
It’s an exam which is supposed to eliminate non-serious aspirants. This is the reason why all the aspirants who clear the cut-offs are invited for Mains. | Mains exam is supposed to select the best aspirants. In accordance with the number of vacancies, aspirants are selected. |
Prelims marks are not considered in final merit listing. | Mains marks are considered for final merit listing. |
The questions in Prelims are less difficult and are mostly speed-based. | When compared with Prelims, the questions in Mains are difficult and they check the conceptual clarity of the aspirants. |
Prelims has only 3 sections: English, Reasoning & Quantitative Aptitude. | Mains has 4 sections: General English, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability & Computer Aptitude and General/Financial Awareness |
Total time allowed for Prelims is 60 minutes. | In Mains exam, you are given 160 minutes for the whole exam. |
The first and foremost thing of SBI Clerk Mains exam preparation is knowing the exam pattern in detail. You must know how many questions are there in each of the section and what will be their maximum marks. Have a look at the detailed exam pattern below:
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 | 35 minutes |
Total | 190 | 200 | 2 hours 40 minutes |
Note:
- Negative marking of 0.25 mark per incorrectly answered question will be there.
- Sectional timing is there in the Mains exam. You can’t switch between different sections.
- The questions in objective tests, except for the test of General English, will be bilingual i.e., English & Hindi.
- Overall cut-offs are there but there isn’t any sectional cut-off in place.
Now that you know the exam pattern, the next important thing is knowing the exam syllabus. This step is important because you need to be able to answer as many questions correctly as possible. And to answer the questions correctly, you need to know each and every concept of different sections. Only knowing will not be enough; you need to practice a lot of questions as well. More or less, the syllabus of all the banking exams are same. We are providing SBI Clerk Mains syllabus below:
Reasoning | Quantitative Aptitude |
Alpha-numeric/ Alphabetical Series | Age Problems |
Analogy | Average |
Analytical Reasoning | Boats and Stream |
Blood Relations | Clock and Calendar Problems |
Coded Inequalities | Data Interpretation – Charts and Graphs: Line Graph, Bar Graph, Pie Chart; Tabular; Caselet; Mixed DI |
Coding and Decoding | Data Sufficiency |
Data Sufficiency | Decimal and Fractions |
Directions and Distances | Indices and Surds |
Double Line-up | LCM and H.C.F |
Inequality | Mensuration |
Input Output | Mixture and Allegations |
Order and Ranking/Direction | Number Series |
Puzzles – Box based, Floor, Calendar, Day/Months based, etc. | Number System |
Scheduling | Partnership |
Seating Arrangement– Linear, Circular, Facing Inside/Outside, Mixed | Percentage |
Statement and Conclusion | Permutation and Combination |
Statement-Course of Action | Pipes and Cisterns |
Syllogism | Probability |
Profit, Loss and Discount | |
Quadratic Equations | |
Simple and Compound Interest | |
Simplification & Approximation |
English Language | General Awareness |
Cloze Test | Sports personalities |
Correct Usage | International Organisations’ HQ/ President/ Chairman/ Secretary General. |
Error Spotting | Country in news, with its capital, important rivers, President and PM. |
Fillers – Single, Double | National Parks |
Idioms and Phrases | Wildlife Sanctuaries |
Odd One Out | Atomic, Nuclear, Thermal Plants |
One Word Substitution | Important Dams |
Parajumbles | Dance Forms |
Paragraph Completion | Ministers and their Constituencies |
Reading Comprehension | Ministers and their Portfolios |
Sentence Improvement | Current Affairs (last 6 months) |
Synonyms/ Antonyms | Indian Financial System |
Vocabulary based questions | History and Structure of Indian Banking |
Word/Phrase Replacement | Indian Economy |
Regulatory bodies- RBI, SEBI, IRDA, PFRDA, FSDC, FMC | |
History/Functions/Roles of RBI | |
Budget Basics | |
Current Union Budget | |
International Organisations/ Financial Institutions | |
Indian Constitution | |
Government Schemes | |
Monetary and Credit Policies | |
Concepts like BASEL | |
Micro Finance | |
Base Rate | |
Negotiable Instruments | |
Credit Rating Agencies | |
Financial Inclusions | |
Teaser Rates | |
GAAR | |
Priority Sector Lending | |
Abbreviations | |
Important Dates | |
Current Bank Rates | |
UNO | |
Marketing | |
Awards & Honours Sports |
We suggest that you take a printout of the syllabus and keep checking the topics with green on which you have already mastered. Mark those topics in yellow in which your speed needs to be improved. And mark those topics in red, in which you have to learn the concept & have to start practicing. Paste it at some place, where you can view it at regular intervals. Topics ticked in red & yellow will constantly prod you to take up that topic, understand it and start practicing questions.
Important Revision Tips
We are providing you some section-wise important revision tips. Obviously, you need to practice on your own but these tips will help you improve your speed and accuracy. Let’s have a look at the tips of different sections:
Important Topics of Reasoning
Having analysed SBI Clerk Mains exam of past years, we have listed the important topics of reasoning which are below:
- Input-Output
- Puzzles & Seating Arrangement
- Data Sufficiency
- Number based questions
- Alphanumeric Series
- Direction Sense
- Syllogisms
- Inequality
- Logical Reasoning
Tips
- Questions on Number-based, Alphanumeric Series, Direction Sense, Data Sufficiency (if easy) etc. should be attempted first. Practice a lot of questions on these topics and gain good speed in these topics
- Memorize syllogism rules so that you don’t even have to pick the pen to answer those questions.
- Practice 2-3 Puzzles/Seating Arrangements sets on a daily basis.
- Be very careful in Data Sufficiency questions. Remember that you don’t have to actually find the answer; you just need to ascertain whether the information provided is sufficient to answer the question.
- Many aspirants find the topic of Inequality tough but once you have understood the concept and practiced a lot of questions, this topic can get you some marks.
Important Topics of Quantitative Aptitude
We found the below topics of Quantitative Aptitude important while going through the previous years’ papers of SBI Clerk Mains exam:
- Data Interpretation
- Quantity Comparison
- Data Sufficiency
- Quadratic Equation
- Miscellaneous Word Problems
Tips
- Be aware of different kinds of graphs & charts including the new ones like radar graph, funnel based DI etc.
- Practice 1 DI set on a daily basis.
- Familiarize yourself with the concepts of percentage, average, ratio etc. Very often Data Interpretation questions are based on these. You will also find some word problems on these concepts.
- Memorize tables until 30, squares & square roots until 50 and cubes & cube roots until 30. This will help you in quick calculations.
- Quadratic Equations questions may look scary to you but if the concept is understood well & a lot of questions are practiced, you will be able to solve these questions quickly.
- For miscellaneous topics like P&L, Time and Work, Simple Interest & Compound Interest, Partnership, Mensuration, Boats & Streams, Age-Based, Probability, try understanding the shortcuts and start using them as you take mock tests.
Important Topics of English Language
As per our analysis, the important topics are below:
- Reading Comprehension
- Parajumbles
- Error Spotting
- Match the Columns
- Cloze Test
- Fillers
- Spelling Error
- Sentence Arrangement
Tips:
- Reading Comprehension is an extremely important topic. Start practicing 1 RC set on a daily basis.
- Continue reading The Hindu Editorial and keep learning new words.
- You can answer Error Spotting questions quickly if you know the grammar rules well. While practicing, read the detailed explanation of the question so as to recall & memorize the grammar rules.
- When answering Cloze Test questions, avoid looking at the options and think in your mind for the word which would fit there. If the word which comes to your mind is there as one of the option, that is most likely the right answer.
- While improving your word power, pay attention to their spelling as well so that you can answer Spelling Error questions quickly.
Tips for General Awareness
- Make your notes. As of now, the exam date is not certain. So make use of all the extra time you got.
- Revise abbreviations
- Keep reading the Weekly Current Affairs.
- Don’t forget to revise Static GK as well.
- Have a look at the past years’ papers to get an idea of the topics from which questions were asked.
This is all from us in this article. We hope that you found the above article helpful in your revision. Remember, SBI Clerk Mains dates ain’t announced yet and most of the aspirants will not use this extra time. It’s high time that you prepare well and land yourself with a government job this year.
Wishing you good luck with your preparation! Drop your comment in the box below.
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