Staff Selection Commission

Have you started gearing up to crack the SBI PO Exam 2018-19? If not, your road to become a ‘Probationary Officer’ starts here. Last year, the exam was held in the first week of July. Considering this, you can easily finish-off your syllabus on time. Coming to the exam pattern, it comprises of three sections including English Language, Reasoning Ability, and Quantitative Aptitude. The syllabus of SBI PO is comparatively less than other competitive exams, therefore you can easily prepare for SBI PO preliminary examination within 60 days. Know about your 60-day study plan of the State Bank of India PO below.

Things to remember while preparing for SBI PO Prelims Exam

  1. Study according to the latest exam pattern & syllabus

Do not play a blind game by studying all the topics from a reference book. You should stick to the syllabus and cover the specified topics. Last year, we saw that the authority had brought changes in the exam pattern. Until the release of 2018-19 notification, you can consider the last year exam pattern. Besides, the State Bank of India is unlikely to introduce changes in the exam pattern for the second time in a row. Here’s the previous year exam pattern of SBI PO Prelims exam.

SBI PO Exam Pattern 2018
Subject Questions Marks Time Allotted
English 30 30 20 Minutes
Reasoning 35 35 20 Minutes
Quantitative Aptitude 35 35 20 Minutes
Total 100 100 1 Hour

2. Sectional time limit in exam pattern

Among the changes last year, one was sectional time-limit that completely turned around the preparation strategy of candidates. This means that you cannot simply emphasize on one or two subjects, but you have to focus on all three. You will be provided 20 minutes for each section separately and have to complete the section within the stipulated time frame.

3. Select a reference book designed for SBI PO Prelims Preparation

Choosing a right book can help you study in a smart and an efficient manner. The students are often confused about the selection of a right book. Check out the section-wise book titles and purchase them right away. To prevent overload, we recommend you to pick two books for each section. The list of books has been prepared keeping in mind the variety of questions that are asked in the preliminary exam.

Best Books for- preparation of SBI PO Prelims Exam 2019
Quant Section Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exam
(By R.S. Aggarwal)   Magical book on Quicker Mathematics
(By M. Tyra)
Reasoning Analytical Reasoning
(By MK Pandey)   A modern approach to Verbal Reasoning
(By R.S Agarwal)
English Word Power Made Easy
(By Norman Lewis)   Objective General English
(By SP Bakshi/ Arihant Publication)

Section-wise Preparation Tips in 60 Days| SBI PO Prelims 2019

  1. Quant Section
  • Speaking about the most time-consuming section, you will be required to attempt 35 questions within 20 minutes.
  • According to the syllabus, a maximum number of questions will be asked from Data Interpretation (DI) section. In order to master DI, train your mind by learning ‘shortcuts for multiplication, square, and division’, ‘the use of percentage to fraction conversion’, and ‘percentage calculation’.
  • Work on your speed and accuracy as you can’t afford to waste time on a particular question.
  • Set a target of attempting at least 30 questions, but make sure that you solve them precisely. There’s no use of attempting incorrect answers as you will lose 0.25 marks for each invalid response.

2. Reasoning Section

  • Out of 35 questions, you can expect 15-20 questions from ‘Puzzles and Seating Arrangement’.
  • At times, reasoning questions are even more time-consuming than mathematical problems.
  • First of all, study basic concepts of each chapter from the reference book and then start solving the questions.
  • Emphasize on solving previous year questions and mock tests.

3. English Section

  • Your chances of clearing the PO prelims exam will largely depend on your score in English Language section. As per the past record, it is observed that the candidates neglect studying for this section and, thus, they do not make it to the cut-off list.
  • Work on enhancing your vocabulary skills and learning grammatical rules to excel in this section.
  • This is the least time-consuming and most scoring section at the same time.
  • Work on your vocabulary skills and understand the grammatical concepts to excel in this section.

Expected Number of Questions Section-wise| SBI PO Prelims 2019

As per the previous year question papers, below is the break-up of expected questions from respective sections:

1. Quant Section

S. No. Topics Expected of Questions
1 Data Interpretation 10-15 Qs
2 Miscellaneous Problems 10-12 Qs
3 Number Series 5 Qs
4 Simplification/ Approximation 5-7 Qs
5 Quadratic Equation 4-5 Qs

2. Reasoning Section

S. No. Topics Expected of Questions
1 Puzzles & Seating Arrangement 15-20 Qs
2 Miscellaneous Questions
(Blood Relations, Directing Sense, Order & Ranking)
5-7 Qs
3 Series-based Questions 4-5 Qs
4 Syllogism 4-5 Qs
5 Inequality 4-5 Qs
6 Coding-Decoding 3-4 Qs
7 Input-Output 3-4 Qs

3. English Language

S. No. Topics Expected of Questions
1 Reading Comprehension 10 Qs
2 Sentence Improvement 5-10 Qs
3 Spotting Errors 5-10 Qs
4 Cloze Test 5-10 Qs
5 Fill in the Blanks 5-7 Qs
6 Vocabulary-based Questions 4-5 Qs
7 Para Jumbles 4-5 Qs

Ensure that you stick to this study plan throughout the course of preparation. Cover the basic topics first following which you can concentrate on important topics. Wish you success for SBI PO Prelims exam. Don’t forget to download Gradeup SBI PO exam preparation app. It provides free study material, quizzes, mock test, previous year papers, and all the updates related to the exam.

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