As less as it sounds, you can crack an SBI PO exam in a month (4 Weeks). Yes, it’s possible, with these easy instructions and guidelines, you cannot just crack the exam, but even ace it. To be a State Bank of India Probationary Officer (SBI PO), you need to go through three phases of examination, namely:
- Entrance Exam (Preliminary)
- Main Exam
- Group Discussion and Interview
However, to crack all three phases let’s first discuss the syllabus and the pattern for the examination:
Preliminary Exam Pattern
| Section | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 60 |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 60 |
| English Language | 30 | 30 |
| TOTAL | 100 | 100 |
Main Exam Pattern
| Section | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Duration (Ideal) |
| Computer Aptitude and Reasoning | 45 | 60 | 1 Hour |
| Data Analysis and Interpretation | 35 | 60 | 45 Minutes |
| English Language | 35 | 40 | 40 Minutes |
| General Awareness/Economics/Banking Knowledge | 40 | 40 | 35 Minutes |
| TOTAL | 155 | 200 | 180 Minutes (3 Hours) |
Quantitative Aptitude
Quantitative Aptitude (QA or Quant), is to test mathematical knowledge and calculative skills of the candidate. Often the exam consists of various topics ranging from Data Interpretation, Probability, Simple Interest, Profit and loss to Geometric Means, etc. Quant can be quite tricky to solve, but if mathematics is your strongest suit, you can easily understand and solve the problems.
Reasoning Ability
With the maximum marks ranging to 35 in this section, reasoning ability is considered to be quite crucial in the whole exam. It is to check the logical reasoning ability of the candidate. The questions that arise are Puzzles, Blood Relations, Order and Rankings, Coding/Decoding, Detective, etc. It is quite general but needs a bit of analytical knowledge and will exercise the left part (reasoning) of your brain.
English Language
The difficulty level of this section is quite moderate however questions range from easy fill in the blanks to reading comprehensions. The exam consists of grammatical checks as well as comprehensive skills that test language understanding and usage of the applicant.
Practice Tips for the Exam
For the Preliminary examination, the best way to go forward is to solve as many model papers as possible. This helps the candidate in understanding the root concepts and grasping the basic knowledge of the topic.
The best way to solve is to read each problem carefully, understand it and then make use of a given formula or skill to solve it. However, just practising model test papers isn’t going to do the trick, the best way to start is to understand each concept and find as much clarity on the subject by studying more and more about it.
The Take-Away
With the preliminary exams just a short time away, the best way forward is to master the three sections (Quant, Logical Reasoning and English) in such a way that you find expertise in all three. If you end up learning the three subjects, then you will find more time at your end at the time of attempting the main exam which has two more subjects – General Awareness and Computer Aptitude. Therefore, the best way forward would be to start practising Quant, Logical Reasoning and English regularly and acing the preliminary exam.
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