A Complete Guidelines to Prepare IBPS Clerk Exam

Introduction

There are several competitive exams for pursuing Higher studies and gaining jobs. Let us focus on a popular & highly competitive exam taken by College Students, Passed Out Students who are looking for Government Jobs & also Working Professionals who are passionate about getting this job. As many of us know, it is the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) or commonly called as Bank Exam. Many of us have heard that people (Relatives/ Friends) are preparing for this Exam. There are various categories such as Probationary Officer (PO), Specialist Officer (SO), Regional Rural Bank (RRB) & Clerk. These exams are held only once in a year. In this Essay, we will see the guidelines for IBPS Clerk Exam. There are two Rounds in this Exam. The first is the Preliminary Exam & the Final is the Main Exam.

Syllabus

There are 3 Sections in Prelims Exam. Prelims Exam has 3 sections which are Reasoning, English Language and Numerical Ability. Mains Exam includes General / Financial Awareness & Computer Knowledge along with the above Sections. If you clear the prelims, then you will be eligible for the Mains. If not, you have to start again from the Prelims. The wrong Answer carries Negative Marks (-0.25). The unanswered question carries no mark.

How to Prepare

Many prepare day & night for these exams. It is essential to follow a Strategy to clear these exams. These exams are mainly to check the candidate’s Time Management & Problem Solving Skills.

Strategies

Before Exam

• Schedule a Time Table.
• Allot Time for Each Subject.
• Practise online to increase speed.
• Solve Previous Years Question Papers.
• Read Current Affairs daily.
• For English Section – Focus on Spotting Errors, Reading Comprehension, Jumbled Sentence, Cloze Test.
• For Quantitative Aptitude Section – Focus on Simplification, Ratio and Proportion, Profit and Loss, Sequence and Series, Data Interpretation, Mensuration, Work & Time.
• For Reasoning Section – Focus on Seating Arrangements, Syllogism, Alphanumeric Series, Blood Relation, Puzzle.

During Exam

• Start solving from easy or the questions that you are confident with. This helps in saving time to solve complex or hard questions later.
• Skipping the question is far better than doing guesswork when you are not sure.
• Click random questions & solve.
• Don’t follow the order given in the Question Paper.
• Recheck your Answers at the End, if you have missed any.

After Exam

• After finishing the exam, don’t discuss the Answers with others.
• Don’t think about the Cut-off. If the exam is tough for you, then it implies the same for all others too.
• Don’t be overconfident or less confident till the Result.
• If you dint clear this time, start preparing for the next exam with full effort.

Recommended Books

Some of the Highly Recommended & most used books for preparation are as follows:

• Quantitative Aptitude by NK Singh
• Reasoning by RS Agarwal
• Banking Awareness, Computer Awareness by Arihant Publications
• Any High School English Grammar book

As the pattern is changing every day, it is better to go for online materials where there is n number of Solved Examples & lots of Mock Tests with Time Constraint. Some of the popular online Websites are Bankers Adda, Grade Up. They upload questions to practise online daily & upload videos in the YouTube for candidates reference. Self Preparation is the key to clear the exam. Don’t depend entirely on Coaching Institutes.

Question Pattern

The Question Pattern of IBPS Clerk Exam is given below:

Cut Off

Cut-offs vary based on the difficulty of the Exam. If the Exam is easy (When the majority of the candidates have performed well), then the cut-offs tend to be high. If the Exam is moderate to difficult (When the majority of the candidates have performed less), then the cut-offs reduce drastically. Generally, the cut-offs tend to increase or decrease by 5 – 10 marks when compared to the previous year. Cut-offs are set based on the number of candidates participating, the difficulty level of the exam. The competition is high as lakhs of people tend to attend the exam throughout India. Cut-offs are different for different states. There are many slots in the Prelims Exam based on the number of candidates. The exam is at the weekend. The Call Letter contains the Timing & Exam Centre details.

Conclusion

The day before the exam is crucial. Candidates should sleep properly & eat well. Many miss the Exam due to carelessness in checking slot time or even day of the Exam. Candidates should take the Original ID Proof, Photocopy of ID Proof & Call Letter. Most of the Candidates clear Prelims with ease but get struck in Mains. Some of the candidates clear the Mains in the first attempt, while many of them clear after several exams. All the best to the candidates who are preparing for this Exam. Continuous Efforts will lead to success.