A large number of aspiring candidates appear for the IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) PO exam every year. Some candidates start preparing late when only a few days are left for the exam. They can read this article to know the tips to prepare for the IBPS PO exam in just 2 months.
Candidates have to first clear the IBPS PO prelims exam to become eligible for the next step. The next step is the IBPS PO mains exam for which candidates have to study hard. They can try their best to secure cut-off marks for the prelims exam. After that, they have to focus on preparation for the mains exam.
How to prepare in 2 months?
A few tips are given here that can help aspiring candidates prepare for the IBPS PO exam. Candidates can follow the given tips to achieve success.
The candidates need to be aware of the exam pattern. Candidates have to go through the three steps for achieving success in the IBPS PO exam. First, they have to give the IBPS PO prelims exam. The prelims exam has 100 questions and each question is for one mark. The total duration of the prelims exam is one hour. The candidates have to give equal time to each section because the paper is divided into three parts. The three parts include the English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability. Candidates should try to answer the questions only about which they are confident and try to score the qualifying marks.
English language
The English language part consists of questions based on basic grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. Candidates can revise the grammar concepts from the class 10th English grammar book. Candidates also have to improve their reading skills. In this section, most candidates succeed to score the maximum marks. There is a comprehension that is time-consuming. Therefore, candidates have to manage time by practising comprehension.
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
This section tests the ability to solve numerical problems. Candidates should be proficient in solving simple math questions. The paper includes at least 15 questions from data interpretation. They have to spend more time preparing for this section. They should focus on topics such as ratio and proportion, time and work, time and distance, simplification, number series, and quadratic equations.
Reasoning ability
It is important to prepare well for this section as it is very scoring. This section tests the reasoning skills of the candidates. They should have knowledge and understanding of solving questions based on input-output, state assumptions, coding-decoding, and directions based questions. It is the most scoring section; therefore candidates should practise the questions to get more marks. The most important topic in this section is questions based on puzzles. They need to practice more to solve the questions of the puzzle.
Candidates have to prepare in the same way for the mains exam. The two additional topics added in the mains exam include the general awareness and computer knowledge section.
Therefore, apart from studying the above three topics, candidates also have to focus on these two topics to clear the IBPS PO mains exam.
General awareness and descriptive section
Candidates have to read newspapers to learn about current affairs. They can also read magazines and books on current affairs. It is easy to score good marks in this section if the candidates have good general knowledge.
Computer knowledge section
Candidates who clear the prelims will be selected for the mains exam. They should have basic knowledge of computer topics. They should know MS office, internetworking, hardware and software, and other such topics to get good marks in this section.
Last-minute preparation tips
Candidates can follow the given tips for the last minute preparation for the IBPS PO exam:
They should try to solve as many model test papers and sample papers as they can. This will help them to revise all topics thoroughly. This will also help them to analyze their preparation for the paper. They can judge their weaknesses and strengths and can improve their performance. This also helps candidates to know the important topics for the exam.
Candidates should also focus on the previous year’s question papers. They should review the question papers of the previous years to understand the difficulty level of the paper. They should at least solve 1-2 IBPS PO free mock tests to score good marks.
They should create a timetable. They should spend more time on their weak areas and should try to get a good hold on each topic to clear the mains exam. They should follow a strict timetable and should be consistent in solving the mock test.
They should check the previous year’s cut-off marks so that they know their target and try to score the same while solving the sample papers.
Candidates have to focus on three main things when they have less time for preparation. They have to focus on accuracy, speed, and time management. They should be careful about the important topics to score good marks in the IBPS PO exam.
Accuracy: It is very important because often candidates try to finish the paper by giving answers to all questions. The important thing is that they should answer only the questions that they are sure about. The number of correct answers should increase if there is less time. They should try to avoid making mistakes.
Time management: It is very important. Candidates should divide the time equally for completing the different sections because they have to score minimum marks in each section to qualify for the mains exam.
Speed: Candidates should have a good calculation speed so that they can solve the numerical questions easily. They can improve their speed by practising mock tests regularly.
Once the candidates clear the mains exam, the selected candidates are called for a discussion and interview. The final selection is done based on the marks obtained in the interview and the mains exam. Therefore, candidates preparing for the IBPS PO exam have to gear up and work hard to ace the exam without any difficulty.
