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IBPS PO Prelims Exam 2017 Strategy

IBPS PO Preliminary Examination 2017 Strategy

As per the Notification of IBPS PO 2017, just a single month is left for you to give to your preparations the final touch that they need. Before going for any competitive examination, one must always have an adequate knowledge of the syllabus, examination pattern, the changes introduced in the pattern of examination, and how one should plan his/her preparations in a way to do with the syllabus and the revision before the examination takes place. So, to make your preparations even better and to help you make a headway in your career in the banking sector through IBPS Recruitment, Adda247 is providing you with a strategy to deal with all of it with poise. As they provide with a public sector job with a handsome salary, one would like to have the privilege of working with it for sure.


Students, the total no. of vacancies for the post of PO is 3562. The Online Examination, Phase I will be held on 7th, 8th, 14th and 15th October 2017 and Phase II will be held on 26th November 2018. Here is the pattern of Phase I and Phase II Examinations:

Phase-I: Preliminary Examination
Preliminary Examination consisting of Objective Tests for 100 marks will be conducted online. This test would be of 1 hour duration consisting of 3 sections as follows:
S.No. Name of Tests(Objective No. of Questions Maximum Marks Duration
1 English Language 30 30 Composite time of 1 Hour
2 Numerical Ability 35 35
3 Reasoning Ability 35 35
Total 100 100
Phase – II: Mains Examination
Mains Examination will consist of Objective Tests for 200 marks and Descriptive Test for 30 marks. Both the Objective and Descriptive Tests will be online. Candidates will have to answer Descriptive Test by typing on the computer. Immediately after completion of Objective Test, Descriptive Test will be administered.

1. IBPS PO Mains exam will contain 155 questions and time allotted will be 180 minutes. The pattern of the Mains exam is given below:

S.No. Name of Tests(Objective No. of Questions Maximum Marks Duration
1 Reasoning & Computer Aptitude 45 60 60 minutes
2 English Language 35 40 40 minutes
3 Data Analysis & Interpretation 35 60 45 minutes
4 General Economy & Banking Awareness 40 40 35 minutes
Total 155 200 3 Hours
2. Descriptive Test: The Descriptive Test of 30 minutes duration with 30 marks will be a Test of English Language (Letter Writing-10marks & Essay-20 marks). The descriptive test will be in English and will be conducted through online mode.
As you are left with a limited time of hardly one month, prepare a strict study plan and give most of your everyday hours to studies only. Such a timetable would help you complete the target on time. Start revising all the topics that you are done with. Making a time table inculcates a sense of discipline; the aspirant is bound to give a certain amount of time to a particular subject or topic. Regular studies reduce the level of stress, as the number of topics to be done does not accumulate into blizzards, hence provide the aspirant with a better physical and mental health. If you do not revise the topics that you studied months back, you end up remembering nothing at all.
Do remember that you need to assess your progress from time to time. Practicing with test series helps you ace the original tests/examinations. You can identify what topics you are good at and where you lack. That way, in the original examination, you will choose to attempt the very section first that you are very good, or say fast at. Adda247 test series encompass a range of questions that match the level of frequently asked questions, previous year questions, and new pattern questions for IBPS PO Prelims as well as Mains Examination. Computer based Test Series for IBPS PO also help you save your time as they simulate the real tests and let you know you how to attempt the questions in a way that you are able to attempt the maximum number of questions within the stipulated time. It also gives you an All India Rank so as you can assess where you stand and how much more you need to work in order to make the grades in original examination.
Quantitative Aptitude

The trick to scoring marks in Quantitative Aptitude Section is to attempt the questions on Quadratic Equations, Simplification and Approximation first and then going for Number Series. After having attempted all these questions efficiently, go for Data Interpretation. The number of questions based on DI in the examination can range from 10 to 15. In every DI 3 questions are always doable and the rest two are a bit tricky and calculative. The remaining few questions will be based on miscellaneous topics like CI & SI, Time and Work, Pipes and Cisterns, Partnership, etc. The average time to be spent on this section should be 25 minutes. Practice continuously, it will pay big time.
Reasoning Ability

The trick to attempt the maximum number of questions in Reasoning Section in minimum time is to attempt the difficult puzzles in the end. Start with the questions that are not in the form of puzzles, you can choose to start with questions based on inequalities, direction and distance, syllogism, coding decoding, alpha numeric series, and other random topics. Then try to start with puzzles that appear easy to be solved and proceed with moderate and difficult puzzles in a similar way. So, this is how you have to manage to attempt this section. Make sure that the time that you spend on solving this section doesn’t exceed 20 minutes.
English Language

The trick to scoring in English section can vary from one person to another depending on his/her strengths and weaknesses. If you are good at vocab and reading then attempt the reading comprehension first and proceed with Cloze Test and other miscellaneous topics like Error Detection, Para Jumbles, Phrase Replacement, Double Fillers, etc. But if you are good at grammar, attempt Reading Comprehension in the end. The Reading comprehension too should be attempted in a way that you attempt questions based on vocab and phrases first and then the questions that need a deep penetration through the paragraphs. The important topics for cloze test are subject verb agreement, preposition and verbs. These topics may help you some other questions too that will be based on grammar. So make sure that you have these topics on your finger tips when you are to attempt the examination. This section should be finished within a time limit of 15 minutes.
So students, work hard, put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret to success.

Best of luck for your preparations!!

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