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Are you preparing for the SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam and wondering how to score high in the English section? With 30 marks up for grabs, the English section can be your key to clearing the cut-off and moving closer to your dream job. But, to achieve that you need a smart strategy to score 24+ marks in just 20 minutes. The good news? By focusing on the right topics and practising regularly, you can turn this section into your strength. In this article, we will share the 5 most important topics you should focus on to ace the English section and boost your overall score. Let’s take a look at how you can score 24+ marks in the SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam English section.
English Section in SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam
The English Language section in the SBI Clerk Prelims exam is designed to test a candidate’s proficiency in grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension. It is one of the three sections in the exam, along with Reasoning and Numerical Ability. This section is typically moderate in difficulty and can be a scoring area if prepared well.
Exam Pattern for English Section
- Total Questions: 30
- Total Marks: 30
- Time Allotted: 20 minutes
- Marking Scheme: +1 for every right answer and –0.25 marks for every wrong answer
Key Topics Asked in the English Section
- Reading Comprehension: Passage-based questions to test comprehension and inference skills.
- Synonyms and Antonyms: Vocabulary-based questions often found within comprehension passages.
- Cloze Test: Fill-in-the-blank type passage where candidates must choose the correct words.
- Error Detection: Finding grammatical mistakes in given sentences.
- Sentence Rearrangement: Choosing the correct version of a sentence.
- Fillers: Single or double blank-based vocabulary and grammar questions.
- Para Jumbles: Arranging jumbled sentences in a logical order.
- Sentence Correction: Choose the correct sentence given in the options.
5 Most Important Topics to Score 24+ in English Language
To score 24+ marks in the English section of the SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam, you need to focus on the most important and high-scoring topics. Here are the 5 key areas you should prioritize:
Topic 1: Reading Comprehension
Why Reading Comprehension is Important: Reading Comprehension is the most significant part of the English section, usually carrying 8–10 marks. It tests your ability to understand and analyze a passage.
How to prepare: Practice reading editorials from newspapers like The Hindu also read passages on diverse topics like economy, technology, social issues, and environment. Try to focus on improving your reading speed and comprehension skills to increase your speed. Learn to identify the main idea, tone, and inferences from the passage. Solve at least 1 RC passage daily to build confidence.
Topic 2: Cloze Test
Why Cloze Test is Important: Cloze Test checks your vocabulary, grammar, and understanding of context. It usually carries 5-8 marks and is relatively easy to score in if you practice well.
How to prepare: Try to practice cloze tests regularly to understand the flow of sentences. Focus on improving your vocabulary by learning new words daily and also pay attention to the context of the passage to choose the correct word. Revise grammar rules, especially prepositions, conjunctions, and articles, as they are often tested.
Topic 3: Error Detection
Why Error Detection is Important: Error Detection tests your grammar knowledge and attention to detail. It typically carries 5-7 marks and can be a scoring area if you’re strong in grammar.
How to prepare: Revise essential grammar rules like subject-verb agreement, tenses, prepositions, and sentence structure. Practice error detection questions from previous year papers and mock tests. Learn to spot common errors quickly, such as incorrect verb forms, misplaced modifiers, and wrong prepositions. Try to focus on accuracy rather than speed while solving these questions.
Topic 4: Para Jumbles
Why Para Jumbles are important: Para Jumbles assess your logical thinking and ability to arrange sentences in a coherent manner. It usually carries upto 5 marks and can be tricky but manageable with practice.
How to prepare: Look for connecting words, pronouns, and logical flow to arrange sentences correctly. Try to identify the opening and closing sentences first, as they are often easier to spot. Practice para jumbles regularly to improve your speed and accuracy. Focus on understanding the context and theme of the paragraph.
Topic 5: Sentence Improvement
Why Sentence Improvement is important: This topic tests your grammar and sentence structuring skills. It usually carries 4-5 marks and is a great way to score marks if you’re strong in grammar.
How to prepare: Revise grammar rules, especially related to sentence formation, tenses, and parts of speech. Practice identifying incorrect phrases and replacing them with the correct ones. Learn to spot errors in sentence structure, such as awkward phrasing or incorrect word usage. Solve previous year questions to understand the pattern and difficulty level.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
While preparing for the English section of the SBI Clerk 2025 Prelims Exam, many aspirants make avoidable mistakes that can cost them valuable marks. Here are some common errors and tips to avoid them:
Staying on one question for a long time: One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is spending too much time on a single question. Getting stuck on a difficult question often leads to wasting valuable time, leaving less time for easier ones. To avoid this, set a time limit for each question (around 30-40 seconds). If you’re unsure, move on and return to it later if time permits.
Not Studying Grammatical Rules: Neglecting grammar rules is another common pitfall, particularly in Error Detection and Sentence Improvement questions. Overlooking essential grammar topics such as subject-verb agreement, tenses, prepositions, and sentence structure can be costly. To avoid this, revise grammar fundamentals regularly and practice identifying errors through targeted exercises.
Guess Work: Guessing answers randomly without using the elimination method often results in unnecessary negative marking. Instead of making blind guesses, eliminate incorrect options systematically. Even if you are unsure, making an educated guess based on context or grammar rules increases the chances of selecting the right answer.
Neglecting Vocabulary: Overlooking vocabulary building can also negatively impact performance, especially in Cloze Tests and RC. A strong vocabulary is crucial for understanding word meanings, synonyms, antonyms, and contextual usage. To strengthen vocabulary, learn new words daily, understand their meanings, and practice using them in sentences.
Misreading: Misreading questions due to haste can lead to unnecessary errors. In questions like Error Detection and Sentence Improvement, candidates sometimes overlook key details. To avoid this, read each question carefully and pay close attention to instructions, such as “find the incorrect part” or “choose the antonym”. This ensures accuracy and prevents avoidable mistakes.
Neglecting Weak Areas: Focusing only on strong areas while ignoring weak topics is a common mistake. Many candidates avoid practicing topics they find difficult, leading to gaps in preparation. Identifying weak areas through mock tests and working on them consistently can turn weaknesses into strengths, ensuring a more balanced performance.
Being Overconfident: Overconfidence in easy questions can also lead to careless errors. Some candidates assume that simple questions don’t require much attention and end up making mistakes. Every question should be treated with equal importance, and answers should be double-checked to avoid losing marks on seemingly straightforward questions.
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