Most Important Topics to Score 30+ Marks in English Section in SBI PO Prelims

Scoring well in the English section of the SBI Po Prelims exam is a difficult but crucial task to clear the overall cutoff of the exam and secure a place in the next stage of the selection process. But, with the right approach and preparation and the right strategies, candidates can easily score 30+ marks in this section. The English section of the SBI PO prelims exam tests a candidate’s Vocabulary, Grammar and Reading Comprehension Skills. Focusing on the right and more scoring topics increases a candidate’s overall score significantly.

English Section in SBI PO Prelims

The SBI PO exam is very popular in India. With thousands of candidates applying every year. The exam consists of three stages, the first stage being the SBI PO prelims exam. The SBI PO 2025 Prelims consists of 100 questions for 100 marks from three sections: English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability. These questions are to be attempted by the candidates in a duration of 60 minutes. Let’s learn about the English language section in a bit more detail.

English Language Section Exam Pattern

No. of questions: 40

Total Marks: 40 marks for the English Section

Duration: 20 minutes

There is a sectional timing for each section,

Negative Marking: A penalty of 0.25 marks is there for each wrong answer

English Language Syllabus

• Reading Comprehension
• Error Detection
• Fill in the Blanks
• Para Jumbles
• Paragraph Completion
• Vocabulary
• Tense Rules
• Sentence Completion
• Cloze Test

Most Important Topics to Score 30+ Marks in the English Language Section

Reading Comprehension

Reading Comprehension carries the most weight in the English Language Section of the exam. It carries around 6-11 questions in the section. The Reading Comprehension section requires candidates to read a passage given in the question and answer the questions related to that passage.

Tips to Answer

• Try to practice passages with diverse topics.
• Focus on the main idea, tone of the passage because many passages require candidates to identify the central theme of the passage or suggest a title to the passage.
• Improve reading speed without compromising comprehension. Since time is limited in the exam, candidates must develop the ability to read quickly while retaining key details.

Cloze Test

The Cloze Test in the SBI PO Prelims English section carries around 5-7 questions and consists of a passage with several blanks, where candidates need to choose the most appropriate words from the given options. This section primarily tests vocabulary, grammar, and contextual understanding.

Tips to Answer

• Read the entire passage before attempting to fill in the blanks to understand its theme, tone, and context. This will help in selecting words that fit logically.
• If you’re unsure about the correct answer, eliminate options that don’t fit grammatically or contextually.
• Once you insert a word, read the entire sentence again to ensure it makes sense within the passage.

Error Detection

This topic carries around 3-7 questions in the English Language section. The questions require candidates to identify the part of the sentence that has an error.

Tips to Answer

• Focus on tenses, articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and pronouns as errors often appear in these areas.
• Read the entire sentence once to get the overall meaning before identifying potential errors.
• Reviewing past SBI PO Prelims error detection questions helps recognize patterns and improves accuracy

Sentence Completion

The Sentence Completion questions require you to complete a given sentence by filling in the correct part of the sentence in the blank from the given options. This section usually consists of 3-6 questions in the exam.

Tips to Answer

• Read and understand the overall meaning of the sentence before looking at the options.
• Remove choices that don’t fit the sentence grammatically or logically.

Vocabulary

This topic consists of a variety of questions like synonyms and antonyms, idiom and meanings, one word substitution, etc. This section accounts for around 7-10 questions.

Tips to Answer

• Try to learn new words every day.
• Try to practice vocabulary related questions from previous year papers.
• In addition to new words, try to learn new idioms and phrases also.

Preparation Tips for the English Language Section

Here are some pro tips to prepare for the English Language section of the SBI PO Prelims exam in a more effective way.

• Make a Daily habit of learning 5-10 new words to improve your vocabulary.
• Read the editorial section of newspapers like The Hindu to improve your reading comprehension skills.
• Solve mock tests and previous year papers to get a better understanding of the types of questions asked in the English Language section.
• Practice speed reading, aiming to increase your reading speed without compromising comprehension.
• Revise grammar topics regularly, such as tenses, subject-verb agreement, or sentence correction.
• Create flashcards for new words to revise them frequently and improve retention.