How to Prepare for SBI PO 2017, Toppers Experience

SBI PO 2017 Preparation Strategy and Exam Experience from Deepak Patil (cleared SBI PO 2016)

Hello Readers,

As we all know that SBI PO 2017 Notification is Out and you all need to know the best preparation strategy to clear this prestigious examination. In this article we have shared a detailed review and exam experience of Deepak Patil who cleared SBI PO 2016. He has shared his preparation strategy and exam experience for qmaths readers. Do read this article to understand SBI PO Exam Pattern and tips to crack it. The rest of the article is in words of Deepak Patil. Team Qmaths thanks him for sharing his experience with our readers.

Hello everyone. My name is Deepak Patil and I am a BBA Graduate from North Maharashtra University. Before joining SBI as a PO I was working with a private company. While working with private sector, I realized that I did not have enough opportunities and motivation to continue with the job. And hence I made up my mind to write bank exams. I missed SBI PO Mains 2015 GK cut off by mere 0.75 marks and the same happened with IBPS PO as well (missed by 0.5 marks). Then I tried to figure out where exactly I was lacking and started working on it. It was in April 2016 when I started preparing for SBI again and wrote the exam in July and cracked the same. Let’s discuss briefly how I prepared for each and every section of SBI PO Exam.

Preliminary Exam

For the Preliminary exam I started writing mocks as SBI just tests your basics in this exam. I had enrolled for Oliveboard Mock test series, which was of great help. Let’s discuss every section-

Quantitative Aptitude-. I would rate this section as an easier one if prepared and strategized to solve properly. I started with clearing all the basic concepts first and then started solving questions to test my mettle.. While solving this section, first of all solve all the easy questions without sticking around any questions. There are a lot of questions which are intentionally put in this section to bewilder the candidates. So taming this would utterly depend on how much you practice as well as analyze the mock tests. Apart from OB Mock Tests, you can refer R S Agarwal.

Logical Reasoning– This section happens to be a bit tricky. It includes Puzzles, Syllogism, Number series, Statement and Conclusion based questions, blood relations, coding-decoding, Input-Output. So while dealing with section, I never touched puzzles in the beginning as puzzles are always time-consuming to solve. Practice is of utmost importance in this section, so I used to write one sectional test a day. Oliveboard material is more than sufficient for this section I believe.

Verbal Ability– This section requires strong basics of Grammar. Literally speaking I did not prepare for this section at all since I was pretty sure about my basic concepts preparation of English Grammar. A holistic approach to deal with this section is just a thorough analysis of each and every mock test of Oliveboard. The tests have been designed in such way that they cover every part of English and more than enough to clear each nuances arising out during the course of analyzing the mocks. Coming towards other type of questions like FIB and other Vocabulary based questions needs a good habit of reading. Though my vocabulary is good, I used to jot down the new words in my notebook while analyzing the tests, which helped me to a great extent in prelim as well as Mains.

Mains Examination-

This is the most crucial Phase of SBI PO exam, which can decide your selection. This phase needs a proper strategy in place in order to bell it. Let’s discuss each section with tips and strategies-

Quantitative Aptitude– This section was on moderate difficulty level this year compared to other sections. This section includes Data Interpretation. What I have observed in my last two attempts is pattern of type of DI sets remains same but the only thing that changes is Information and figures. I would suggest you people to buy a book for this section-‘Previous year papers solved of SBI & IBPS PO’by Arihant publication. Moreover, just try to learn decimal to fraction and fraction to decimal values of some basic figures which help you for fast calculation.

Logical Reasoning– This section was easy one for me among the rest as there were some different puzzles which were never asked in the past but were part of the MBA CET (MH) exam which I had prepared for once upon a time. I had solved almost 30 questions in this section. Previous year SBI/IBPS PO papers and CAT papers along with enough number of mock test with thorough analysis is what I would like to recommend to prepare for this section.

Verbal Ability–– This section was the toughest one. I could hardly attempt 14-15 questions in this section. Majority of the questions were of CAT level and solving such questions needs ample amount of time which we did not get. Now this is where the strategy of skipping questions on the ground of our accuracy level and confidence level comes into picture. I attempted Grammar and Vocabulary based questions first and two RCs which had some moderate level questions. Talking about the reference books and other material- Sujit Kumar’sVA book and Oliveboard’s Mocks are sufficient.

General Knowledge– This is the section where you can score very well if you prepare honestly. There is a lot of material available on internet for this section but we need to be precise while reading that. I extensively used Apps & websites to keep myself updated with latest current affairs and some PDFs downloaded from qmaths website for Static GK.

Descriptive Paper

It includes one essay and one letter. The essay topics are usually asked from current affairs, economic issues, social issues and so on, so reading newspaper is something that can help you to excel in this section. My strategy to write essay was to prepare some points first and elaborate them. Points such as- Introduction, Positive/Negative points and then Conclusion. Adding a quote in the starting or ending would be an icing on the cake. Moving forward, Letter writing is on simpler side if you know the correct format of the letters (Formal/Informal Letters). You can search for the formats of Formal and Informal Letter, which are easily available on internet (Qmaths).

Finally I would like to tell you take as many mocks as you can because this is how you can evaluate your preparation level and identify where exactly you are lacking, work on your weak areas and play the game. All the best guys.

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