After the IBPS PO prelims results were announced, qualifiers may have started to prepare for IBPS PO Mains 2016 exam.We are just few days away from the final frontier which is going to be the real battleground for bank job aspirants.So we thought of explaining about the pattern, studyplan & topics to cover in each section.
As per estimates, approximately 2 lakh candidates could have qualified IBPS PO prelims 2016 because a total of 8800 PO vacancies are to be filled in govt banks in the upcoming year
New Pattern: The IBPS PO Mains 2016 is based on a new pattern which is an online objective exam consisting of 200 questions with sectional time limit.
As you can see, each section has a preset duration within which you are required to complete answering that part.
Once the time exceeds for a particular section, the system will automatically move to another section & you cannot return later.So make use of the available time & answer as many questions correctly.
Every correct answer carries 1 mark & 0.25 is reduced as negative mark for each wrong answer.
What Topics to Cover?
The three sections that were part of PO prelims – Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude & English language are also in the main exams.Many of you would have already prepared chapters from the above 3 subjects.
The two new papers – General awareness & Computer knowledge will decide your result status.Since both of them are easy scoring areas and won’t take a long time to complete, candidates should start from here.
Previous Cutoffs: You may also look at previous year IBPS PO cutoffs wherein GA had the top cutoff among other sections.
With only few days remaining for the final exam, a strict daily study plan wont work. Hence you must be allocating maximum amount of for revisions during this last week.
Therefore we are giving a syllabus studyplan, based on which you can look at the important topics that are needed to focus during this limited period.
General Awareness: Out of the total 40 questions, 28+ can be termed as good no. of attempts.
You need to be aware of banking terms, economic/business news, bank related announcements, trends in banking sector etc., as there will some questions to test your banking knowledge.
You should have been reading newspapers regularly to have kept track of what is happening.If not, get hold of The Hindu & Economic Times or you may also visit Google news everyday for real-time news updates.
Under GK, once can expect questions from latest events, current affairs, personalities, sports, awards, agreements etc.,
Computer knowledge: There will be 20 questions each carrying 1 mark.Make sure to attend 15 – 18 correctly.
Basics of computer systems, Operating systems, Networking, Hardware, Internet, Security, Latest trends etc are the only possible chapters from which questions could be framed.
The questions would be of basic degree level for which you may refer your degree textbooks or any ordinary computer science book.There are various quizzes available online, that you may try.
English language: It has 40 questions in total. Desired no. of attempts: 25+
All candidates will have gone through this section for prelims itself & the same type of questions are only expected in mains with a little more difficulty.
Reading comprehension, Cloze test, Fill in the blank, Error spotting, Sentence correction, Synonyms/Antonyms, Para Jumbles are the standard syllabus.
Remember to attend the comprehension question within the shortest possible time & inorder to do that, practice reading passages faster.
Quantitative Aptitude: Of the total 50 questions, anything above 35 should help you in final scores.
This being the main exam, QA could have more indepth questions.So concentrate on Data Interpretation/Sufficiency, Time – Distance problems, Number series, Quadratic equations, Geometry, Probablity etc.,
In addition to the above, don’t forget to go through the chapters that you prepared for prelims because they are also part of QA.
Reasoning Ability: You will have 50 questions in this part of which 30+ attempts can be termed as good number.
Lessons to cover: Seating arrangements, Puzzles,Assumptions, Input-Output, Inqualities, Coding-decoding, blood relations etc.,
This is a time consuming section with some tricky questions.So attend only those which you are sure of & do not waste time in solving a difficult one.Proceed to other questions immediately, if you are stuck on a problem for more than 3 minutes.
How to Manage Time?
One of my friend often says “If anyone wants to know the value of time, ask them to appear for a bank exam.”
Such is the power of time.Managing time in IBPS PO exams is the key for candidates especially when cutoff scores are missed by few digits.
Since there is a time limit on each section, it is not necessary for you to allocate time seperately.So aim to attempt maximum number of questions with good accuracy.
To improve your attempts & speed, strat practicing different types of problems given in guides, workbooks, online mock tests etc.,
Click here to buy IBPS PO Mains Online Mock Tests for Rs.499 (15 sets) & start practicing immediately.
