How do I prepare for the english descriptive test, is one query commonly asked by aspirants appearing for bank exams.The concern showcases vital importance this section has created among entrants since it decides their qualification.Candidates especially from rural areas & towns find this part to be difficult than objective test as it involves writing detailed answers in english.
By knowing the exact pattern along with the kind of questions to expect, it is possible to clear descriptive paper.
To help those getting ready for SBI Associate banks PO exam – BankExamsIndia.com has compiled a comprehensive guide explaining about the descriptive english test question paper
What Is It?
An officer in a bank will have to write letters, prepare reports or send views & opinions to higher officials as & when required.
So descriptive paper as part of banking exams aims to check the english language proficiency of applicants.
Every year, many candidates fail to secure pass marks in descriptive paper making them ineligible for personal interviews. How?
If you do not clear or score qualifying marks in any objective section – your descriptive test paper will not be taken up for evaluation. Apart from securing minimum marks in each objective test, its also necessary to pass in descriptive test.
Descriptive Exam Pattern
As already discussed the SBI PO exam will contain the following sections,
Some important points to understand in here are:
- You will have to answer descriptive section within 60 minutes (1 hour)
- It shall be conducted for 50 marks
- In SBI PO 2011 exam descriptive cutoffs were 20 (gen) & 18 (others). See previous year SBI examination cutoffs for the complete picture.
You can expect the english descriptive paper to contain questions from these categories:
- Letter Writing
- Precis writing
- Essay Writing
- Reading comprehension & Paragraph writing
Previous year questions:
In the previously conducted common written examination for PO/MT posts, descriptive test paper consisted of the below questions (based on memory)
Write a letter to a branch for closing savings account OR to a friend inviting him/her for seminar on netbanking OR to a bank for higher education loan. Write an essay on any of the given topics a) Right to education act b) Financial Inclusion c) How technology can benefit banking industry. Paragraph writing: a) Rural banking b) Impact of autonomy to banks.
The word count specified in the question is important as you will have to write the answers on the question paper itself, within the space provided.
Books: Whatever be the exam, preparatory books act as source of reference.Here are some good books for SBI PO recruitment from Arihant publications
* Descriptive English Guide (covers SBI PO descriptive) – Rs.185– Buy online
How to Prepare:
A general rule that must be followed while answering is not to make spelling mistakes. Now let us see what type of questions could be asked in each category.
Letter writing: There shall be internal choices for this part.You will be asked to write a letter to someone you know (parents, friend, relation etc) or to a bank manager enquiring about a service or to a newspaper editor.
Refer to the books mentioned above or use your Std.X or XII grammar book to know about letter formats.
Essay writing: A topic/title is given based on which you need to write an essay in about 250 words.This is also an internal choice question wherein three topics shall be provided for you to choose any one.
It is not possible to memorize articles beforehand.So pick up a random topic related to banking, finance, current affairs etc.,& practice writing.Here is our list, which you can try:
- FDI in retail
- Rise of the American dollar
- Are bank mergers beneficial?
- Latest technologies in banking
Precis Writing: Read the given article of atleast 500 words, understand its meaning, summarize & make a precis (shorter version).The only requirement is – do not change the meaning of the original passage.
For practicing –
- Take a long newspaper report,
- Leave unnecessary details,
- Pick only the important statements
- Write a summary.
Ask any of your family or friends to compare both to make sure you have not deviated from the original.
Paragraph writing: Titles will be printed & you must write a paragraph related to the given topic in not more than 150 words.
To write good paragraphs, sentence formation should be proper & to cultivate it one must read english magazines & newspapers.Story or comic books can also help you gain control over writing skills.
