How to Prepare for IBPS Clerk Prelim exam?

Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) clerk exam is conducted for recruitment to nationalized banks in India in order to fill vacancies for clerical level jobs. Many candidates look for a stable job after completing their graduation and clearing the IBPS Clerk exam to become a clerk certainly strikes off that point in the checklist. In the IBPS Clerk exam, there are two stages that candidates need to successfully clear so as to get their name on the merit list and get their preferred job. The first stage is the IBPS Clerk Prelim exam, which acts as a qualifier for the candidates to make it to the second stage, the IBPS Clerk Mains exam, upon clearing which, you are eligible for the clerical post.

Here are some points stating the key points about the IBPS Clerk exam –

• There is sectional timing of 20 minutes for each section, so solving as many questions as you can is really important.
•  The Prelims stage is only for qualification to stage – 2, so make sure to attempt as many questions as you can in the one hour allotted.
•  There are 3 sections, English, Numerical Ability, and Reasoning Ability. Prepare these sections in the best way you can so that you are able to attempt maximum questions possible in order to give yourselves the best chance of qualifying to the next stage.
• There is a sectional cut-off for each of the 3 sections, which is the least number of marks you have to score in each section so that you can clear the cut-off and can then be shortlisted to appear in the next stage.
• Candidates that are able to clear this round are selected to appear for the final round – IBPS Clerk Mains exam and the number of marks they score in this exam determines if their name will enter the merit list or not.
•  The total marks of the paper are 100 marks and the time limit to attempt the paper is for 60 minutes only. There is also negative marking in the paper, one-fourth of the marks of a particular question, in case of negative marking and no deductions if you have left a question.

Here are some tips that can aid you in your preparation for IBPS Clerk Prelims Exam –

• Get all the info possible about IBPS Clerk exam –

Make sure to check the official IBPS Clerk exam notification will give you all the required details related to the exams. It is important to know everything about the exam that you are about to give so that you are able to prepare for it in the best way possible and score the maximum marks you can.

• Verify the IBPS Clerk eligibility criteria before starting prep –

Before starting your preparation for IBPS Clerk, make sure to check the eligibility criteria for the exam so that you know if you are eligible to appear for the exam or not. In order to be eligible, the candidate must be a graduate and must have a certificate or mark sheet to support the claim, the candidate must be of 20 to 28 years of age and must be a resident of India, in order to be eligible to appear for the exam.

• Be updated with the exam pattern and syllabus of exam –

The candidate must check the exam pattern and the ibps clerk syllabus so that they are well acquainted with the topics that are asked in the exam and can then prepare a schedule to study all the topics that are stated in the syllabus.

• Make a proper strategy to manage time during the exam –

As the candidate has to solve 100 questions from 3 different sections and complete each section in 20 minutes time limit, a well-thought strategy to manage the time during the exam is essential so that they are able to attempt as many questions as they can in the given time limit. Time management might seem like a difficult job to do, but it can be mastered in a short time if done in the right manner.

• Make a study schedule for IBPS Clerk –

After going through the syllabus of the IBPS Clerk exam, make a study schedule depending on the days remaining for the exam, so that you are able to give appropriate time to each topic and are clear with the basic concepts of each topic at least so that you can attempt an easy question from a topic that is your weak area.

• Make notes while studying for IBPS Clerk to ease revision –

Make sure to either mark in the book as you read from it or make notes in a separate notebook as you go through each topic so that it helps you to retain that topic better in the moment as well as help you when you sit down to revise the topics that you have learned. Notes are helpful if they are in your own language as we are able to understand in what context we wrote something while reading from someone else’s notes might result in confusion and frustration which are not desirable at the time of preparation.

• Practice enough questions for all sections –

Make sure to practice questions from each section in sufficient quantity so that you are used to the variety of questions that are asked in the IBPS Clerk exam. Try to practice the questions with time constraints as it will help you in improving your speed to solve each question and will also give you an idea of how much time you can afford to give to each question in the Prelims. Doing this will help a lot in the Prelims exam as you will find that you are able to solve questions faster because you are familiar with the pattern of questions that are asked in the exam due to the practice you did while preparing.