English is an important language for communication in every sector including, co-operate, banking, teaching, etc. It is used everywhere for documentation purposes. However, if a candidate is preparing for any competitive exam like SBI PO, then he must understand this section properly and should be able to score decent scores in it to stand out from the crowd.
The SBI PO exam is split into three phases
1. SBI PO Prelims
2. SBI PO Mains
3. Group Discussion (GD) and Interview
The English section of the SBI PO exam is an integral part of every phase of the SBI PO examination. Many candidates are unable to clear this exam as it contains a sectional cutoff. And the cutoff for English is a bit high. Hence, candidates must work on improving their English language skills to cope up with its cutoff.
However, many candidates claim that the English section is tough to clear among all other subjects considered in the SBI PO exam. The reason behind this could be that the options that are provided look almost the same that force candidates to doubt their answers. If candidates wish to improve their vocabulary and grammar to ace the upcoming SBI PO exam English section (both objective and subjective type paper), then check the mentioned sets.
1. Rules of all tenses.
2. Preposition rules.
3. List of prepositions.
4. Conjunction rules.
5. Passive and active rules.
6. Adjective degree of comparison rules.
Having a strong grip over these topics will help SBI PO aspirants to crack the English section easily.
Interested candidates can also know about the syllabus of other sections, Bank PO job profile, SBI PO Salary, promotion and other important details on the web.
While preparing for the SBI PO exam, candidates must know that the English language section is present both in the Prelims and Mains phase in the objective format. Also, there will be a subjective type of paper of English in the Mains phase. Many people think that they can crack the English section with one or two months of preparation but, the reality is different. Candidates are required to answer the majority of the questions in this section correctly to meet the sectional cutoff. If they can’t do so, then they must follow some basic rules of the English language to complete the English ability section with 100% accuracy.
The English section is necessary to crack not only in the SBI PO exam but also in other government exams too.
Here are some tested techniques to crack the English section in different competitive exams including the SBI PO exam.
Tips to Clear The English Section in The SBI PO Exam
Here are a few tips to strategize a preparation plan for preparing the English section of the SBI PO exam.
● Know The Division of The English Section’s Topics
Before commencing the SBI PO exam preparation or making a study plan, it is necessary to know what are the topics that are going to come in the English section of the exam. Generally, the English portion is classified into four groups. These multiple sections tend to test different skills in the English language as well as the candidate’s command over the language. Here are the four groups.
1. Reading Comprehension- It includes topics like Economy & Banking, Social Issues, Business, etc. It also consists of questions related to Theme, Inference and Facts.
2. Grammar- The section covers topics including Fill in the Blanks, Sentence Correction, Phrase Replacement and Error Spotting.
3. Vocabulary- Included topics are- Phrase Replacement, Error Spotting, Double Blanks Fill-ups, Cloze Test (single passage consisting of 5 to 10 questions).
4. Verbal Ability- Includes Para Jumbles.
Also, know the SBI PO English section syllabus before solving questions. This will enable candidates to know what will come in the exam or what type of questions are expected.
● Understand The Weightage For Different English Topics
Candidates can identify their weak and strong topics as per their ability by knowing the marks carried by each sub-topic. Once, the aspirants have decided that it will be easier for them to manage resources and time.
Here is the topic-wise weightage.
Topic Name Weightage
Reading Comprehension 7 to 10
Grammar 5 to 10
Vocabulary 7 to 10
Verbal Ability 0 to 5
● Know Tips For Preparing Different Topics of English Section
To improve the overall score in the entire English section, a candidate needs to prepare every sub-topic thoroughly. Below are the mentioned tips for preparing different sub-topics.
Tips For Preparing Reading Comprehension
This section of English tests the practical knowledge of the candidates. Here, the understanding and analytical skills are tested along with vocabulary, grammar and writing ability. Follow the suggestions given while preparing for reading comprehension.
1. Boost your speed of reading to solve all comprehensions in a given time.
2. Don’t be afraid of solving difficult questions. Some questions might not have direct answers. Therefore, candidates have to struggle to find out their answers. The ability to search for answers will boost their memorizing and learning skills.
3. Solve all types of questions based on different themes.
Tips For Preparing Grammar Section
1. Understand every single rule that is necessary to solve grammatical questions.
2. Start with understanding the parts of speech as they build the foundation of the English language.
3. Cover topics like Tenses, Articles, Parallelism, Prepositions, Degrees of Comparison, Subject-Verb Agreement, Phrasal Verbs, Sentence Construction, Adverbs, Pronouns, Common Errors, Non-Finite Verbs, etc. To ace the SBI PO exam’s English section.
4. Improve communication skills by reading sentences loudly.
Tips For Preparing Vocabulary Section
1. Work on boosting vocabulary via reading newspaper journals, articles, poems in the free time.
2. Watch English movies with subtitles and try to catch lines, words and know their meaning. This is the best way to get introduced to new words.
3. Use flashcards as they are effective for learning new things.
4. Solve English workbooks to test skills.
5. Take different quizzes like Spelling, Cloze Test, Phrase Replacement quiz.
Tips For Preparing Verbal Ability Section
1. Practise para jumbling questions as there will be no direct questions asked from them. A candidate needs to solve these types of questions with his own approach.
2. Work on improving the vocabulary part.
3. Practise mock test papers.
4. Solve para jumble quizzes.