IBPS conducts recruitment exams for 17 central and state banks in the country for filling up vacancies of clerks, Bank PO and Bank SO. The IBPS SO is in charge of specific departments in the bank which are not directly related to the services provided by banks but it is essential to ensure the organization runs smoothly. Several positions are fulfilled and hired through IBPS SO like the HR, IT Officer, Law officers, and Rajbhasha Adhikari. The selection procedure comprises the prelims, mains, and followed by provincial recruitment. To some extent, IBPS SO preparation will overlap with IBPS PO and clerk but it is largely different. The English language is a common section for both IBPS PO and SO. We have shared some valuable tips which will help you quickly step up your preparation for IBPS SO Prelims.
When you know the prelims syllabus by heart, you can easily determine where to begin the preparations. There are several segments in the English language section and they all call for good command over grammar and spoken English. This is perhaps the primary reason behind many aspirants finding it difficult to handle. As many candidates do not have English as their first language in school, their basis of the language is weak. This also means someone with a natural flair for the language and understanding of its grammatical technicalities will have an extra edge in the exam. If you have these skills, English can be very scoring and also easy enough to complete within the time frame. The following are important topics that are covered by the IBPS SO prelims English syllabus-
Check IBPS SO Application & Registration
The IBPS SO Prelims comprise one paper that has three sections namely- English language, reasoning ability, and general awareness with special attention to the banking industry. From the English language, you will get 50 questions carrying 50 marks. The time limit is 40 minutes. There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks for every wrong answer. No marks will be deducted if a question is left un-attempted. Let’s see the probable number of questions or marks weightage that you can expect from each topic-
Topics | Probable number of questions |
---|---|
Reading Comprehension | 10 |
Fill in the blanks | 0-5 |
Paragraph Complete/ Sentence Correction | 5 |
Cloze Test | 10 |
Error spotting | 0-5 |
Multiple meaning/error solving | 0-5 |
Synonyms/antonyms | 6-10 |
Para Jumbles | 5 |
Miscellaneous | 5 |
If you closely study the previous years’ question papers, you will find out that some topics are constant and they always come like the reading comprehension section and cloze test. Hence, they are definitely the most important parts to be prepared as there are 20 questions alone from these sections. If you have enough practice, you can correctly answer all of them. In the next section, we will share some tips on how to prepare the English language for IBPS SO prelims with minimum effort and time.
If you dedicate 10 hours a week, you can complete the syllabus in two weeks’ time and rest depends on your revision and continuous practice. The time length can vary based on your natural fluency in the language- 10 hours is the maximum anyone whose weak spot is English will require. The following are some generic tips regarding the subject which will help you to improve your understanding further-
Check IBPS SO Pattern & Syllabus
The topics of prime importance in IBPS SO Prelims English language is definitely reading comprehension, cloze test, and several sub-topics of grammar. Hence, understanding the requirements of each topic is important so that you are able to plan the preparation strategy accordingly. Hence, we have shared the following topic-wise tips so that you require less effort regarding preparation for IBPS SO Prelims-
There are ten questions every year from the reading comprehension section and it cannot be left out during your preparation. Here are a few things that you can do to make the preparation easier-
The grammar section includes questions from tenses, prepositions, fill in the blanks, error spotting, and sentence correction. Without an adequate understanding of English grammar, this section can be tricky.
Synonyms, antonyms, and spelling checker are several important topics related to vocabulary which you will get in the IBPS SO Prelims.
Check IBPS SO Result & Counselling
The following are some reference books which you can consider for IBPS SO Prelims English language-
Name of the book | Author |
---|---|
Objective English for Competitive Examinations | Hari Mohan Prasad, Uma Rani Sinha |
Objective English 4 Edition | Edgar Thorpe |
Objective General English | S P Bakshi |
Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
Objective English | Hari Mohan Prasad and U.R.Sinha |
Objective General English 22nd Edition | R. S. Aggarwal, Vikas Aggarwal |
The English language is a common section for all banking service exams. This means you will find the syllabuses overlapping and do not have to put extra efforts into the separate exams that you are attempting. By keeping in mind the tips and suggestions we have put forward in the article, we hope you are able to implement them thoroughly and benefit as well.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.