The preliminary exam or the IBPS PO (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, probationary officers) prelims, 2017, will be held on October 7, 8,14 and 15. While most of you must have started your preparations for the exams, it’s time you got to be a little more systematic. Abhishek Patil, CEO and co-founder of Oliveboard , an online preparation portal for MBA, banking and government exams, gives you a few tips on chalking out an effective study plan.
Quantitative aptitude preparation
Most quant topics require you to apply concepts of interest, percentage and profit and loss. Therefore, we suggest you start by learning what’s called the base of the arithmetic section: Percentage, profit and loss and interest.
Week-wise study plan for quant is as follows:
Week – 1 : Number system, simplification, divisibility, averages and alligation, ratio and proportion, topic tests, bar and line graphs
Week – 2 : Percentages, SI & CI, time speed and distance, time and work, pipes and cisterns, topic tests
Week – 3 : Quadratic equations, mensuration, permutations and combinations, probability, topic tests, pie-charts, data sufficiency
Week – 4 : Sectional tests, full length mocks
English language Preparation
The English language section should be easy. If you understand the basics then you can easily clear the cut-offs for this section.
The key to successfully clearing the English section is having strong basics.
The week-wise plan for English language section is:-
Week – 1 : Reading comprehension ( concept and practice ), At least five to seven passages a day, topic tests
Week – 2 : Vocabulary ( concept and practice ), sentence correction, topic tests, mocks
Week – 3 : Para-jumbles, para-completion, cloze test ( concept and practice )
Reasoning preparation
The Reasoning section tests your problem-solving, decision-making skills and logical abilities. It takes months and constant and consistent practice to master these skills, “it’s not something you can achieve in a short time,” says Patil, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame, who has played integral roles across various spheres like hospitality, manufacturing, gold trading and movie making. He suggests that you start spending some time solving puzzles online, like Sudoku, Crossword puzzles, Mind bender puzzles, etc. These will sharpen your skills and train your brain to think logically.
The week-wise preparation plan for reasoning section is as follows:
Week – 1 : Analytical reasoning, syllogisms,
Week – 2 : Coding – decoding, blood relations, number and letter series
Week – 3 : Direction sense, logical inequalities, input/output, Venn diagrams
Week – 4 : Full length mocks and remaining sectional tests
In general, while preparing for an exam, you must take a decision on the following:
•Order of attempting various sections
•Time to be spent on each section
•Number of questions to be attempted
Understand that all the thee things mentioned above are dynamic and would vary from person to person, or sometimes even paper to paper, based on the difficulty level. Attempting a substantial number of mock tests (both sectional and full-length) will help you decide on the above-mentioned things. Do remember, the mock tests mentioned in the study plan will serve their purpose only if you analyse them and devote sufficient time to that analysis, instead of simply taking a mock test.
Apart from the subject knowledge, your time management skills play an equally important role in the exam. Taking mock tests will also provide you with a situation where you can practice making such important decisions, and thus be better prepared for the actual exam.
Once you’ve done all that we’ve mentioned, rest assured that your preparation is complete. Just be confident, and go ace that exam.
[“source=hindustantimes”]
