SBI PO Prelims are qualifying exams held by the State Bank of India. More than 30 lakh candidates write the preliminary exam from which about 50,000 are selected for the main exam.

Since the SBI PO is a major recruitment exam that all candidates aspiring for bank job attend, the competition is intense. This has led to the need for more preparation efforts on the part of the candidates.

Smart preparation, which entails managing time wisely and a good preparation strategy, is necessary for a candidate to pass the prelims and move on to the next level.

Here are some smart tips and tricks for each section to help candidates pass this initial hurdle.

Order of Priority

To manage time judiciously, the evergreen concept that applies in any situation is, prioritizing your tasks. This is true for the SBI PO prelim preparation too.  With the right management of time, you can easily score the sectional and the overall cut-offs in the preliminaries.

Here are some time management tips:

• Decide on the sections you want to attempt first and the order in which you complete the other section. This should be based on how skilled you are in the various sections.
• Choosing the sections which you are strong at first and then dealing with the other sections gives the best results.
• The order that most aspirants prefer is reasoning ability followed by English and Quantitative aptitude sections.
• Of the one hour time, allot a particular time limit for each section. Since the quantitative section is the most difficult of the three, it needs more time than the rest.

Section wise Tips

English language: The questions in this section range from easy to moderate level of difficulty. Of the total 30 questions in this section, attending those related to cloze test, sentence improvement, fill in the blanks, and spotting error first help you score better. The Para Jumble and reading comprehension should be done next as they are time-consuming.

Reasoning ability: Of the 35 questions in this section which has a difficulty level of easy and moderate, better scores can be gained if you

• Attend the coding/decoding, inequality and syllogism questions first, and
• Attempt the puzzle and seating arrangement questions next

Numerical ability: The 35 questions have a moderate level of difficulty. Number series, quadratic equations, and approximation/simplification should be attempted first. The time consuming miscellaneous (age, profit/loss, simple/compound interest, average, time/speed and ratio/proportion) and data interpretation questions should be done later.

Precautions to Remember

• Read the entire paper at the beginning and start answering based on your time management plan.
• If you find a question cannot be solved under a minute, do not attempt it as every question has less than a minute time for answering.
• Avoid guessing the answers as negative scoring is present which can affect your overall score.
• Try avoiding questions that are new to you as these will take more time to solve.

To become familiar with the pattern of questions and to identify your strengths and the level of preparation you need, taking the online mock tests helps a great deal. Once you have put in your best effort towards the preparation, stay relaxed and calm during the exam. You will then be able to answer more accurately and quickly too. All the best!