Strategy to attempt IBPS PO 2016 Pre Exam

As we all know that Phase I (Prelims) of IBPS PO 2016 Exam is scheduled to be held on 16^th, 22^nd and 23^rd October 2016. Though this is only the qualifying phase but many of the candidates usually fail to clear the cut-offs specified for the sections or the overall cut-off.
he inability to clear the cut-off mainly depends on the improper time management in the exam. Thus it is one of the most vital factors to get success in the Exam.
So in this article, we are going to discuss how we can approach all sections efficiently and some other tips to clear sectional and overall cut-off of phase I.

Let us look at the Exam pattern.

The best part about the phase I of the IBPS PO is that we can switch to any section whenever we want during the composite allotted time of 1 hour. So the complete power is in our hands to deal with the sections.

The standard time that should be given to the sections is as follows:

1. English language – 15 Minutes

2. Quantitative Aptitude – 20-25 Minutes

3. Reasoning Ability – 20-25 Minutes

1. English Section – This section consists of many topics like:

Error detection – 3 minutes
Sentence improvement – 2 minutes
Cloze test – 3 minutes
Passages: These can be approached by attempting the synonyms antonyms questions first.
Para jumbles: In the short span of time, we can always find the first sentence or few other sentences. So quickly attempt those 2-3 questions at least out of total 5.

If you have very good accuracy then you can clear this sections’ cut-off within 8 minutes. But to be on safer side and keeping in mind the accuracy issue which is always associated with English section, we should attempt at least 25 questions in total.

2. Quant Section – This section consists of many topics like

Number series – 3 minutes
Simplification – 3 minutes
Quadratic equations – 4 minutes

Questions from these topics are very scoring and less time taking if the proper practice has been done prior to the exam. Around 15 questions from these topics can be attempted in 10 minutes. After attempting these questions, one can go with either Data Interpretation questions or miscellaneous questions first depending on the comfort zone.

Data interpretation – These questions are very calculative many times. But there will always be at least 2 questions out of 5 in each set of data interpretation which take hardly a minute. So always try to find out those in the exam and attempt them first. But this observation comes only after a lot of practice.
Miscellaneous – This is a group of various topics like time & work, speed & distance, ages, ratio & proportion and a lot more like these. So attempt those questions first which are from your strong topic. After that, if time allows then increase your number of attempts to definitely secure your seat in mains.

3. Reasoning Section – This section consists of many topics like

Inequality – 4 minutes
Coding-decoding – 4 minutes
Blood Relation, Direction, Ranking & arrangement – There can be 3-4 questions from these topics which can be attempted within 4 minutes.
Seating arrangement,puzzle – These questions should be attempted at the end after attempting half of the section.

So, the syllabus is not vast. All you need is proper practice and proper time management in the exam.

Besides time management, few other things that should be very clear in mind are:

1. Don’t try to attempt every question: IBPS is not going to make the merit list on the basis of your preliminary Exam, So your main focus should not be to attempt each and every question you come across during exam. The main focus should be on clearing sectional and overall cut-off. Sometimes while trying to attempt every question, we miss out the easy ones.

2. Don’t be nervous: Many a times we find ourselves in a situation where we are not able to solve the questions from our favourite/strong topic. Don’t be nervous in those situations. Because nervousness leads to negative thoughts and that is not going to be

3. Pick the right questions: As soon as we see any question, we know that it can be solved easily or not and this comes with practice. So in a short span of 60 minutes, it is very much essential to choose the right question and skip the consuming ones.

Now you know very well how to attempt the prelims paper of IBPS PO 2016, so it is the right time to attempt the one on the same pattern.

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