IBPS SO Study Tips: After some delay, IBPS has released the notification for the IBPS SO exam. Candidates who were eagerly waiting for the release of the official notification can now apply for the IBPS SO exam. It is a great opportunity for the candidates who are eligible for the posts of IBPS SO as the competition is going to be very less when compared to the IBPS PO exam.
IBPS SO is an exam conducted by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) for the posts of Specialist Officers (SO) such as IT Officer, Agricultural Field Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, Law Officer, HR/ Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer under various PSBs (Public Sector Banks).
As the official notification for the IBPS SO exam is out, candidates must start their preparation as early as possible to take an edge over other candidates. So, in this article, we will give some of the IBPS SO study tips that you can follow in order to ace the IBPS SO exam.
Attempt a Free IBPS SO Mock Test Now and check your preparation level.
Page Contents
Exam pattern For IBPS SO
Before we get into the IBPS SO study tips we will discuss the exam pattern for the prelims to know the different subjects you have to cover during your preparation.
1. For Specialist Officers (Agriculture Field Officer, Marketing Officer Scale I, HR/Personnel Officer, IT Officer Scale I):
|
Serial No |
Sectional
 topics |
Total no. of questions | Total Marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning section | 50 | Â 50 | 120Â minutes |
| 2. | English language | 50 | 25 | |
| 3. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
2. For Specialist Officers ( Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari) Scale I:
| Serial no | Sectional topics | Total no. of questions | Total marks | Duration |
| 1. | Reasoning section | 50 | 50 | 120Â Â minutes |
| 2. | English language | 50 | 25 | |
| 3. | General Awareness
(With Special Reference to Banking) |
50 | 50 | |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
- You can attend the examination in two languages i.e. English and Hindi except for the subject to the English Language.
- For every incorrect response, 1/4th of the marks allocated to that question will be deducted as per negative marking.
Check the Complete Exam Pattern for IBPS SO
Important Note:
- In 2022, the IBPS SO exam will take place in 3 stages i.e. Prelims, Mains (Professional Knowledge) & interviews.
- The IBPS SO prelims will be qualifying in nature which implies that marks obtained in prelims won’t be considered for the final merit list.
- But, candidates need to score the min cut-off marks (to be decided by IBPS) in Prelims to sit for the Mains.
- To clear the IBPS SO Prelims exam, you need to qualify in sectional as well as an overall cut-off as decided by IBPS.
Click Here for IBPS SO Previous Year Question Paper in PDF
Prelims Study Tips to Crack IBPS SO Section-wise Preparation
Study Tips to Crack IBPS SO English Language:
The English language is one of the most scoring sections among all other sections. The expected level of questions in the English language is Moderate. There are many students who are scared to attend this section. But, with the right strategy, it is easy to score better. Check the weightage of different topics and IBPS SO study tips below:
Weightage of Topics:
|
  Topics |
Expected Questions |
| Reading Comprehension | 10-15 Questions |
| Cloze test | 5-10 Questions |
| Fill in the Blanks | 1-5 Â Questions |
| Phrase Replacement/Sentence Improvement | 5-10 Questions |
| Error Spotting | 5-10 Questions |
| Para Jumbles / Odd Sentence out | 1-5 Questions |
Important Study Links for the English Language
- Monthly Vocabulary
- English Grammar
- Guidely E-Books
- Free Practice Materials
- Free English Quizzes
Strategy for English:
- Try to read all grammar rules based on the pattern, regularly.
- Improve your vocabulary by reading the newspaper every day.
- While reading newspapers, try to improve your reading speed. It will help you to score more in reading comprehension.
- Try to attend your strongest part in the section initially, which will give you more confidence.
Study Tips to Crack IBPS SO Reasoning Section:
The logical reasoning section is one of the trickiest sections asked in the exam. The questions may be tough and the section may be time-consuming as well. You need to be good in your logical and analytical skills to score well in this section. Check the weightage of different topics and IBPS SO study tips below:
 Weightage of Topics:
| Topics | Expected Questions |
| Seating Arrangement | 10-12 Questions |
| Puzzles | 5-10 Questions |
| Data Sufficiency | 3-5 Questions |
| Machine Input Output | 1-5 Questions |
| Syllogism | 3-5 Questions |
| Inequalities | 1-5 Questions |
| Ordering and Ranking | 2-6 Questions |
| Blood Relations | 2-5 Questions |
| Direction and Distance | 2-5 Questions |
| Coding-decoding | 5-10 Questions |
| Verbal Reasoning | 5-8 Questions |
Important Study Links for Reasoning Ability
- Top 50 Puzzles PDF
- Top 50 Seating Arrangement Questions PDF
- 174 Puzzles and Seating Arrangement Quizzes for Free
- Basic to Advanced Level Puzzles and Seating Arrangements Latest Edition Printed Books
- Updated Reasoning Questions E-Books
- Free Reasoning Quizzes
Strategy for Reasoning:
- Categorize reasoning topics as simple, medium, and complex based on your convenience.
- Do your Attempts in the same order in the examination.
- Solve puzzles online to sharpen your logical thinking.
- Practice topic-wise tests, identify your weak areas focus on those topics, and find the shortcut to attempt those topics to avoid more time-consuming.
- Last year, questions from this section were difficult.
- So practice with the previous year’s question paper, it will give you an idea to split your time.
Study Tips to Crack IBPS SO Quantitative Section:
The quant section is there to test a candidate’s accuracy and speed. The quantitative Aptitude section is said to be time-consuming and accurate. Check the weightage of different topics and IBPS SO study tips below:
Weightage of Topics:
| Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Topics | Â Â Â Â Â Expected Questions |
| Simplification/Approximation | 0-5 Questions |
| Number Series | 0-5 Questions |
| Data Interpretation | 13-15 Questions |
| Algebra | 5-6 Questions |
| Data Sufficiency | 0-5 Questions |
| Miscellaneous Topics | 15-17 Questions |
Important Study Links for Quantitative Aptitude
- TOP 50 Data Interpretation Questions
- TOP 50 Application Sums
- TOP 1000 Simplification Questions
- TOP 500 Quadratic Equations
- Printed Edition Basics to Advanced Guidely Books for Quantitative Aptitude
Strategy for Quantitative section:
- Practice tests from different difficult levels – start from easy and move to difficult.
- Start with topics that form the base for other topics and then move on to higher-level difficult topics
- Improve your calculation speed by memorizing tables, practicing mental calculations
- Practice more difficult problems on simplification/ approximation, number series, data interpretation to boost your score
- Hard practice in miscellaneous topics will help you in the data sufficiency part.
IBPS SO Study Tips and Important Topics for Mains Exam
Candidates can refer to some of the important topics for different posts which are important from the mains exam point of view.
| IT Officer (Scale – I) |
|
| Agriculture Field Officer (Scale – I) |
|
| Marketing Officer (Scale – I) |
|
| Rajbhasha Adhikari |
|
| HR/Personnel Officer (Scale – I) |
|
| Law Officer (Scale– I) |
|
IBPS SO Study Tips FAQs
Q: How can I tackle the Quantitative aptitude section for the IBPS SO exam?
A: For clearing the quantitative aptitude section you need two major things i.e. Basics and Practice.
Q: Which is the most asked topic in the quantitative aptitude section?
A: Data Interpretation and Arithmetic are the two most asked topics from the quantitative aptitude section.
Q: Is the reasoning ability section tough?
A: No, this section will be of a moderate level. Candidates need to be well versed with the puzzles and seating arrangements as most of the questions are asked from them.
Q: What is the professional knowledge section in the mains section?
A: The professional knowledge section tests the knowledge of the candidates according to the posts they have applied for.
Q: What is the selection procedure for the IBPS SO exam?
A: The Selection procedure of the IBPS SO exam consists of three stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview stage.
