SBI PO exam is conducted in three stages every year. The first stage is the common stage for all applicants and every candidate who has applied for the SBI PO exam need to write this test in order to qualify for the remaining two which is the Main exam and Group Discussion+Personal Interview round. The first stage of SBI PO exam is also known as SBI PO Prelims exam. The exam is held online and exam paper is completely objective type.
Check out the SBI PO Prelims exam pattern below to get a clear idea about the exam structure
| Subjects | Number of Questions | Time Duration |
| English Language | 30 | 1 Hour( Each Section Caries 20 Minutes) |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | |
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | |
| TOTAL | 100 |
As you can see above, there are three sections of the test: English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability. The English section carries 30 marks while the other 2 sections carry 35 makes each. The total number of questions are 100 and 1 mark is allotted per question. There is sectional timing for this exam, hence candidates will only get 20 minutes per section. For every wrong answer, candidates will lose 0.25 marks.
For candidates who can clear the Prelims exam will be automatically qualified to write the Main test, the main test will contain two parts. an objective section of 155 questions carrying 200 marks and a descriptive paper of 50 marks. The objective section will be somewhat similar in pattern to that of the Prelims paper. Have a look at the entire SBI PO Main Objective exam pattern below:
| Subjects | Number of Questions | Maximum Marks | Time Duration |
| Reasoning & Computer Aptitude | 45 | Total Max. Marks 200 | 60 minutes |
| Data Analysis & Interpretation | 35 | 45 minutes | |
| General/ Economy/ Banking Awareness | 40 | 35 minutes | |
| English Language | 35 | 40 minutes | |
| TOTAL | 155 | 3 hours |
Obviously, the Main exam is tougher compared to PRelims which is why the total marks and the number of sections are also more. Accordingly, the time limit of 3 hours is also provided to help candidates attempt the paper with ease. The four sections of the Main paper are Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, Banking Awareness, and English Language. This paper too has sectional timing as you can see above and a penalty of 0.25 marks is also applicable per wrong answer.
The subjective section will contain a letter writing and an essay writing task in English and will carry total marks of 50. Time provided to answer both the questions will be 30 minutes. The GD and PI rounds together will contain 50 marks. The final SBI PO selection will be based on the SBI PO Main Score+GD score+PI score.
Many times candidates get confused regarding the SBI PO Banking Awareness syllabus. They couldn’t understand what to study and what not to. Hence to make things easier for aspirants, here is the complete syllabus for SBI PO Banking Awareness section:
Out of the four sections in SBI PO Main exam, you can find ample study material and books for all sections except Banking Awareness. The Banking Awareness section is something that every candidate need to prepare well if they are aiming for the SBI PO position. Some banking awareness terms are very common and are used frequently by the general public in the bank. But, along with it, there are other important banking terms as well that only banking employees are well-versed with.
Now, you cannot find books on Banking Awareness separately, hence the strategy to prepare for the banking awareness section is to attempt as many mock tests as possible. Choosing special SBI PO Main mock test series will help you to attempt questions of the Banking Awareness section along with the other three sections included in SBI PO Main exam.
Along with practicing mock tests regularly, candidates can visit various banking websites and read banking related articles online to be aware of new financial policies and programs. They will also learn about a lot of new banking terms that general people don’t usually use in the bank.
Next, you should spend some time every day to read and watch financial news or finance related talk shows. When it comes to Banking Awareness, your knowledge shouldn’t be limited to Indian economy but you should be well aware of the International economic scenario as well.
Try to incorporate these hacks in your SBI PO exam preparation for the Banking Awareness section and you’ll be surely able to score good marks during the SBI PO Main exam.
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This post was last modified on May 8, 2021 12:14 am