How should you prepare for RBI Grade B exam 2017?

As we all know that RBI Grade B notification is out and the Phase 1 (Prelim) exam is on 17^th June, all we want right now is few quick tricks and tips for our last minute preparation. So to understand that to prepare for RBI Grade B exam 2017 let us first discuss the syllabus of the exam, the pattern of the paper and other minute details.

The Prelim exam will be of 2 hours divided into four sections wherein, there will be no sectional time limit but there definitely will be a sectional cut off.

Let us take last year’s paper of RBI Grade B as a benchmark for discussing the pattern.

Now let us discuss last year’s RBI Grade B paper in detail:

General Awareness section comprised of questions from areas like Banking & Financial Awareness, Static Awareness, Current Affairs and Economic affairs. The section carried about 30 questions on Banking Awareness mostly focusing on banking organizations and their establishments. 26-28 questions were based on static GK. About 24-25 questions were asked on current affairs which included topics like latest economic decisions taken by the government and latest budget.

English Language section comprised of questions from areas like RC (Reading Comprehension), last year both the passages were from banking and economics area. Cloze test had 7 questions, 5 questions were in Fill in the blanks (Vocabulary) area, 3 PC (Para Completion) also featured and 5 questions on Sentence Correction were there too.

Quantitative Aptitude section comprised questions from topics like data interpretation which had 10 questions divided over 2 sets, data sufficiency had 5 questions, 5 questions were based on Series & Pattern, In all about 10 questions were based on topics like P&L (Profit & Loss), SI/CI (Simple interest and Compound interest), TSD (time speed and distance), Time & Work, Mensuration, Mixtures & Allegations, Percentage, Age, Partnership, Boat & Stream.

Reasoning section had questions based on Coding Decoding (5 questions), Syllogism had 7 questions, 1 set of 5 questions was based on Machine input output, 5 questions were based on Inequalities, 5 questions were based on Statement and Conclusion, 8 questions were based on Course of Actions, Strengthening and Weakening of Arguments and Inference, Blood relation (3 questions), 3 sets of 6, 6 and 5 questions each were based arrangement pattern 5 questions were based on Symbol based Coding.

Prelim is a qualifying exam and only once we clear it, we will be eligible for Phase 2 (Mains). Now to pull our socks up and to prepare for RBI Grade B exam 2017 first we have to realize that we have 30 days in hand and it is not a time to start anything new. It is time to revise and revisit what we have already done. The best way to utilize this one month is to go through as many sample or mock tests (both online & offline) as you can. It is not a tough task if we target two exams a day but then we have to not only give exam but also do a proper analysis of each and every test that we take because without analyzing our performance of one test we won’t be able to better in the second. A detailed analysis of every test that we take will help us in identifying our strong areas and our weak areas, in a test like this where every incorrect answer fetches us a ¼ negative mark knowing our strength and weakness is very important because no one of us would like to loose marks in negative marking. So after 10 days of test taking and analysis strategy (i.e.; 20 test), we will very well know our strong and weak area and after identifying our weak areas we should brush up those areas for next 7 days and then move back to test taking strategy.

Let us now discuss our section wise strategy to prepare for RBI Grade B exam 2017: Although questions in every section can range from any topic mentioned above but after having a closer look at has been asked in RBI Grade B exam past few year can help us prioritizing the area of our preparation in short span of time.

General Awareness – We all know this is one section which has a vast scope. It is important that we brush up current affairs of past 6-7 months. In banking exams, there has been a pattern of questions being repeated so we can always go through the GA section of the previous year and other RBI exams. One can also subscribe to weekly current affairs magazine RBI Round Up. While writing the exam we have to keep in mind that we should not spend more than 20-25 minutes on this section so we should have all the data on our fingertips.

English Language – Around 8-10 questions of this section are featured on Reading comprehension which were not difficult in nature. Cloze test is also a regular and strong feature of this section. The key to excelling this section is to take tests and analyze them to identify which areas are best for you to achieve a good score and avoid any negative marking.

Quantitative Aptitude – This section is more inclined towards data interpretation since past few years so be prepared for some speedy calculations (it is always wise to revise shortcut techniques or faster calculations at this stage). Time & Work, Profit &Loss, Permutation & Combinations are also regularly asked topics.

Reasoning – There are a lot of topics in reasoning so it is advisable to identify the topics that have been asked more and more in last few years and practice them. Looking at previous few years’ pattern we should focus more on arrangements, coding decoding, inequalities, blood relations, and syllogisms. The only way you can master them is practice. Quickly scan the section and then pick the set which you find easier of the lot. This section can get lengthier so keeping an eye on the watch is also very important.

W have always believed that test taking is an art, you master it with practice. On one hand we cannot deny the fact that for any exam fundamental clarity is very important on the other hand this fact can also not be ignored that correct methodology of taking a test that is mapping our speed with time, our accuracy over our attempts can help us successfully prepare for RBI Grade B exam 2017 and come out with flying colors.