With exam season in its full swing, it’s time for IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2016 after IBPS PO (Main) 2016 on November 20. With banking exams scheduled almost every weekend, your preparations must be in full force.
This post aims to guide you through some tips and tricks that might prove to be helpful for IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2016. Before we move on, let’s check IBPS Clerk (Prelims) exam schedule, exam pattern and previous years’ cut-off.
Overview of IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2016
IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam 2016 is scheduled to be conducted on November 26 & 27 and December 03 & 04, 2016.
A clear idea of the exam pattern is essential before we devise exam strategy.
| S. No. | Sections | Number of questions | Maximum marks | Composite time of 1 hour |
| 1 | English Language | 30 | 30 | |
| 2 | Numerical Ability | 35 | 35 | |
| 3 | Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 |
IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2015 cut-off
In order to be eligible for the Main examination, it is important to clear sectional as well as overall cut-off. Here we bring to you IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2015 cut-off and exam analysis.
Sectional cutoff – IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam 2015
| Category | English Language | Reasoning Ability | Numerical Ability |
| General | 9.75 | 12.00 | 8.00 |
IBPS Clerk (Prelims) 2016 Tips:
Before you appear for the exam, you must be clear about how to attempt the paper and selection of questions. Remember it is not important to attempt all the questions, accuracy is the key factor in making or breaking the deal. You should aim at clearing sectional cut-offs and subsequently overall cut-off.
English Language Section
English Language section is quite predictable as we have a set pattern of questions. We would advise you to thoroughly practice following topics:
- Cloze Test and Fill in the Blanks
2. Sentence Improvement and Error Spotting
3. Spellings - Para Jumbles
A prominent feature of the English Language section is the Reading Comprehension. Don’t simply leave RC because it’s too long or out of your interest. A few questions based on RC are direct and their answers can be derived directly from the passage. Vocabulary based questions don’t require in-depth understanding. A fair idea of the corresponding sentence helps you to arrive at the answer.
Keep in mind the following IBPS Clerk Prelims 2016 tips while you attempt these topics:
- In Cloze Test or FIBs, read the sentence first and then try to find the correct option by substituting the given options.
- In Spotting Errors / Sentence Improvement, look for grammatical and structural errors.
- In Para Jumbles, the safest way is to form mandatory pairs.
Reasoning Ability Section
Reasoning questions are highly unpredictable. The only way to ace this section is ample practice and short cuts.
It is advisable to have a thorough practice of following topics:
1. Mathematical Inequalities
2. Seating Arrangement (Circular & Linear Arrangement)
3. Coding Decoding/ Input-Output
4. Blood Relations and Direction based questions
Points to ponder:
- A golden for inequality based questions is that if similar sign is present between the variables, relationship can be established between them. Whenever the signs between the variables change for a given statement, relationship cannot be established.
- In coding-decoding and seating arrangement questions, read the entire question carefully. Consider all the possible scenarios which may be formed as per the given question.
Numerical Ability Section
This is one of the most scoring sections. The key topics covered in this section are:
1. Data Interpretation: Ratios, Averages, Percentages
2. Number Series
3. Simplification and Approximation
Following points should be kept in mind while attempting numerical ability questions:
The questions based on Data Interpretation focus on percentages, averages and ratios. The data is given in the form of tables, pie charts and bar graphs. A complex problem might have a combination of two or more data representations. If the basics are in place, DI questions can fetch you more marks.
Number Series questions test your analytical skills. Try to identify the pattern in the series. Do not waste too much time if you are unable to arrive at a conclusion.
With just a few days left for the exam to flag off, gauge your preparation with our IBPS Clerk (Prelims) Test Series.
Stay tuned for exam analysis and important updates.
All the best!
