SBI PO 2017: How to Score More in the English Language Section

We inherited English Language from the British. Even after 70 years of after them leaving India, it is one of the strongest bonds that unites this multicultural, multilingual country of ours. Therefore English is an important element in any competitive exam and so is the case with SBI PO

There is an English Language section in both the preliminary, as well as, the main examinations of the SBI PO selection.

The importance of the English Language section

This section is approximately 30% or 1/3rd of the preliminary exam with 30 questions carrying 30 marks out of a bank of 100.

In the Main exam, answering the 35 out of the 155 questions earmarked for English will get you 40/200 marks. In other words, 1/5th of the total marks rests with this section. You can literally earn 1 mark a minute if you prepare and answer perfectly.

The parts of the English section

This segment of the prelims and the mains of SBI PO bank exam can be broadly divided into:

Grammar

Vocabulary

Reading and comprehension

Verbal Ability

Grammar

English grammar cannot be learnt in a short period; it is acquired by usage over time, by reading, and by speaking. Still, practice can help in scoring. Expect at least 8-10 questions in grammar.

Do not let terms like ‘parts of speech,’ or ‘degrees of comparison,’ or ‘gerunds,’ or ‘standard construction,’ confuse you. You don’t have to learn the terms; you have to know correct grammar.

The questions on grammar are predominantly based on error spotting and phrase replacement.

If you had joined a good coaching program, you would have got the correct practice to help you score high. English grammar exercises, previous papers, and mock tests are the best workout that you can hope for, to score high in English grammar.

Vocabulary

Once again, you cannot collect words or cram their meanings to learn a language superfast. Reading is a good way to improve your vocabulary, and the reading habit should be something included in your daily routine.

You can use the internet to learn about easily confused words. You can also try memorising techniques (mnemonics) to remember words and their meanings.

If English is your weak point, practise as much as you can. Pay particular attention to:

Fill in the Blanks

Cloze test

Sentence Improvement

Parajumbles

Antonyms & Synonyms

Reading Comprehension

Practice ‘double fillers’: in this you have 2 sentences with a blank in each, followed by choice of 5 words. You have to choose a single word that fits both blanks.

If you have a doubt about the correctness of your choice, read the sentence through after filling in the word or phrase. This might give you a better idea about the correctness.

Reading and Comprehension

Vocabulary cannot be divorced from the comprehension part of the language.

The topics will probably be based on banking and finance, or the economy, social issues or business. The passage will not be mid-length, and you will have to read and assimilate the meaning quickly.

The questions will be fact based to test your understanding of the passage. You may also be asked to draw inferences; this means that the answer will not be stated in so many words in the passage but will be implied by the content.

If you are asked word-replacement questions and find yourself in doubt, it is a good idea to understand the general context and find the best fit; or eliminate the worst ones.

Verbal ability

This is essentially, finding arranging phrases (parts of a sentence) in a sequence to form a correct and complete sentence.

Again, practice is the most important factor.

And yet again, it is a good practice to formulate the sentence in your mind as fast as you can and repeat that formed sentence to get the feel of its correctness. Only practising continuously can help you do this. You have to keep track of time- remember that!

The Descriptive Test

This is the old fashioned long answer type section of essay and letter writing. This is also online, so you will have to think and type simultaneously. Hope your typing skills are reasonable.

You will be given 30 minutes to complete this section. The maximum marks are 50. This is a qualifying test in more than one way:

1. You have to earn the pass mark set by the bank to be considered successful
2. Unless your objective test outcome is good enough to consider you a possible recruit, this test will not be marked. SBI is optimising their grading resources.

The point to understand is that the marks you get in the descriptive test will not be added to your objective section marks to consider you successful.

The last few words

You will be facing the English language section in BOTH the prelims and the mains. Expect the difficulty level in the mains to be higher.

Practise. Practise some more. And keep practising. There’s no other way to learn the language and earn that SBI PO prize.

Practice on previous papers and mock test papers will do wonders to improve your standard and your chances.

At TalentSprint, we bring you the best practice sessions and tests to sharpen your English language skills. Our training will make you speak in English and think in English. This is the only way to score high and beat the competition.

Sbi PO Exam., IBPS POnline Bank Exam is easy.