IBPS CLERK TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS

User discretion advised

IBPS CLERK TIMING
Ideally attempt would be this.........
120 minutes ..... clock starts ticking
Start with computer section.
40 questions. You must finish it within 6-7 minutes.
CLOCK TICKS ..... 113 MINUTES
Start GK
40 questions. You must finish it within 6-7 minutes.
Time left 106 MINUTES
Start English
40 questions. You must finish it within 14 minutes.
Time left 92 minutes
Buffer 2 minutes

CASE 1 : TIME LEFT 90 MINUTES (for people who are kinda fast and good at aptitude tests)
CASE 2 : TIME LEFT 85 MINUTES (for people who are okish/who have fumbled to follow the time mentioned on the day of the exam)

Do not go beyond 85 minutes........ it may cost you dearly.

CASE 1 : 90 minutes.......... start with maths....... 40 minutes (max 42-43 minutes) remaining time ....... 50 minutes (min 46-47 minutes) for reasoning
CASE 2 : 85 minutes.......... start with maths....... 40 minutes ...... remaining time....... 45 minutes for reasoning

SECTIONAL ATTEMPTS (common for all categories. Dont restrict your goals based on your category. Consider yourself to be a general category, if not)
Computer max(40) min(32-34)
GK max(40) min(28)
Eng max(40) min(32)
Maths max(40) min(34)
Reasoning max(40) min(28)
Max total attempt 200
Min total attempt 154

I do not know about the cut offs.......

 

Reasoning - Inequality Tutorial

Tutorial on INEQUALITY (So called feared topic :P)
Might help/Might not. User discretion advised.

People who really wanna know whats in it may go forward to study this long long post.

NOTE: People who already know/people who are masters in this may ignore.

Putting it to good use MAY yield you 5 marks in 2 minutes in the much dreaded reasoning section.

We have all come across this caselet worth 5 marks in every other bank exam. It is considered to be a creepy sitter caselet by many. But the truth is it is a scoring topic. Trust me 5 marks in your kitty in 2 minutes. Now lets go about how to solve them.

Here are some prerequisites you should be knowing.

< (less than symbol), eg. 4<5

>(greater than symbol) eg.8>6

=(equal to) eg.6=6 :P

So lets take an example now.

In these questions symbols @, $, #, &, % are used with different meanings as follows.

P @ Q means P is neither smaller than nor equal to Q

P # Q means P is neither greater than nor equal to Q

P $ Q means P is neither greater nor smaller than Q

P % Q means P is not greater than Q

P & Q means P is not smaller than Q

In each of the following questions assuming the given statements to be true, find out which of the two conclusions I and II given below them is /are definitely true.

Give answer (1) if only conclusion I is true.

Give answer (2) if only conclusion II is true.

Give answer (3) if either conclusion I or II is true.

Give answer (4) if neither conclusion I nor II is true.

Give answer (5) if both conclusions I and II is true

Now lets take the first statement given “P @ Q means P is neither smaller than nor equal to Q”

Its obvious and easy to deduce it now. P>Q right?

The other two are similar. Now take the fourth and fifth statements. Many make mistake here.

Fourth statement reads “P % Q means P is not greater than Q”

We should remember that P<=Q. Most consider only P<Q. It will end up in 0/5 marks. Simple logic.

There are three symbols. Put them to use.

Ok remaining deduction is same as explained below. Try it.

Anyway we will be getting these. (practise as much as possible. 100% accuracy needed here. On the day of the exam shouldn’t take more than 15-20 seconds. You are supposed to write this on your rough sheet to make things easier for you)

P@Q =====> P>Q

P#Q ======> P<Q

P$Q======> P=Q

P%Q======> P<=Q

P&Q======> P>=Q

Now jumping to the questions.

6. Statements: A @ B, B $ C, C # D

Conclusions: I. A#D II. B@D

Here A@B is given. You are not required to manipulate anything now. Just copy the the thing

corresponding to this that you have already listed out.

A@B (similar to P@Q which says P>Q) ===> so A>B

Likewise do it for the other two given statements.

B$C=======> B=C

C#D=======> C<D

So half work done for this question. Now before looking at the conclusions given in the question, you

need to do two things. COMBINING and REALIGNING.

How?

Bring everything to the same symbol. Preferably to < symbol. What am trying to say is, if you deducted

given statements and got 5>4, then make 4<5.

So what have we got?

A@B=======> A>B

B$C=======> B=C

C#D=======> C<D

Now after realigning.

We have got B<A, B=C, C<D (Only first one changed. Remaining all are perfect)

COMBINING: Now how to write it in one line.

Chill. Write this way.

It is highly recommended to right this way.

Let me tell you why. (B=C)<A. Most of the times, we would consider only B<A and we will forget C<A.

Thanks to exam pressure. So writing it vertically is 100% foolproof.

Now comes the tricky part where 90% get caught. These 90% of people would end up with something

like this.

(B=C)<D<A.

IT IS WRONG MY DEAR FRIEND.

Know why. There is no relationship given/established between A and D. So this (wrong) statement

makes it hard and fast that D is less than A. Did anyone say it? Did you deduce it? NOPE. So this would

be your “ONE LINER REQUIRED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION”

Now go to the conclusions.

Conclusions: I. A#D II. B@D

What is A#D? A<D (copied from the template I wrote initially)

B@D ?? B>D

Now you don’t have to combine, realign blah blah.

Just compare with your one liner.

Is A<D??????? NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Simple. They are not on the same line. Relationship can be establishedwhen they are in the same line. (Can be established when they are in different lines too. Will show that in another example if at all I come across))

Conclusion 1 =========> NOOOOOOOOOOOO

Conclusion 2 B@D ====== B>D NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because B<D

So answer none follows!!

NOTE: Your conclusion should be always true. But be alert if there is an option of the type either or. In this case both conclusions wont be true always. But anyone of them will be true. Just like syllogisms friend. Either or type

NOW THE NEXT QUESTION

7. Statements: P&Q, Q%R, R$S

Conclusions: I. Q $ S II. P#S

MY ONE LINER WOULD BE

Whats this red colour stuff......... Let me tell you. In this question there is no relation between P and R or S. Let me put this way. R and S are related only with Q and not P. This makes more sense. So for you not to forget this you gotta draw something like this.

Now go to conclusions.

Conclusions:

I. Q $ S ====> Q=S (Is it so? Noooooo. Though Q<=S, Q might be equal to or sometimes less

II. P#S =====> P<S (Is it so? Nooooooo. They are in two different lines and they are not in the

than S. As I said, your conclusion should be always true)

same red blanket. See how it helped :D :P

So answer is........ none follows !!

Now practice the remaining three problems.

For practice......... type bankersadda inequality in google. You will get a lot of links. Practice makes a man perfect and more importantly improves speed. Five marks in 2 minutes friends Think about it.

Hope it helped.

Any mistake can be pointed out. Improvisations could be suggested.

FOR PRACTICE:

8. Statements: P&Q, Q@R, R%S

Conclusions: I. Q%S II. P%S

9. Statements: A@B, B#C, C%D

Conclusions: I. B#D II. D@A

10. Statements: A@B, B%C, C@D

 Conclusions: I. D$B II. B@D

Time Management for RBI Assistant Exam

This post is for all those who write RBI Assistant Exam. It might help, might not.
-User discretion advised.

Its too long btw. Typed with paining fingers 

I am just giving a generic advice and approach.

First analyse the pattern of the paper. How many sections. How many questions in each. I hope everyone has done it by now. If not, never too late. Do it. Find previous year question papers. Know the pattern.

Whats the exam duration? 120 minutes? How will the count down timer be? will it be 120:00 or 2:00. Know this. Its important. Will tell you why.

A very very few people generally do this mistake. Time allocation:120/5 for each section. It wont work.

Start with your strength (it is otherwise if maths is your strength) Ideally i would advise to start with computer science. Nobody has an edge over nobody. You use facebook. So you use computer. So you can answer most of the questions with common sense. 40 questions. you wanna spend 20 min? nope. 15? no 12? no 10? no. Ideally between 5 to 8 minutes. POSSIBLE. Reading question ->4 seconds. Clicking 1 second. But very few questions may require slight thinking. So max time 8 minutes.

By the time the clock nears 112 you should actually be out of this section. Whatsoever.

Next start with GK (Assuming that you have studied enough)
My advice would be not to waste time STUDYING newspaper. Bankersadda, nirdeshak, gktoday do it for you. Trust them blindly. Last 6 months is enough. Complete bankersadda monthly capsules of these 6 months. SBI PO capsule, SBI Clerk capsule (all parts) RRB capsule RBI Assistant capsule. (Dont worry. Its all are repetitive). And read financial awareness from bankingawareness.com and nirddeshak. They are good. Gives you an idea. Dont panic if you havent done it. Do it for the next exam 

You should be too damn thorough that you should finish this section in 8 minutes. Now clock is at 104. Jump to english. Wait. Dont start from the first question of english. When you click english tab on the side you will have a palet with numbers. Click the 31st question of that section. If english is from 41-80, click on 71. Why? You have fill in the blanks here  scoring topic. Max 4 minutes. 10 marks. How to approach it? Read the para without filling first (should take max 30 seconds). Know what it is about. Is it positive or negative. Know it. Then attend the questions. But smartness would be checking questions parallelly while reading the para and filling here and there that is too obvious and doesnt need whole para understanding. Rearrange should be there. Spot the errors should be there. Do all this then go to RC. Read fully. Attend synonyms/antonyms (here read the question properly. Synonym/antonym as given in the passage. Dont assume general meaning because most words have more than 1 meaning. They want you to give the mean/opp of the word in the context in which they have used it.
40 questions 15 minutes. (rearrange max 2 minutes spot the errors 2 minutes)

Now clock ticks 89. 4 minutes buffer. So anywhere between 85-89. You are bang on with the plan!

Now I would say do maths first. Its all multiplication, division and stuff. Primary school syllabus (at least 10 questions). skim all 40 questions. Do as many as you can in 35 minutes. You should have attempted all 40 by now (if you had really prepared you would have finished with 5 to 7 minutes to spare to 50 minutes)

Now go to reasoning. Do all questions right from question 1. Seating arrangement/logical reasoning ->mark for review. Finish the remaining part of the section. Ideally you should have 25-30 minutes. But considering buffer, at least 20 minutes should be there. Do both the caselets now. Seat/Logic. Reasoning done. Last five minutes. Become a watch dog. Mouse over all sections. Think where you can maximise. Go. Think. Click

My suggestion : Any category, ideal attempts should be 180+. You cannot get into rbi if the cut off is 125 and you get 125... 126.... Interview shouldnt be a deciding factor for selection. Aim high scores in prelims..... 150+ You will land up in 130s. MIGHT save you even if you have a poor interview.

All the best friends   Prepare well.

MYTH ABOUT CUT OFF !!!!!

There are a lot of queries in all public forums about the "Expected cut-off"
For instance let us take RBI GRADE B OFFICER RECRUITMENT EXAMINATION.

 Last year the round 1 cut-off was 126 for general.
After the exam, aspirants were like.... "General awareness dead easy...... 

cut offs said to go HIGH".

 But you know what happened?
General cut off was 104. So as a matter of fact, there is no pre-determined cut 

off. It is based on the vacancies available and the performance of the aspirants.
So what happened in RBI Grade B? Yep. Questions were kinda easy, but aspirants 

found it difficult. 
So cut off obviously came low. Let's imagine a situation. We have 100 vacancies 

for a job. 500 people write exam and the exam is out of 100 marks.The company 

announces
40 as pass mark (cut off).
Problems with this approach.
Case 1. Nobody got above 40 -------> recruitment plan ruined
Case 2. Most people got above 40, making it tedious for the employer

to conduct interview. Incurs cost and time.

SO HOW IS CUT-OFF CALCULATED?? (A brief idea based on my understanding. 

May not be correct)

So SBI wants 1500 POs. 17+ lakh people right it. So SBI thinks this way..... 

I can't shortlist the top 1500 people and recruit them directly
and give them all sorts of allowances and enrich their life :P 
WHY?????? People having good written exam skills may lack public speaking skills

 and other interpersonal, communication skills necessary for a bank job.
At the same time, SBI says i dont want to shortlist top 20,000 and interview 

them all....... man its gonna take more than six months for me to finish 

the process. So bank draws up a line here. I do not care how much the aspirants 

score. But i want to shortlist top 3000 and select the aspirants on a 1:2 

ratio basis.

So basically cut off is going to be based on this ratio set by the bank.
Forget about reservations. i do not want to discuss about it, but at the end 

of the discussion you will be able to understand how the whole process works 

when reservations are considered.SBI conducts exam for 250 marks. Marks of 

aspirants is purely based on their knowledge and difficulty of the paper.
Irrespective of the scores obtained, SBI wants to shortlist top 3000 for 

the interview process.So the 3000th person's score will be the cut off. 

Obviously the top 2999's score will be more than the 3000th person's score.
This is how cut off is obtained. (Overall cut off)Sectional cut offs are 

calculated based on the average performance of the aspirants in each section 

and the bank's requirement. (SBI says i want a future employee of mine to score 

at least 13/50 in english.If not i consider him to be too poor in communicating

 with customers even if he scores 50/50 in all other sections)
This is how sectional cut off is calculated.
Now pull in reservation concept into this.
Imagine advertisement reads SBI gives 450 seats to general category people. 

So at the end of round 1. SBI would pick 450*2=900 seats for interview process. 
Why?? They are following the 1:2 ratio thingy.

So ideally you can judge the cut off based on history.
Inspect the bank's ratio thingy and the previous cut offs may give you a brief 

idea about the difficulty of the question paper

Happy to help :) :)

Day 1 - 18/09/2014 - How to start your preparation for any bank exam at first point

Before getting into intricate things about preparation let's first ponder upon the prerequisites.

1. Why are you writing this exam? Are you really serious?
2. If serious, how have you planned to approach it?

Planning is the most vital tool needed to achieve our goal(s).

"Failing to plan is planning to fail". We all know this adage.

So how to go about planning?

1. Collect raw materials needed (prerequisites)

IN DETAIL : Which exam are you appearing for? Is the exam conducted for the first time or has been conducted a lot many times previously? If it is the latter way, then your first step is to collect previous 3 year (at least) question papers. Now what? Consume space on your hard disk? Nope! Take a week. Analyse the question paper.

HOW........

Imagine we have three previous year papers...... 2011, 2012 and 2013.

First take the 2011 paper. Check the number of sections, number of questions in each section, marking pattern (whether negatives marks concept applicable or not) and time allocated for the exam (Also check if there is sectional time)

Most bank exams have these four topics in common

1) Quant
2) Reasoning
3) English
4) General awareness

Start with english. Check how the paper is. Find its blue print.
What is blue print?
How many fill in the blanks questions are asked, how many reading comprehension questions are asked etc
Eg. blue print would be
Reading comprehension-1 10+5
Reading comprehension-2 10
Spot the errors 10
Rearrange the sentences 5
Fill in the blanks (Cloze test) 10
Total 50 questions

Likewise do it for 2012 and 2013 question papers. Check if all the papers have common blue print. If not follow the latest question paper pattern (In our case it is 2013. It may vary with years to come. It is nothing but (Current year-1))

Do it for all the sections now. Here comes a question. In english it is easy to identify the topic....... whethere it is reading comprehension or fill in the blanks etc. I am new to reasoning. I do not know the topic name of the questions asked. What shall i do??

Nothing to worry. Copy the question. Put it in google. Many sites would have that question. In that same site you will be able to find the topic name. If that doesn't help, ask me i would help you with it.

Sample reasoning blue print
blood relations 5
syllogisms 5
inequality 5
seating arrangement 7
.
..
...
..... and so on

Same happens with quant. You can split quant into two parts.
1. Data Interpretation
2. Miscellaneous

Most officer level bank exams give importance to data interpretation. At least 10 to 15 marks will be from data interpretation. Trust me its a scoring topic. Now getting into miscellaneous part. Averages, percentages, ratios and find the next number/odd number out would rule this part. Anyway make a note of how many questions from each topic
Eg. Time and work 1
       Time and distance 1
        Averages 3
        ......... so on

Here comes the part that most people are new to,,,,,,,,,

GENERAL AWARENESS

We can get into detail about this section.

But as of now what you gotta know is ...... current affair questions of the last 6 months would occupy at least 0% of the 50 questions in this section

WEBSITES THAT WOULD AID YOUR PREPARATION FOR GENERAL AWARENESS SECTION

www.bankersadda.com
www.nirdeshak.com
www.gktoday.in
www.linkingsky.com

You can download last six months current affairs capsule from these sites (except gktoday. It comes at cost. But you have the facility to read it online). Now its september. So you need to start preparing from (september-6) month. Imagine your exam is on october 25. You gotta read current affairs till october 15.

As of now do this........ will come up with next post that would be even more detailed and helpful :)

Have a nice day !!