Last-Minute Preparation Tips for IBPS SO Exam

Each year the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection conducts the IBPS SO exam to recruit eligible candidates as personnel in the Specialist officers cadre in various Public Sector Banks in India.

The various posts under specialist officer cadre include Information Technology Officer, Rajbhasha Adhikari, Marketing Officer, Law Officer, and more. The exam is conducted in three stages i.e., the Preliminary exam, the Mains exam, and the Personal interview.

Often the most sincere aspirants with a top-notch exam preparation end up making some common yet significant mistakes at the last moments of their preparation or during the examination.

This cost them in failure to crack the exam and the opportunity of a stable government job. Mostly, candidates commit these mistakes out of exam pressure, carelessness or other personal reasons.

On that note, let’s talk about some of the eleventh-hour tips that candidates appearing for the IBPS SO exam must keep in mind for successful performance in the IBPS SO exam.

●      Revise smart and Give Regular Mock Test

A proper revision is vital to any exam preparation and the same is true for IBPs SO. However, aspirants must find ways to revise quickly and smartly what they have studied. They can do this by making short notes, mind maps, and underlining or highlighting important points as they study.

Short notes of formulas, concepts, facts, and tricks will help aspirants bring back to their mind what they have learned quickly just before the exam and will save aspirants’ time.

Apart from this, shortly after completing the majority of chapters mentioned in the IBPS SO syllabus, candidates must start giving proper sectional, chapter-wise, and full-length mock tests.

This will help them assess their progress along with getting knowledge of their strengths and weaknesses through which they can make amends in their preparation to enhance their speed and accuracy during the exam.

Attempting online mock tests regularly will also help students to develop a strong and composed mindset along with boosting their confidence so that they remain focused, calm and composed while attempting the exam in a very limited time.

Many exam preparation portals such as Gradeup, Testbook, Adda 247, and more offer free and paid test series on their websites and apps. The students can attempt these online test series on their government exam preparation app on their website.

●      Be Ready for Surprises

The candidate should be mentally prepared for any surprises such as a change in exam date and exam pattern, the difficulty level of the exam, etc. the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) makes slight changes in few details of the exams conducted by it and IBPS SO is no exception. The candidates must remain ready and make note of these changes so that they can capitalize them.

●      Manage Your Time Wisely

During the examination, candidates must utilize the limited sectional time properly to maximize their score. The IBPS SO Prelims exam comprises three sections i.e., English language, Reasoning ability, General awareness and a time limit of 40 minutes is given to the candidates to attempt each section.

Candidates must have a strategy in place as to how they are going to attempt each section. Before starting any section, candidates must quickly skim through the questions and must first attempt those questions which are easy.

This will build their confidence and at the same will ensure that they don’t miss out on any question they were familiar with when the sectional time runs out.  Use formulas and short tricks wherever possible to save time in the quantitative aptitude and reasoning ability section.

For the general awareness section, there is no other strategy but answering only those questions which the candidate is confident about which will help him/her save time.

Also, during general awareness preparation, candidates can save time and money by installing the current affairs app on which they can access all Static GK and Current affairs content for free rather than wasting time and money in buying magazines, books and other study material. Some of the best current affairs app available on the Google play store are The Times of India, Testbook, Byju’s, Gradeup and others.

●      Stay Relaxed and Calm

While appearing for the exam, candidates must remain calm and composed. Often, candidates make silly mistakes or end up losing too much time solving a question. This happens due to the nervousness and pressure imposed by the ticking clock and tense examination hall environment.

Candidates must skip the questions they get stuck in and must go for the easy ones first. Most candidates often come across questions that look easy but are actually baffling.

These questions not only waste the candidate’s time but also lowers his/her confidence. Lastly, candidates must keep track of time and must proceed through each section accordingly.

●      Don’t Start With Anything New

It is always recommended to not start learning any new chapter or topic just a few before the exam. Candidates must utilize this time for attempting mock tests and revision only. If the candidate uses time in learning something new, then he/she will have less time for revision which could result in losing the grip on what he/she has studied