The Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) conducts IBPS RRB exams to select eligible candidates for Group-B office assistant (multipurpose) posts in various regional rural banks across India. The exam comprises two stages i.e., Prelims and Mains exam. The final selection of candidates will be based on their performance in the Mains exam.
In these times of heavy competition, one can only crack a major banking exam like IBPS RRB office assistant with top-notch preparation.
On that note, let’s talk about some important section-wise preparation tips to help you ace the IBPS RRB office assistant exam.
Numerical Ability
This can be a fruitful section for those who can calculate faster and have a clear understanding of the fundamentals behind each concept in various topics.
You must memorise tables upto 20, squares till 30 and cubes upto at least 20 to help you speed up your calculations. Apart from this, it also advised that you should learn useful formulas and short tricks that enable you to cut short lengthy steps while solving a given question. By building an ability to calculate faster, you will be able to save a substantial amount of time which can later be used to attempt other questions and sections.
Majority of the numerical ability questions asked in any major banking exam like IBPS RRB Office Assistant exam are concept based and can be of higher difficulty level. A little doubt or confusion in the fundamentals behind concepts can hamper your ability to proceed through the solution in some cases.
Therefore, it is very crucial to have a sound understanding of various fundamentals and concepts in each topic to avoid any hindrance while solving questions in the numerical ability section.
Also, it is seen that sometimes fundamentals and concepts of one topic end up becoming the basis of concepts in another topic. For instance, one can perform well in Data Interpretation only if one has a good grip on the fundamentals in Number System, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, and more.
Furthermore, candidates must have a thorough knowledge of the numerical ability syllabus. At the same time, pay more attention to important topics having higher weightage such as Sequences and Series, Simplification and Approximation, Quadratic Equations, Data Interpretation, Ratio and Proportion, Percentage, Profit, Loss & Discount, Speed, Distance & Time and others.
Lastly, candidates must solve as many previous year IBPS RRB papers they can get their hands on.
English Language
This is the most scoring section in the IBPS RRB Office Assistant exam. You can easily score above 35 marks in this section. All you need to have is basic knowledge of grammar rules, good vocabulary and comprehensive reading skills.
To build an above par vocabulary skills, candidates must read good English newspapers such as THE HINDU, TIMES OF INDIA, HINDUSTAN TIMES, etc daily along with magazines and books. This will not only help them to learn new and root words but will also keep them updated of the latest happenings. However, learning new words is not enough, candidates must develop a habit of using them in daily life.
Also, this reading habit will help you read and grasp things faster thereby improving your comprehensive reading skills. Candidates can add value to their English language preparation by attempting a few comprehension passages on a daily basis to ace these questions within less time during the exam.
Reasoning Ability
For the reasoning ability section, candidates are advised to solve as many reasoning ability questions from previous years IBPS RRB papers as they can. This will give them an insight into the type and pattern of questions asked and the weightage of different topics in the exam.
Besides this, you must always go through the theory and examples in detail before jumping to solve questions in a topic. Once done, make sure to start with easy level questions as this boosts your confidence and then must advance to difficult questions.
Lastly, candidates must find and mark topics carrying higher weightage and should practice more and more questions in topics.
General Awareness
This section can become one of the most scoring sections for candidates who have a decent knowledge of the Indian banking/financial system, Static GK and the latest developments of international and national importance.
For the banking awareness part, a candidate must be well acquainted with the Indian banking history, Reserve Bank of India and its functions, monetary policy, budget, development banks, Banking terminology, Indian currency, recent government and fiscal policies and more.
In case of static GK, you must go through important information such as names of world heritage sites, national parks and wildlife sanctuaries, dams & rivers, important dates, important international and national organisations, etc.
Furthermore, candidates are advised to go through the current affairs of national and international concern of the last six months before the exam.
Lastly, make sure to cover the complete syllabus as you cannot afford to miss out any topic during these times of heavy competition.