SBI PO Exam Pattern 2018

The official SBI PO Exam Pattern has been released by the State Bank of India. The paper pattern varies for each stage. However, it has been similar over the years. 

SBI PO Exam is conducted every year to recruit eligible aspirants as Probationary Officers in various SBI branches throughout the country. It is conducted in three phases namely Preliminary, Main and Group Discussion & Interview.

The following article will help candidates have a better understanding of the exam pattern, marking scheme, time limits etc. of SBI PO 2018. 

Listed below are some quick facts relating to SBI PO Exam Pattern:-

SBI PO Prelims

• The exam is held in online mode.
• There are 100 objective-type questions.
• The duration of SBI PO Prelims is 60 minutes.
• This paper has 3 sections (English language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability).

SBI PO Mains

• The exam is held in online mode.
• There are 155 objective-type and 50 subjective-type questions.
• The duration of objective paper is 3 hours, while for subjective paper, it is 30 minutes.
• This paper has 4 sections in the objective paper (Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General Awareness about Economy/ Banking, English language).
• In the subjective paper, you have to write a Letter and an Essay.

Read  60 Day Preparation Pan for SBI PO

SBI PO GD/ PI

• Candidates who qualify SBI PO Mains, appear for the GD/PI rounds.
• Marks for GD round are 20.
• Marks for Personal Interview round are 30.

Every year, the competition for PO increases by 5%. Hence, it is important for all candidates to be thorough with SBI PO Exam Pattern and Syllabus. The Prelims exam is scheduled in April 2018, while SBI PO Mains is scheduled in July 2018.

Read More  SBI PO 2018 Exam Pattern

SBI PO 2018 Exam Dates

The official dates for SBI PO 2018 will soon be released by the conducting body. Tabulated below are all the important dates that a candidate should keep in mind:

SBI PO Exam Pattern 2018 – Prelims (Phase I)

• SBI PO Preliminary exam is the first stage for the recruitment process. 
• SBI PO 2018 Prelims is scheduled on April 29, April 30 and May 06, May 07, 2018 (tentatively).
• The test is conducted in online mode and consists of 3 sections- English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability.  
• It is considered as the qualifying examination.
• Candidates clearing this paper will then be eligible to appear for SBI Mains.
• The marks secured in this Phase will not be considered for final selection.

Highlights of SBI PO 2018 Exam Pattern for Prelims

• Mode of Examination: – SBI PO Prelims is conducted in online mode. Candidates appearing for SBI PO Recruitment Exam are allotted a desktop, where they will be first shown all the instructions and guidelines that need to be followed by them. Post that, questions will appear and needs to be answered one by one.
• Number of Sections: - There are 3 sections in SBI PO Prelims
• Duration of Exam: - The bank exam will be of 1 hour (60 minutes)
• Nature of Questions: -  Questions that will be asked in the exam are of objective type. Each question will have 4 options wherein only 1 option will be correct.
• Number of Questions: – In SBI Prelims, there will be a total of 100 questions. These questions are further divided into 3 sections i.e. English section will have 30 questions, Quantitative Aptitude section and Reasoning section will have 35 questions each. 
• Marking Scheme: – For this paper, each question will carry 1 mark. As negative marking (penalty) for wrong answers, one-fourth of the marks will be deducted
• Medium of Paper:- For English section, candidates have to answer in English Language only, whereas, for Quants and Reasoning Section, English and Hindi language can be used.
• Qualifying Marks:- There is provision of sectional cut off. A candidate has to clear the minimum qualifying marks in each section of the test, to get selected for the subsequent rounds.
• Sectional Time Limit:- No time limit is allotted in SBI PO Prelims exam sections.

Sectional Weightage in SBI PO Prelims

The following table represents the distribution of questions in SBI PO Prelims exam:

Check  SBI PO 2017 Prelims Paper Analysis

Section-wise SBI PO 2018 Syllabus for Preliminary Round

SBI PO 2018 Cut Off for Prelims (Expected)

Mentioned below is expected cut off that one needs to score so as to become eligible for Mains Exam. 

SBI PO Exam Pattern 2018 – Mains (Phase II)

Candidates who secure the required marks and qualify the cut off will proceed to the second phase of the recruitment process. SBI PO Mains is subdivided into 2 Levels that would held on the same day. The tests are as follows:

• Level 1- Objective test and
• Level 2- Descriptive test

Highlights of SBI PO 2018 Exam Pattern for Mains

• SBI PO Main is scheduled for June 04, 2018. 
• The exam will be conducted in online mode.  
• SBI, conducting body of SBI PO has specified a time to attempt each section in Mains exam.
• After SBI PO Mains concludes, a Merit List is prepared by SBI.
• It is obvious that candidates with a higher score will be given priority for GD and Interview Round as well.

Read About SBI PO Syllabus

SBI PO Exam Pattern for Objective Test

This is the first level in the mains exam. Candidates qualifying the Preliminary examination are eligible to appear for this exam. Listed below are the highlights for Objective Test:

• The exam is conducted in online mode
• There are a total of 4 sections, namely Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, General Awareness about Economy & Banking and English Language
• It consists of 155 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)
• Duration of test is 3 hours (180 minutes)
• The medium of answering questions is English language
• SBI has allotted specific timings for each section in the exam.

Exam Pattern for Descriptive Test

This is Level 2 in the Main Exam of SBI PO. It will commence immediately after candidates are attempting the Objective Test. Listed below are the highlights for SBI PO Descriptive Test.

• The exam is conducted in online mode i.e. candidates are alloted a desktop in which they are supposed to type their annswers.
• Candidates are given 30 minutes to the complete Descriptive paper
• There are a total of 2 questions in this section namely Letter writing and Essay Writing
• Each question is of 25 marks.

READ ABOUT SBI PO Selection Process

Section-wise SBI PO 2018 Syllabus for Mains

SBI PO 2018 Exam Pattern- GD/ PI (Phase III)

• Candidates who qualify SBI PO mains exam are eligible to appear for GD and interview. 
• Marks for GD round are 20.
• Marks for Personal Interview round are 30.
• Post conduction of the interview, a combined score is generated which includes the sum of marks obtained in main examination and interview.
• The final list of the selected candidates would be published on the official website of the bank’s website and also in Employment Newspaper.

SBI PO 2018 Syllabus for GD/ PI

Read More  SBI PO 2018 Exam Pattern

SBI PO 2018 Marking Scheme

Candidate must follow and understand the points given below to get an idea of how the marking will be done for each phase and its particular section:

1. Preliminary Phase

• Candidate whose application form has been successfully submitted is eligible to sit for the SBI PO Pre Test.
• SBI PO Preliminary test consists of 3 sections- English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability.
• English language section is of 30 marks while the other 2 sections are of 35 marks each.
• Candidate must secure decent score to match the cut off set by the State Bank of India to qualify for next phase of SBI PO 2018- Mains Phase.
• Each correct marked answer will fetch you 1 mark and each wrong marked answer will deduct -1/4 marks.

2. Mains Phase

• The second phase of SBI PO 2017 will be for the candidates who qualify the SBI PO Pre exam.
• Mains will be held in two parts- Objective and Descriptive.
• Objective test will be consisting of four sections namely reasoning and computer aptitude, Data analysis and Interpretation, General/economy/banking awareness and English language.
• The objective paper will be of 200 marks. Candidates who successfully qualify this section will qualify for the checking of the descriptive test.
• The descriptive test evaluates a candidate’s ability in letter writing and essay writing. The total marks for this section will be 50, as per revised changes.

3. Final Phase

• After clearing the second phase, the candidate will be called for group discussions and interview by the SBI.
• This phase will be evaluated on the basis of both, group discussion and interview.
• Group discussion will be of 20 marks and interview will be of 30 marks bringing the total to 50 marks.
• Candidates will be shortlisted finally and called for recruitment in various branches of State Bank of India all over India.

READ ABOUT SBI PO Cutoff

SBI PO 2018 Sample Papers

• Sample Papers for both Preliminary Phase and Mains are easily and readily available online for candidate’s convenience.
• Candidates can download the sample papers for Preliminary examination for the preparation of SBI PO 2018.
• To crack the preliminary section candidate will be able to practice the sample paper and get a strong grip on English language, aptitude and reasoning skills.
• Similarly, mains sample paper will help the candidate to solve the problems related to aptitude, general knowledge of banking and economy data analysis, etc.

Benefits of solving Sample Papers

There are numerous benefits of solving a sample paper before sitting for the actual exam. Here are some of the benefits that a candidate can get by solving the sample papers of SBI PO examination:

1. Candidate who solves the sample paper is at the highly advantageous position as he can grasp the gist of the type of questions that will be thrown at him during the examination.
2. Candidate can gain familiarity with the types of questions that can be asked in the SBI PO 2018 examination.
3. Candidates can also judge their preparation on the basis of the questions they can solve while attempting the sample paper
4. It is always a possibility that candidate can get the questions from sample paper in the actual examination of SBI PO 2018.
5. Candidate can gain confidence and change revision strategies if required.

Download  SBI PO Sample Papers

SBI PO 2018 Preparation Tips

Candidate must put all his efforts to prepare for SBI PO. There is no short cut formula to succeed in any examination or test, candidate must dedicate 100% of his or her efforts into the preparation. Make a proper schedule to manage time for studies and other activities.

Candidate must properly organize daily activities and take proper rest too. It is very important to go through previous year exam questions of SBI PO examination and attempt mock tests to get the idea of preparation that has been done so far.

For the convenience of the candidate, here are the tips to prepare for each section of the SBI PO 2018 examination:

SBI PO Reasoning Ability Section

Reasoning ability is both required for preliminary test and mains exam, only the level of difficulty varies in both the sections of SBI PO exam. Candidates must be sound with his analytical abilities and practice various questions to exercise reasoning skills.

Candidate must try and focus on the following topics to get better scores in both preliminary test and mains examination:

• Syllogism
• Statement and Conclusions
• Directions and Arrangements
• Ranking
• Data Sufficiency
• Comprehension Reasoning
• Coding/Decoding
• Analogy
• Classification

Read  How to Prepare Reasoning Ability for SBI PO?

SBI PO Quantitative Aptitude Section

The section deals with candidate’s ability to attempt aptitude related numerical questions. Quantitative Aptitude section is considered to be one of the toughest sections. To crack this section with great ease, a candidate will need to have thorough practice and some tricks to solve the questions within the stipulated time period.

Candidate must start by solving easy questions with minimum calculations and then bring to use small tricks and strategies to attempt hard questions. Following are the topics to be prepared for this section:

• Number Systems/series
• Simple Interest & Compound Interest.
• Time & Work/Distance.
• Profit & Loss.
• Percentage.
• Average.
• Ratio and Proportion.
• Data Interpretation.
• Probability

Read  How to Prepare Quantitative Aptitude for SBI PO?

SBI PO Language Section 

English section is common in both Preliminary Test and Mains Examination of SBI PO examination. It can be calculated as the easiest section of this examination provided candidate has a thorough practice and command over basic concepts of the language as Basic English language and its knowledge is tested in this section. Candidate must continuously practice mock tests to strengthen this section.

Following are the concepts that must be taken care of while attempting English Language section:

• Reading and comprehension
• Cloze test
• Spotting errors
• Para-jumbles
• Idioms and phrases
• Synonyms and antonyms

Read  How to Prepare Language for SBI PO?

SBI PO General Ability Section

To attempt General ability section candidate must be updated with the current affairs and happenings. If a candidate is fully aware of all the surrounding events then this section of SBI PO examination will be easiest to crack. Reading newspaper daily will be an added advantage along with awareness for below-mentioned concerns:

• Current Affairs of last 6 months
• Topics related to finance and economics
• History of Banking
• Banking Terms
• Fiscal & Monetary Policies

SBI PO Computer Aptitude Section

Computer Knowledge Questions asked in SBI PO exam mainly contain questions related to basic knowledge about computer. It is very important to be acquainted with computer related skills and basic theoretical knowledge to fetch good marks in this section.

Candidate can acquire information related to computers by just downloading pdf from the internet with relevant information on the following topics:

• Hardware and Software
• Basics of Computers
• MS Office (MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point)
• Keyboard Shortcuts.
• Basic internet knowledge and protocols
• Generations of computer
• Network Basics (LAN and WAN)

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College