Top 14 Mistakes to Avoid for SBI Clerk Preparation, Prelims & Mains

Top 14 Mistakes to Avoid for SBI Clerk Preparation: SBI Clerk is a competitive government exam that recruits junior associates for customer support and sales. The selection process consists of two phases: prelims and mains. To successfully clear this exam, your English proficiency, numerical ability, quantitative aptitude, and general awareness are paramount. Despite appearing in lakhs, only a few aspirants are able to clear the exam. A major reason behind it is falling victim to common mistakes and misunderstandings. If you want to clear the SBI clerk on the first attempt, this post will help you. We have explained the top and most common mistakes to avoid in SBI clerk preparation.

Top 14 Mistakes to Avoid for SBI Clerk Preparation- General Mistakes

Aspirants commonly make a couple of key mistakes when preparing for SBI Clerk. Here’s a list of those errors.

1. Delaying preparation – Most candidates wait for the official notification of the SBI Clerk exam and do not start preparing until it is out. This delayed preparation restricts you from achieving a comprehensive coverage of the syllabus for Prelims and Mains.

2. Not attempting enough mock tests – Mock tests allow you to understand your current performance and the knowledge of exam patterns. It also improves your time management skills. Ignoring mock tests is one of the major mistakes to avoid in SBI Clerk preparation.

3. Lack of revision – Revising important concepts in different subjects keeps you sharp. So, if you don’t have a structured revision schedule, you will forget significant concepts.

4. Not studying current affairs – A common mistake in SBI Clerk preparation that prevents candidates from clearing the exam on the first attempt is overlooking current affairs. You need to be aware of banking, financial awareness, and significant national and international events that occurred in the past six months.

5. Ignoring weak points – Working on areas that need improvement is something that not many students love to do. But only concentrating on your strengths will keep you away from mending your weaknesses. A great way to do this is by attempting SBI Clerk mock tests.

Mistakes to Avoid in the SBI Clerk Prelims Exam

The SBI Clerk Prelims exam is easier than the Mains. Passing it successfully boosts your confidence and sets your mind up for success in the Mains exam. This is possible only when you understand and avoid the following mistakes.

6. Ignoring Grammar and Vocabulary

A strong command of grammar and vocabulary gives you an edge in the English section. You can gain 30 marks easily. However, neglecting this can result in lower scores. Here are the important topics to concentrate on in English:

• Reading comprehension.
• Latest cloze test pattern
• Phrase change.
• Odd sentence out
• para jumbles
• Sentence completion
• Paragraph conclusion
• Questions related to phrasal verb

7. Underestimating the Difficulty Level of Prelims

While some sections may appear easy, you should prepare comprehensively across all sections. Otherwise, achieving a balanced performance necessary to progress to Mains is difficult.

Note that while the English and Reasoning sections are simple, Maths has moderate difficulty. To attempt the Numerical Ability section well, you should focus on your speed and accuracy. If you do not have a realistic understanding of the difficulty level of Prelims, the exam catches you off guard.

8. Not Analyzing the Performance in Mock Tests

Mock tests simulate real-life exams. So, assessing your scores is important. If you don’t know your performance, you cannot review your mistakes and identify weak points. Not only that, but you will also lose your ability to manage time. This is why periodic review of your mock test results and working accordingly is indispensable for passing SBI Clerk on the first attempt.

9. Focusing More on Completing Questions Rather Than Accuracy

The SBI Clerk exam has a negative marking. So even if you can attempt all questions but most of them are wrong, it will lower your score. In contrast, if you focus more on the accuracy of your answers, your score will be higher.

Candidates often neglect how accurate their responses are while preparing for this exam in a bid to cover questions. You should take mock tests regularly and assess your results immediately to increase your accuracy. It should be between 85 to 90%.

10. More Focus on Static GK

One of the main mistakes to avoid in SBI Clerk preparation for GK is focusing more on static or old general knowledge. You should regularly read newspapers and concentrate more on learning about events that occurred in the past three to six months. This will also save a lot of study time.

Mistakes to Avoid While Preparing for SBI Clerk Mains

When preparing for the SBI Mains, adopting a strict approach is essential. Your ability to manage time, increase speed, and achieve accuracy increases manifold during this time. Here are common pitfalls to avoid:

11. Not Understanding the SBI Clerk Mains exam pattern

Don’t be in a rush to finish the syllabus that you overlook the exam structure. It prevents you from following a simplified and accurate study schedule. The SBI Clerk Mains exam has a section timing format, so there’s no need to be concerned about the amount of time needed for each section. 

If you manage your time well, you will get additional time to review your responses. To benefit from this, you must know the latest examination pattern and weightage for each section, as given below.

Subject	Sectional Timing	Number of Questions	Total Marks
English	35 mins	40	40
Quantitative Aptitude	45 mins	50	50
General Awareness	35 mins	50	50
Reasoning Ability	45 mins	50	60
TOTAL	2 hours and 40 minutes	190	200

12. Not Reviewing Recent Exam Analysis

SBI Clerk Mains exam analysis allows you to know the difficulty level, major topics covered, and the number of questions asked from each topic. It gives you a glimpse of what you can expect in your paper. So, reviewing exam analysis prior to starting preparation is beneficial.

13. Not Giving Adequate Time to Different Topics

Every section in the SBI Clerk Mains requires complete effort. Aspirants often skimp practising questions from topics that are their strengths. But this is a big mistake you should avoid. No matter how strong your knowledge and concepts are, focusing on a single topic for at least three days is important. During this time, solve as many questions as possible.

14. Using Too Many Books to Study

There is no benefit to referring to multiple books for a single topic in SBI Clerk Mains. This approach may seem effective at first, but only causes confusion. It also wastes the time you can study effectively for the exam. Every book explains concepts in its own way. So, you should study from a small set of recommended books for each section to prevent losing your precious time.

Conclusion

Achieving success in the SBI Clerk exam is possible despite it being tricky. With the right techniques and a knowledge of common mistakes, you can simplify your schedule and clear the exam with as little as 6-month preparation. To help you in this journey, we have comprehensive online coaching & training for the SBI Clerk exam. It provides a variety of resources, like study materials, practice tests, mock tests, and sectional and topic-wise tests to help you get ahead.

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