The IBPS RRB Notification for 2017 is out for the recruitment of Group A – Officers (Scale I, II and III) and Group B – Office Assistants (Multipurpose). The IBPS RRB Prelims Exam will take place across 6 days i.e 9th, 10th & 16th Sept 2017 for Officer Scale I and 17th, 23rd &
24th Sept 2017 for Office Assistant. It’s the perfect time to prepare for IBPS RRB. The IBPS RRB Exam is of moderate level but you need to be continuous & dedicated in your studies. Read this article to know how to prepare for IBPS RRB Prelims and get IBPS RRB tips, online study material, quizzes and lots of expert insights!
If you begin now, you will have more than 2 months to prepare for IBPS RRB exam 2017. It will help you clear the IBPS RRB Prelims cut off and give your IBPS RRB Mains preparation a much needed boost! If you like this article, you can download this article as PDF!
How to Prepare for IBPS RRB Prelims 2017
#1. Know the Exam Pattern Thoroughly
Before you sit to prepare for IBPS RRB Prelims, you must know the Exam Pattern thoroughly. The IBPS RRB Prelims Exam consists of 80 Questions that you have to attempt in 45 Minutes. It consists of 2 sections i.e. Reasoning & Numerical Ability. The details of these are mentioned in the table below.
| Section | No. of Qs | Max Marks | Duration |
| Reasoning | 40 | 40 | Composite time of 45 min |
| Numerical Ability | 40 | 40 | |
| Total | 80 | 80 |
To know the complete Exam pattern of IBPS RRB Exam, negative marks, etc. click on the link below:
#2. Prepare a Study Plan & follow it Strictly
Now that you know the Exam Pattern, you need to analyse certain things to prepare for IBPS RRB Exam. If you are preparing for only one exam i.e either IBPS RRB Officer Scale 1 or IBPS RRB Office Assistant then make your study plan based on that specific exam. But if you have applied for both then you can simultaneously prepare for both Officer Sc. I and Office Assistant exams, since the syllabus for both is same.
However, the only difference is in the difficulty level of IBPS RRB Office Asst. and Off. Sc. I exams. The IBPS RRB Officer Scale I is of more tricky & tough as compared to Office Assistant. To crack these exams you have to:
- maintain your regular studies &
- attend speed test.
So take a pen & paper and note down the following points to know where you really stand now & how much effort you need more to clear the IBPS RRB 2017 Exam. (To find a list of all topics asked in IBPS RRB exams, with weightage, subtopics, types of questions, difficulty level, tips to prepare and quizzes, you see the detailed syllabus below.)
- The topics which you know very well & you are good with.
- Topics in which you are average & require more practice.
- Topics in which you are very poor & don’t know how to approach these topics.
After noting down these things, you can easily figure out:
- Which topics more attention
- How much time you have to allocate for studying, everyday.
Based on your analysis prepare a proper Study Schedule for yourself. After preparing the study plan commit yourself to follow it strictly. You may refer this IBPS Clerk Study Schedule 2017 to make a proper study plan.
#3. How to Prepare for IBPS RRB Reasoning & Numerical Ability
To prepare Reasoning & Quants for IBPS RRB Prelims 2017, go through the detailed topics which are asked in previous years papers. Then start your studies from the basic topics of Reasoning Ability & Quantitative Aptitude. Once you cover all the topics & build up your basic concepts then start practising the easy questions. Once you have begun with the easier ones, slowly increase your difficulty level & then start taking the speed test. If you are taking longer time than expected, then learn some short tips & tricks to increase your speed. In this exam, your speed & accuracy plays an important role in defining your success. So try to practice as much as you can & attempting short quizzes daily.
Reasoning Ability
Here’s a list of the most important chapters in the Reasoning section to prepare for IBPS RRB Officer Scale I & Office Assistant Exam. These have appeared time and again. You must be very comfortable with these questions as these questions hold the best chance of you clearing the exam:
- Coding & Decoding
- Inequalities
- Syllogisms
- Puzzles (Esp Seating Arrangement and Double Line up)
Numerical Ability
These are the most asked questions in the Quantitative Aptitude section to prepare for IBPS RRB Exam. These chapters surely appear in exam & can be solved in less time. Concentrating on them first helps you capture 40-50% of the questions in this section.
- Number Series
- Simplification
- Data Interpretation
- Quadratic Equation
#4. Check Out the Cut Off Marks & then Set your Target
To prepare for IBPS RRB 2017 Exam, it becomes very important to know the past years cut offs. The IBPS RRB 2016 cutoffs will give you the idea of how much you should score while attempting the mock test. The Expected cut off for IBPS RRB Office Assistant will be higher than the Officer Scale I since the officer scale 1 paper is difficult than the assistant. So go through the following link to know the expected & previous years cut off & set a benchmark for yourself. It will be better if you set target more than the cut offs marks of the previous year in order to keep yourself in safer side.
#5. Attempt Mock Test & Assess your Progress
Once you finished the whole syllabus then start attempt the full length Mock Test. Make sure that you attempt atleast one mock test daily & then analyse your performance of that day. Find out where you got stuck, where you spend more time, where you made silly mistakes, what you could have done so that your score improves. In the initial stage, if you get less marks then don’t get disappointed. Slowly after some time, your will definitely get good marks, just continue with your practice & never give up. Try out the different strategy of attempting the paper so that you score more marks in 45 Minutes. To can attempt Free Mock Test based on predicted pattern from the link below.
Happy Learning! Have faith in yourself. Your hard work will surely bear fruits.
