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SBI PO 2019 Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Marking Scheme and Sample Papers

The official SBI PO Exam Pattern has beenreleased by the State Bank of India. The paper pattern varies for prelims and mains exam. However, it has been similar over the years. Prelims exam of SBI PO 2019 is scheduled on June 8, 9, 15 and 16, 2019.

  • The exam is conducted in three phases namely Preliminary, Mains and Group Discussion & Interview.
  • There is a single SBI PO 2019 Application Form for all the stages.
  • However, Separate admit cards are issued for each phase of the exam. Check SBI PO Admit Card

SBI PO Syllabus consists of English Language, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning Ability, Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation and General Awareness about Economy/ Banking.

The following article will help candidates have a better understanding of the exam pattern,syllabus and marking scheme of the exam. 

Download SBI PO Previous Year Question Papers


SBI PO Exam Pattern Quick Facts:-

SBI PO 2019 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 2019 Mains

  • The exam is held in online mode.
  • There are 155 objective-type and a letter/ essay writing questions weighing to 50 marks.
  • 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 Days Preparation Plan for SBI PO 2019

SBI PO Group Exercise & Personal Interview

  • Candidates who qualify SBI PO Mains, appear for the GD/PI rounds.
  • Marks for Group Exercise 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.  APPLY NOW CHECK ELIGIBILITY GET UPDATES

Read Detailed SBI PO Selection Process 


SBI PO Exam Pattern 2019 – Prelims (Phase I)

  • SBI PO Preliminaryexam is the first stagefor the recruitment process. 
  • The test is conducted in online mode and consists of 3 sections- English Language, Quantitative Aptitude and Reasoning Ability.  
  • It is considered as thequalifying examination.
  • Candidates clearing this paper will then be eligible to appear for SBI Mains. Check SBI PO Cut off
  • The marks secured in this Phase will not be considered for final selection.

Highlights of SBI PO 2019 Prelims Exam Pattern 

  • 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 the exam
  • 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 optionswherein only 1 option will be correct.
  • Number of Questions:  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 (-0.25) will be deducted
  • Medium of Paper:- For English section, candidates have to answer in English Language only, whereas, for Quants and Reasoning Section, Paper will be set in English and Hindi.
  • Qualifying Marks:– There is no provision of sectional cut off.A candidate need not to clear the minimum qualifying marks in each section of the test, but overall cut off to get selected for the subsequent rounds.
  • Sectional Time Limit:- Each section has to be finished in 20 minutes separately.  

Sectional Weightage in SBI PO Prelims

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

Section NameNo. of QuestionsTotal MarksDuration
English Language303020 minutes
Quantitative Ability353520 minutes
Reasoning Ability353520 minutes
Total100 questions100 marks60 minutes

Section-wise SBI PO 2019 Syllabus for Preliminary Round

SectionsSyllabus
Quantitative AptitudeSimplification, Number System, Average, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Interest, Number series, Data Interpretation, Profit and Loss, Mensuration, Permutation and Combination
Reasoning AbilityInequalities, Ordering, and Ranking, Directions and Distances, Coding and Decoding, Blood Relations, Syllogisms, Circular Seating Arrangement, Linear Seating Arrangement, Double Line Up, Grouping, and Selection
English LanguageFill in the blanks, Reading, and Comprehension, Para Jumbles, Cloze test, Error spotting, Spellings, Phrase Idiom meaning,

Read detailed SBI PO 2019 Syllabus

SBI PO Exam Pattern 2019 – 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 2019 Exam Pattern for Mains 

  • 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.

SBI PO Exam Pattern for Mains 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.
SectionTotal QuestionsMaximum MarksDuration (minutes)
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude456060
Data Analysis & Interpretation356045
General Awareness (Economy & Banking)404035
English Language354040
Total155 Questions200 Marks3 hours

Exam Pattern for Descriptive Test

This is Level 2 in the Mains Exam. It will commence immediately after the objective test. Listed below are the highlights for SBI PO descriptive test. APPLY NOW CHECK ELIGIBILITY GET UPDATES

  • The exam is conducted in online mode i.e. candidates are alloted a desktop in which they are supposed to type their answers.
  • 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.

Note: Descriptive paper of a candidate will be checked only if he qualifies in the Objective test, as per the qualifying marks decided by the Bank.

Section-wise SBI PO 2019 Syllabus for Mains

SectionsSyllabus
Reasoning Ability and Computer AptitudePuzzles, Seating Arrangement, Inequality, Syllogism, Input Output, Coding Decoding, Verbal Reasoning, Data Sufficiency, Miscellaneous topics, Computer Aptitude
Data Analysis and InterpretationBar graph, Line graph, Pie chart (single or double), Tabular graph, Radar chart, Mixed graphs (combination of any 2 of the above), Caselet/ Paragraph DI, Missing graphs
English LanguageReading Comprehension, Cloze test, Para jumbles, Odd one out/ Theme based questions, Statement and Paragraph completion, Sentence Connectors
General AwarenessCurrent Affairs, Banking / Financial Awareness, Static Affairs

SBI PO Group Exercise/Personal Interview Pattern – (Phase III) 

  • Candidates who qualify SBI PO mains exam are eligible to appear for GD and interview. 
  • Marks for Group Exercise/ Group Discussions 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 2019 Syllabus for Group Exercise and Interview

Topics for Group Exercise and Personal Interview
Is right to freedom being misused?Cleanliness should be the fundamental duty of every citizen.
What are the merits and de-merits of One Rank One Pension scheme?What measures should be adopted for avoiding NPA?
SBI Merger: Pros and cons?What do you think about reservations in education and jobs?
How is Swaach Bharat Abhiyan currently important for India?NSG is the need of the hour for India.
Rail budget should have merged into general budget much earlier.Women employment is possible through mass awareness rather than launching programs.
Is government just renaming the old schemes?Wind power Vs Solar Energy?

Read Detailed SBI PO 2019 Selection Process


SBI PO 2019 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 Exam
  • 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.
  • Each correct marked answer will fetch you 1 mark and each wrong marked answer will deduct -1/4 marks.
  1. Mains Phase
  • SBI PO 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.

Calculation of Marks: Total weighted score = scores obtained in ( Reasoning & computer aptitude+data interpretation+general/ economy/banking awareness + English language)

  1. Group Exercise/Personal Interview Phase
  • After clearing the second phase, the candidate will be called for group discussions and interview round
  • 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.

Check SBI PO 2019 Cut Off


SBI PO 2019 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 2019.
  • To crack the preliminary section candidates must 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:

  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 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 2019.
  5. Candidate can gain confidence and change revision strategies if required.

Download SBI PO Previous Year Sample Papers


SBI PO 2019 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/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 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 2019 examination:

SBI PO Reasoning Ability Section

Reasoning ability is both required for preliminary test and mains exam, only the level of difficulty varies. 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

This 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 ease, a candidate will need to have thorough practice and some tricks to solve the questions within the stipulated time period.

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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 English Language Section 

English section is common in both preliminary test and mains examination. It is considered as the easiest section of this examination provided candidate has a thorough practice and command over basic concepts of English language as its knowledge is tested in this section. Candidate must continuously practice mock tests to strengthen this section.

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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 English Language for SBI PO?

SBI PO General Ability Section

To attempt general awareness 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 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 are asked in SBI PO exam mainly 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)

Read 60 Days Preparation Plan for SBI PO 2019

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