The IBPS clerk Preliminary exam is conducted annually by the Institute of Banking Personnel (IBPS) as a first step to recruit aspiring candidates for the post of bank clerks. This is one of the most sought after competitive examinations and has a high number of applicants every year. There are different sections in this IBPS clerk Preliminary examination which the candidates need to study and prepare for in order to clear the exam.

Although all these sections carry their own importance and difficulty level, many candidates find themselves stuck on the English language section. This happens due to a number of reasons like not being comfortable with the language, not having enough command over the language or simply because the options given are quite similar which confuse the candidates and they end up marking the wrong answer.

However, if you want to avoid these silly mistakes and overcome your struggle with the English language, you need to prepare a good study plan. Here in this article we will look at some tricks that might help you in solving the English language section successfully. But first you also need to have a basic knowledge about the important topics involved in the English language section.

What are the important topics in IBPS Clerk Preliminary Exam – English language Section?

To prepare efficiently and have a well-planned preparation strategy for clearing the English language section for the IBPS Clerk examination, you need to know about the important topics in this section. To understand these topics a little better, let’s go through them one by one:

1. Reading Comprehension

You will be asked to read a passage given in the exam paper and answer a few questions related to it. The reading comprehension  topic tests your comprehension skills.

1. Synonyms and Antonyms

This tests your vocabulary by asking questions related to synonyms that are words with the same meaning and antonyms that are words with opposite meanings.

1. Cloze test

This is one of the most important topics in the English language section. The question contains a passage with blanks that you have to fill after reading the passage carefully.

1. Fill in the blanks

This again tests your vocabulary and grammar. You need to fill in the blanks and complete sentences with the right words.

1. Spelling test

The question contains a wrongly spelled word and you have to choose the correct spelling. The spelling test is to test your vocabulary.

1. Idioms and phrases

You will be asked the meaning of some famous idioms and phrases in the English language. This is a fairly easy topic if you memorize a few famous idioms and phrases.

1. One-word substitution

You need to replace a word in a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence.

1. Error detection and correction

You need to pin-point the error in the given sentence.

1. Active and passive voice

If the sentence is in an active voice you need to change the voice to passive and vice versa.

1. Direct-indirect speech 

You have to change the sentence from direct to indirect speech and vice versa.

1. Sentence arrangement

This will test your ability to form a correct sentence from jumbled up sentences.

Tips to Prepare for English Language

 You can use the following tips to prepare for the English language section for IBPS Clerk Preliminary Examination:

• You need to strengthen your basic concepts related to grammar and vocabulary.
• You can read English language papers, blogs, books and magazines to increase your command over the language.
• You should learn a new word every day with its meaning to increase your vocabulary which will help you immensely in solving the English language section.
• You need to practice important topics like the cloze test, fill in the blanks and sentence formation every day to improve your skills and knowledge of the language.
• You need to practice as much as you can by solving sample question papers, mock tests and previous exam question papers to increase your efficiency level while attempting the final examination.
• You need to focus on reading the comprehension carefully before answering the questions.
• If you are not very confident about the English language section, it is best to solve it after solving all the other sections.