LEARNING ABOUT VERBAL ABILITY

Of all  sections, the area that can be solved fastest in exam is Verbal Ability. However, this section happens to be the most difficult one to prepare for

Questions in Verbal Ability check your power with words, usage of words in different contexts, difference between the shades of meaning while using a word/string of words in different situations etc. While brushing up your vocabulary and working on word lists will help, the real comfort comes with actual usage and therefore this test area is closely linked to your reading skills also.

So try to read articles, essays and commentaries on topics that do not necessarily interest you. Re-read the passage and understand the flow of thinking and the logic build-up. See if you are comfortable in understanding the logic of with the arguments favouring the method and the criticism levelled against it The verbal section is probably a section which engineers are most wary of -normally and in fact this is the only section which proves to be their nemesis. Since their graduation years are not designed for preparation of this section and its a new domain considering that most after 12th exams do not feature the same, it becomes a little difficult.

 In fact, unless one has some amount of grounding in grammar, and a sizable vocabulary which you can build only from extensive reading, this area can turn out to be your biggest obstacle.
Four types of questions have been seen in verbal section:

1.    Paragraph Forming (rearranging a jumbled paragraph).

2.    Grammar.

3.    English Usage and Vocabulary.

4.    Error detection

Critical Reasoning.       
Error correction 
The Verbal Ability section carries 2 to 3 questions based on error corrections in sentences and paragraphs. You need to be very attentive while solving these questions as it carries minor errors also.  A serious preparation for this section may also strengthen your fundamental for other areas in Verbal Ability.  You need to cover following topics in errors corrections           for        learning           fundamentals. 
A. Grammar – Core topics like Articles-definite, Indefinite, omission  and repetition of articles; nouns, numbers, genders, use of collective nouns, subject-verb agreement, pronouns- personal, relative, reflexive; Verbs and verbal phrases-usage, Adjectives and Adverbs. Non-finites- infinitive, gerund, participles; dangling modifiers; punctuation usage; conjunctions-usage   of         connectors
B. Tenses – Indefinite, continuous, perfect, perfect continuous, reported speech, conditional and unreal past, distinction among various words; usage of causative verbs like cause, make; usage of too-enough, as well as, along with etc. 
You must try to understand the concept in this sub-segment in the early stage of your preparation say in next 50 days. This will give you proper time for other parts which will be based on advanced application. 

Vocabulary Usage: 
It is an important part of Verbal Ability section . What should you read to build the stock of Vocabulary and understand the usage?
a. Common words in language from all walks of life: Understanding formation, roots, exercises   
b. Phrasal verbs/confused words: spotting the wrong use, formation with different words and usage  
c. Filling the blanks with correct vocabulary words: Understanding synonyms-antonyms with correct usage                              
d. Idioms and phrases: Understanding the meaning and usage   
Understanding meaning of the word and their origin is very important to develop concepts in this section. You should not go on mugging the words, without actually knowing their correct usage. A student, with exceptional memory, might remember stock of words but again the important part of usage would be missing. It is advisable to learn a few words on regular basis, get their correct usage remembered for ever by writing paragraphs & short articles and using them in daily communication. The aim should be to understand the various applications of the each particular word. The discussions in groups, family, friends, with correct use of words will give a boost to your word power.     

Jumbled Paragraphs
This part of VA carries 4-6 questions. Different types of jumbled paragraphs that appear  are
a. Completion of last sentence in the paragraph – The concluding sentence should be such as it would close the discussion and must not take it to further description, controversy or lead to stretch the paragraph. More practice with test papers, Mocks, Exercises etc. will improve your skill in this part. 
b. Out of Context sentence in jumbled paragraphs – The concept behind such questions is to decode the jumbled paragraph and choose the out of context sentence as well. More and more practice is recommended to understand and to get expertise in this type of question. 
c. New Sentence- Such questions may ask you to insert the opening or closing sentence, place a missing sentence in the middle of the paragraph or so. As far as the EU section is concerned, over the years it has moved from being an English language test to being an English usage test. It implies that few years back, a lot of questions on grammar, vocabulary and fill in the blanks were pretty straightforward. Either you knew the answer in 10 seconds or you didn’t. No amount of deliberation and reasoning would help you if you didn’t know exact meanings of words and core concepts of grammar.

 we are talking about inculcating, improving and then expanding reading habits here.

Also, when you have read more and read diverse topics, your comfort level and understanding (especially of passages) will shoot up dramatically. This will save valuable time in comprehending very complex data and make you more convinced about the answer that you think is the most appropriate one among the five choices.

 – there is no other answer to ensure competence in the EU section than reading extensively, reading a lot and reading diverse subject matter. The more varied books and magazines you read, the more familiar you become with different presentation styles and techniques of sentence formation. Sub-consciously you are also soaking in good forms of English, learning new and unfamiliar words and internalizing the correct forms of grammer

It would help to form a reading habit of

1. Editorial page of One daily – Any one from The Times of India, Indian Express, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Deccan Chronicle, Deccan Express, The Telegraph etc.

2. Editorial page of One Finance daily – Anyone from The Economic Times, Business Standard, Financial Express, Businessline, etc.

3. Material from any of the international magazines available online – The Economist, Time, Far Eastern Economic Review, Harvard Business Review, Mc Kinsey quarterly, etc.

4. International dailies - Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Financial Times, etc.

5. Any of the books by Isaac Asimov, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Dan Brown, Ayn Rand, Richard Bach, Stephen Covey, Adam Smith, Nicolo Machiavelli, Karl Marx, P.G. Woodhouse etc

6. War speeches of Winston Churchill, Letters of Abraham Lincoln, Autobiographies of Andrew Carnegie, Adolf Hitler, Benjamin Franklin, M.K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Writings of Vivekananda etc.

Begin somewhere, anywhere with a dedication of about 45 minute a day. As you become more comfortable, you may want to increase your reading time and material and cover all the six areas mentioned above. The idea is to read more and reduce the surprise element in the exam.

Getting the holistic approach

Apart from reading extensively, it helps to keep practicing a few questions on verbal everyday. you may want to begin with 2 questions a day for the first week (basic level). If you are already comfortable and know the pattern, it would help to push 10 questions a day to begin with (intermediate level). It can be a mix of 1 passage with 5 questions, 3 parajumbles, and 2 Fill in the blank Q. As you become more familiar, move on to other types of questions by the 3rd week – Critical Reasoning, FIJ, Paragraph completion, Multiple blanks, Analogies, etc.

The idea is to start from areas which are more comfortable and then move on to areas which are less familiar. With reading on diverse subjects going on simultaneously, one should be in a position to firm the grip on questions type more and more as practice continues. About 1 -2 months before the exam, you should be able to move to the difficult level of questions in the area.

Verbal Ability Preparation:

For cracking this section you need good understanding of grammar as well as a good vocabulary. Below are few preparation tips to improve your Verbal Ability:

·         Improving word power by reading:

The best way to improve your vocabulary of words is by reading a lot. The more you will read, newer the words you will come to know and hence strengthen your stock of words. The most important part of Verbal preparation is the reading up. [In fact, not only does it help in the Verbal section but also in General Awareness section of  This effort can’t be intensive in nature, since we need to assimilate what we read. Thus the reading has to be consistently spread out across a few months or more.

·         What to Read:

You can start by reading something which interests you. It can be fiction or sports and entertainment page of the newspaper. Slowly you can advance your reading habits but only reading newspapers or best sellers books and quality magzines . Like books of Amitabh Ghosh, Arundhati Roy etc. are enriched with words that are not used in daily life and can thus empower your word vocabulary. While reading in English we should make a conscious effort to start thinking in English as well, since this can be a weak point for many of us who come from non English backgrounds.

·         How to Read:

Reading an article it is important, but to discuss it with friends who already have read it will increase your understanding. Similarly, it is important to get a feel as to how arguments are built by good writers and what is an expected line of thought, following a seen passage. This again comes with discussing the passage with friends who            have    read     it. After you have finished your reading for the day (for Reading Comprehension), check out the meanings of all the words that you have come across that day, and write them down in a book, or make flash cards for yourself. Everyday you will come across a minimum of 10 words that you either do not know the meaning of, or are not sure about. This exercise will ensure that over the next 150 days, your repertoire of words will increase by at least 1500 words.

·         Practice:

The verbal ability section too calls for a lot of practice, which should be duly done in the last few months. The scores in the Reading Comprehension section get tremendously boosted by practice followed by analysis of the questions attempted incorrectly. The associated explanation to an answer is very important since it shows what the examiner thought was the correct answer, why and how it was different from what we thought. While answering subsequent RCs, we should be mindful not to repeat earlier mistakes.
Make sure you note the errors you made, as well as the correction to the same. This way, in a week you will be solving about 50 to 75 questions, and in five weeks you will have solved around 250 to 350 questions. After that, implement whatever you have learnt while attempting the Mock Papers. Ensure that you crack Paragraph Forming within a certain time limit, so that you do not overshoot the time available. 

.

For this, a person who reads novels,newspapers and magazines can have a cakewalk in this section with some practice.

The RC passages tend to be lugubrious and hackneyed, but, the questions can catch students off guard. Further,

Tips For Verbal Ability Preparation

This section is one wholesome entity which cannot be prepared by just going through some random book. You need to go for a holistic approach overall and eclectic reading habits can indeed help you go a long way.

Here are certain crucial tips which you can use for preparation about the same. You have to have a reading speed of around 200 words per minute, so try and time yourself too when you are at it.

1.    Finish 1-2 novels per week. Keep switching between the topics you find interesting and other boring one. This would help you get used to the passages in CAT which are normally from philosophy, biology, theology etc.

2.    A newspaper daily. Do not skip the editorial section in favor of the cartoon strip. The Hindu is recommended. Keep marking the vocabulary words and find out their meanings diligently.

3.    A magazine a fortnight. The best magazine if you ask us – ‘The Economist’. It is by far the most suited magazine for VA prep. The cache – ‘It is ridiculously expensive’ for an average student. See if you can afford it as there are attractive discounts going on every now and then on their official website.

4.    Now for the books – ‘CL’s RC-2 is awesome.’ By awesome, we mean literally awesome. It is concise, to the point and very very relevant. Try to find it if you don’t have it. It definitely helps you with your Reading Comprehension.

5.     For Vocabulary use Normal Lewis – the word list at the end is pretty amazing. The normal Barons word list would be beneficial too but this book takes vocabulary preparation to a whole new level by directly indulging you into the task. if you wish to purchase this book, you can find it under the books section on our website.

 Practicing Mocks and Sample Exams

§  Once you are through with the material of your coaching provider, start giving Mock Exams.

§  Utilize Fusion test series which helps you increase your mock score and work on your weak areas.

§  Give sectional mocks of English – see which areas you are not able to score at. Then go back, find out questions about that area from your study material, practice those and give mock again.

§  Repeat this cycle and keep revising Vocabulary from Normal Lewis, reading novels.

§  Make sure you make a habit of reading online, since some students find it problematic to switch over from paper to online format.

Good Books for Verbal Section 

§  Career Launcher English Section Preparation Material.

§  Normal Lewis For Vocabulary.

§  General quality reading material

§  Arun Sharmas’ Verbal Ability is also pretty decent.

Reading Comprehension:This is the key to cracking the verbal section.They are  asked in almost all exams.They cab be subject based or general depending on the exam.

  The number of passages varies from 3 to 4 with three to four questions per passage. A few critical factors in RC preparation:

1) Reading on diverse topics

2) Target all direct questions followed by partially inferential questions.

3) During the Test : Ideally not more than 10 mins are to be spent per passage and it is to be ensured that all passages are looked at.

• When attempting dense reading comprehension passages, it helps to reduce reading speed in order to understand the main idea thoroughly. This is better than having to re-read the passage after reading the questions.

• Style of a passage is defined as the way in which the content of the passage is presented to the reader whereas tone is a reflection of the author's attitude while presenting this content. Thus, style is related to writing style whereas tone is related to written content.

• To keep your concentration levels high throughout the entire verbal section, try splitting it into two sections - RC and non-RC questions. Try and do something that is more mechanical in nature (for example, LR) in between these two sections.

• Retaining information and facts from the passage is very important while solving RC questions. Pay special attention to building your retention skills while practicing RC. This can be done by preparing a mental summary after reading every passage and before answering the questions succeeding them.

1. The nuances of the written word

2. Identify and differentiate the subtleties of meanings of words

3. Correct syntax, structure and formation of sentences

4. Identify the complex ideas presented in the paragraph and link it to the overall theme


1. The PQ approach (passage first, then the questions)

1. PQ - Read the entire passage thoroughly first and then read the questions

2. Pscan Q - Skim & Scan through the passage and keep going back and forth with questions and passage 

3. 2PQ, 4PQ, 6PQ - Read the first 2 paragraphs, scan all the questions and see what you can answer, then read para 3 & 4, scan the questions and see what you can answer, then read para 5& 6 …..

2. The QP approach (questions first, then the passage)

1. QP - Read all the questions with their answer options first and then the passage

2. 1QP, 2QP, 3QP, 4QP - Read question 1 with all the options, then go through the entire passage to answer it. Then read question 2, go through the entire passage. Then question 3……

3. Qstem P - Just read all the question stems, without reading the answer options. Then read the passage and try answering the questions by reading them with the options.

Once you have tried these different strategies (recommended minimum of 3 passages with each strategy), identify which strategy you are more comfortable in and which one gives you a lot of difficulty. It is possible that in passages having certain subject matter for eg. Economics, Globalization, Public Policy, you may be comfortable with 1QP, 2QP approach. Whereas in some other topics such as philosophy, literature, you may be very comfortable with the QP approach.

Once you have identified your comfort areas, try to solve a few more passages with the frozen strategy and see if your attempts and the number of correct answers go up within the allocated time. Keep reshaping and polishing your strategy based on

1. Length of the passage

2. Familiarity and complexity of the subject matter

3. Number of questions

By concentrating on these sections individually we can score high marks in this section.The catch here is practice. The more you practice,the more we score. Always remember to take the mock tests. The more you take the better. Try the fusion test series

CHANGE IN STAFF SELECTION TIER II

The dates of tier II are changed.The time remains unchanged.See the revised dates at.
http://ssc.nic.in/whats%20new%20html/latest_news/Corrigendum%20CGL%20Tier-II%20Exam,%202013.pdf

RESULT OF STAFF SELECTION COMMISSION COMBINED GRADUATE LEVEL

staff selection commission declared result of combined graduate level(tier1) examination which was held on24-04-2013 and 19-05-2013.You can see them at
http://ssc.nic.in/press-release/CGL(T-I)%202013%20(write-up).pdf

SBI PO WRITTEN TEST RESULTS

The result of PROBATIONARY OFFICERS IN STATE BANK OF INDIA
RESULT OF THE WRITTEN TEST (PHASE-I) HELD ON 28.04.2013 have been declared.The results can be seen at
http://www.sbi.co.in/webfiles/uploads/files/1371186818509_SBI_PO_RESULT.pdf

Understanding Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning Section

Data interpretation (DI), can prove to be a high scoring portion of the management entrance exams and others. Data is presented numerically or by means of an illustration. It requires a combination of mathematical and reasoning skills

Structure of questions

The data that forms basis of questioning is normally presented as a table, bar or lines graph, pie chart or a paragraph. If framed as a paragraph, candidates are expected to decipher facts of the passage - perhaps it may be better to convert it into a graphical form with a rough sketch. Data is easier and quicker to comprehend once converted to a visual.

The Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning section of is probably closest in resemblance to. In fact, giving tests without looking at the watch will only hamper your the kind of problems you will be dealing with as an employee in an organization and as a manager. It tests your decision-making ability and speed using limited input. As with all other sections, the most important part of preparation is practice. Needless to say, you should give every practice test as seriously as the real examination. There is absolutely no sense in giving untimed testspreparation. This is where mock online tests come into play, they help you keep track of time and also analyze your performance.

Start off with tests topic wise in the initial stage of preparation. When you gain confidence in all areas of DI/LR, it is time to start giving a couple of full-length DI/LR tests. After this, merge individual sectional tests and start giving full length test papers containing all three sections. Always analyze your performance after every test you give and use tests as a valuable feedback mechanism. If you feel the need, keep going back to topics which you feel require more work and take 1-2 more area-specific tests in that topic. An important thing you need to work on is the judicious selection of questions. Utilize practice tests for this purpose.

The Data Interpretation/Logical Reasoning section can be divided into three key areas:

1. Data Interpretation: This is the calculation intensive portion of the section. It consists of an assortment of graphs, charts and tables from which you will have to study and analyze data. The key to cracking this area is to quickly identify the key pieces of data that you will require to work on the questions asked. It is not unknown for question-setters try  to and bewilder students with a large amount of data, most of it unnecessary. As a rule, the more the data presented, the easier the questions that follow, so don’t lose heart if you see a table with 10 columns occupying one whole page. On the other hand, several seemingly innocuous questions may trip you up. Therefore, it is advised, you to look at the questions first to get an idea of what data you need to be searching for in the graphs/charts/tables in the main question asked.

Another interesting feature of DI that you as a student can use to your advantage is that, usually, not all questions in a set are of equal difficulty. Specifically, most sets have a ‘counting’ type of question (How many companies have profits more than x%, how many people have incomes less than Rs. Y etc.). Most of these questions can be solved without calculation but by close inspection of the data presented. These are categorized as ‘gift’ questions designed to test a student’s presence of mind, and should never be missed out on. There are other similarly easy questions in most sets, and you should practice identifying the level of difficulty of questions so you know immediately which ones to attempt and which to avoid. There is no rule that states that you need to attempt all questions in a set, so it is a perfectly valid strategy to attempt selected questions across your DI section, without perhaps completely attempting even a single set also.

An usual source of practice questions should  contain several graph and chart type questions. You can utilize these questions in the initial source of preparation to practice reading data off charts and tables, and then gradually move on to tougher questions from preparation material. Mock tests help you here.

2. Logical Reasoning: This is the tougher (as perceived by most students) portion of the section. It consists of logical puzzles with several questions that follow. The most important and first step to solving an LR problem is to write down all of the information given in a box, table or diagram e.g. if the problem involves seating arrangements at a round table, always draw the table first and then try various permutations and combinations of people seated around it. Once you have drawn the figure for the problem, you are free to think with an uncluttered mind. LR problems usually contain several statements which serve as clues to solving the problem. Thus, the problem should always be attempted in a methodical fashion, and solved step-by-step, because trying to look at all the information at once will confuse even the best of us.

LR problems are usually ‘all-or-nothing’ type, in the sense that if you crack the problem you will have answers to all the questions that follow, and if you don’t you will not be able to answer even a single question. This is because if the logic to the problem is apparent to you, the questions that follow are trivial. Hence, proper selection of problems to tackle is even more crucial here than in DI. Often, students fail to solve a problem after investing 10-15 minutes on it. Since the information they have at the end of that time is not much more than that at the beginning, they cannot answer even a single question in the set and have nothing to show for their effort. Problem-selection is tricky, so if you find that you are unable to make headway after the first 5 minutes, do the smart thing and switch to another set or section. You can always come back later if you have the time.

LR requires the maximum amount of practice among all areas in the DI/LR section. Apart from picking problems in your preparation material, try looking for puzzle books or newspaper leisure sections that contain logic puzzles. Puzzle-solving is a knack, and the more you start enjoying logic puzzles, the better you will get at them.

3. Data Sufficiency: This is the third portion of the section, and quite a few DS questions were asked in the last CAT paper. Data Sufficiency problems usually take the form of a logical puzzle, and are in the form of a question followed by two statements. You need to answer whether you can solve the problem using the statements individually, or using both, or whether you cannot solve the problem using the information provided. The key to answering such problems is to pretend like one statement does not exist, try solving the problem, and then pretend like the other statement does not exist and try solving the problem again. These problems are generally tricky, and are recommend lots of practice and perhaps solving them near the end of your section, after you have solved the other problems.

The DI/LR section is one of the higher scoring sections in any exam, so you can look to it for help in improving your overall score as well. DS questions have never appeared in sets. Important things to remember while attempting this section are that you need be quick in switching sets if you find a particular set tough, and you need to have presence of mind while solving DI/LR questions. Both of these things can be achieved with the help of practice.

·         Topics covered in Data Interpretation

·         Data Interpretation based on text,

·          Data Interpretation based on graphs and tables.

·         Graphs can be Column graphs,

·         Graphs representing Area,

·          Bar Graphs, Line charts, Pie Chart, Venn Diagram, etc.

·         Graphs can be Column graphs, Graphs representing Area, Bar Graphs,

·          Line charts, Pie Chart, Venn Diagram, etc.

·         Critical reasoning,

·         Visual reasoning,

·         Assumption-Premise-Conclusion,

·         Assertion and reasons,

·         Statements and conclusions,

·          Cause and Effect,

·          Identifying Probably true, Probably false, definitely true, definitely false kind of statement,

·         Linear arrangements,

·         identifying Strong arguments and Weak arguments,

 Matrix arrangements

Books for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

There are some books that will help you prepare for the CAT 2011 exam. Some books dealing with this section are-:

1.    How to prepare for the Data Interpretation for CAT' by TATA-McGraw Hill publications

2.    Course In Mental Ability and Quantitative Aptitude' by Edgar Thorpe

3.    How to prepare for the Data Interpretation for CAT' by Arihant Prakashan

4. Data Interpretation and Logical by Arun Sharma publications,

5. ‘How to prepare Verbal & Non Verbal Reasoning’ by R.S. Agarwal (S. Chand and Sons publications), etc.

How to prepare for Data Interpretation?

1.    Practice: Take as many mock tests as possible. Also solve previous years' CATpapers. Talking to media, Vinayak Kudva, Product Head, IMS Learning says, "For Data Interpretation, go through last five to six years exam papers and try solving them without any preparation. Analyse and evaluate your approach with reference to every question including the one which you solved easily."

2.    Reading: Reading books and prep material will be useful. You must read articles, especially on business which are heavy on data and analyze them.

3.    Analyze: Refer to the graphs and data provided in various business papers and business magazines or corporate publications. You need to identify techniques to solve questions which require time consuming calculations.

.

4.    Check your calculations: The Data Interpretation section is calculation-intensive. Thus, improving your calculations is the first step to improve your Data Interpretation. And “calculations” here mean stuff like 556/874 and not 2*9=? Such calculations can eat up your time. Learn shortcuts that will help you calculate in your head or better still; figure out how vedic mathsworks. It will help you a lot. However, it is not necessary to follow if you are not comfortable with using Vedic mathematics do not use it. Also, always try to do the calculations in mind rather than on paper. It will take some time to adopt this practice but it will save a lot of time for you.

5.    Solve different type of Graphs, Caselets: When you will start with DI, you will notice that there are different types or formats of questions in this section. There will be bar charts, tables, pie charts etc. So solve different type of caselets instead of sticking to one type. Develop your skills to solve different caselets. It will go a long way in helping you tackle this section.

Thus, finally you need to work on both accuracy and speed to improve this section. If you work on these points, DI section will help you a lot at the time of giving the entrance examination.

6.Mathematical formulae

By now, aspirants should have gained a good grasp over arithmetic and geometric formulae. Since questions require performing long calculations, speed in arithmetic operations is crucial. Scan the whole section quickly before attempting the questions. In exams like the CAT, data is often presented in more than one table or graph to test candidates ability to establish a relationship between the data. There are two ways to approach such questions - either work on the data to arrive at the answer or work backwards by eliminating the choices until you get to the answer. The second option is time consuming, but would be useful in questions requiring enormous calculations.

7.Scrupulously follow instructions

Understand and follow all instructions - a whole set of questions depends of some key instructions that are stated at the beginning. Do all calculations and draw rough sketches that are required in margins alongside the questions. This would ensure that there is no need to turn pages to refer to data and instructions that accompany the questions.

8.Attempting questions

Attempt all the questions in a set at the same time instead of leaving some of them unanswered for a later time. Returning back to attempt the ones left out would mean you need more time to refresh the facts of the problem set.

.

9.Guess work

In DI, one ought to have precise understanding of subject matter and the use of formulae. Guessing may not work here in this section.

A good performance in data interpretation will improve scoring and reinforce chances of selection.

RBI Assistant Exam Result declared

RBI has decleard result of Assistant Exam held in July. For result pls. go to 

http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/REASSI130813.pdf

Recruitment in Clerical Cadre in 20 Public Sector Banks

For details/advertaisement visit http://www.ibps.in/career_pdf/CWE_Clerks_III_Advt.pdf

Any eligible candidate, who aspires to join any of the Participating Organizations listed at (A) as a Clerk or in a similar post in that cadre, is required to register for the Common Recruitment Process- (CWE Clerks-III). Candidates who appear and are shortlisted in the examination, will subsequently be called for a Common Interview to be conducted by the Participating Organizations and co-ordinate by IBPS. Depending on the State/UTwise available vacancies in Participating organizations, candidates shortlisted will be allotted to one of the Participating Organizations, keeping in view the spirit of Govt. Guidelines on reservation policy, administrative convenience, etc.

This system of Common Recruitment Process –common written examination, interview and allotment- for recruitment of Clerical cadre posts in Participating Organisations has the approval of the appropriate authorities. IBPS, an autonomous body, has received a mandate from the organisations mentioned at (A) below to conduct the recruitment process as mentioned above, once a year. Prospective candidates will have to apply to IBPS  after carefully reading the advertisement regarding the process of examination, interview and allotment, eligibility criteria, online registration processes, payment of prescribed application fee/ intimation charges, pattern of examination, issuance of call letters etc. and ensure that they fulfill the stipulated criteria and follow the prescribed processes.

EXAM PATTERN  OF IBPS CLERICAL CADRE 2013: 

DURATION OF EXAM : 2 Hours

Sl.No	NAME OF THE SECTION	MARKS ALLOTED
1	Reasoning	40
2	English Language	40
3	Numerical Ability	40
4	General Awareness	40
5	Computer Knowledge	40
	TOTAL MARKS	200

Candidates should qualify in each section as the cut off’s mentioned. There will be different cut off for different sections and different sections

The next Common Written Examination (CWE) as a pre-requisite for selection of personnel for Clerical

cadre posts in the Participating Organisations listed below will be conducted online by the Institute of

Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) tentatively in November/ December 2013

Eligibility Criteria

Nationality / Citizenship:

1. a Citizen of India or
2. a subject of Nepal or
3. a subject of Bhutan or
4. a Tibetan Refugee who came over to India before 1st January 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India or
5. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethiopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India

Age (As on 01.08.2013):

• Minimum: 20 years Maximum: 28 years i.e. a candidate must have been born not earlier than 02.08.1985 and not later than 01.08.1993 (both dates inclusive)

Educational Qualifications:

• Degree (Graduation) in any discipline from a recognized University or any equivalent qualification recognized as such by the Central Government.
• Computer Literacy: Operating and working knowledge in computer systems is mandatory i.e. candidates should have Certificate/Diploma/Degree in computer operations/Language/ should have studied Computer / Information Technology as one of the subjects in the High School/College/Institute.

Important Dates:

Online Registration	19.08.2013- 07.09.2013
Payment of Application Fees Online	19.08.2013- 07.09.2013
Payment of Application Fees- Offline	21.08.2013- 12.09.2013
Download of Call Letter for Pre-Examination Training (PET) for SC/ST/ Minority Community/ EXSM/ PWD candidates After	29.10.2013
Pre-Examination Training 09.11.2013-16.11.2013 (excluding holidays) Download of Call letter for Examination	After 18.11.2013
Sharing of result status of examination (CWE)	Second week of January 2014
Download of call letters for Interview	Last week of January 2014
Conduct of Interview	Second week of February 2014
Allotment	April 2014

Fee

Application Fees/ Intimation Charges [Payable from 19.08.2013 to 07.09.2013 (Online payment) and 21.08.2013 to 12.09.2013 (Offline payment) both dates inclusive]

• - Rs. 100/- for SC/ST/PWD/EXSM candidates.
• - Rs. 600 /- for all others

Bank Transaction charges for Offline/ Online Payment of application fees/ intimation charges will have to be borne by the candidate

Mode of Payment: Candidates have the option of making the payment of requisite fees/ intimation charges either through the ONLINE mode or the OFFLINE mode

How To Apply

Candidates can apply online only from 19.08.2013 to 07.09.2013 and no other mode of application will be accepted.

Pre-Requisites for Applying Online

Before applying online, candidates should—

• scan their photograph and signature ensuring that both the photograph and signature adhere to the required specifications as given in Annexure II to this Advertisement.
• If desiring to make Online Payment of the requisite application fee/ intimation charges keep the necessary details/documents ready (In case of Offline Payment i.e. CBS candidates have to apply online, obtain a fee payment challan and then remit the necessary application fees/ intimation charges).
• have a valid personal email ID, which should be kept active till the declaration of results of this round of CWE. IBPS may send call letters for the Examination etc. through the registered e-mail ID. Under no circumstances, a candidate should share with/mention e-mail ID to / of any other person. In case a candidate does not have a valid personal e-mail ID, he/she should create his/her new e-mail ID before applying on-line and must maintain that email account.