QuantitativeAptitudeandDataInterpretation(QADI)

Thissectioninbankexamstestsyourcalculationskillsandknowledgeofschoollevelmathematics.
Thechallengeisthatwhileaspirantshavelearnttheconcepts,theyhaveforgottentheassociated
formulae,concepts,properties,etc.andnothadexposuretosuchquestionssincemanyyears.
Thevariousquestiontypesaskedinthissectionare:
QuestionType

NumberofQuestions WeightageinSection

BODMAS/CalculationTechniques/Approximations 10to15

2530%

DataInterpretation

15to20

4050%

OddManOut/CompletetheSeries

10%

Mathematics

5to10

2025%

DataSufficiency/QuantitativeComparison

10%

Total

40

100%

Notethateachexammaynothaveallthesequestiontypesinoneexamslot.However,theseforma
comprehensivelistofquestionsappearingintheQAsection.Considereachquestiontypeseparately:
1)BODMAS,CalculationsandApproximations

The key concepts tested here are:

BODMASrules
Squares,cubes,squarerootsandcuberoots
RulesofSurdsandIndices
Multiplicationanddivisionoflargenumbers
Additionandsubtractionoffractions
Approximations

Practice as many questions as you can, without using a calculator at any point. The
more questions you work on, the better you become. However, only solving a large
number of questions may not help. You need to look at the way you have calculated
the answer and compare it with the methods given in the solution.

Some basic facts that you should know when you attempt such questions:

Multiplicationtablesupto30or35
Squaresupto30
Cubesupto15
Reciprocalsupto12
Factorialsupto10
Conversionfromfractionstopercentagesandviceversa
Directmultiplicationoftwodigitnumberswithlargernumbers(easiertodoonce
youknowthemultiplicationtables)

Also, whenever you approximate the given numbers, have a look at answer options
to check whether they are spaced out or close to each other. Approximation may
lead to incorrect answers if the answer options are very close to each other.

2)DataInterpretation

Since these sets are asked in groups of 5-6, you can get complete marks for a set if
you understand the given data and avoid silly calculation errors. However, the
calculations for these questions are often very time consuming. The calculation tips
given above, along with techniques like vedic maths are helpful in increasing
accuracy and speed.

Sets in this section may be based on:

TablesSingleormultiple
PieChartsBasedonactualvalues,percentagesordegrees
LineGraphsStandardorcumulative
BarGraphsStandardorcumulative
Combinationsofthedatasetsgivenabove

Like calculation techniques, practice is important but knowledge of certain basic

mathematical concepts is also helpful. These are:

Conversionbetweenpercentagesandfractions,andviceversa
Averages
Percentages
Ratios

In these sets, focus on understanding how the given data is to be read and what the
question requires. This will help identify the required calculations and save vital
time.

Approximate numbers and eliminate answer options wherever possible (&

applicable).

3)Mathematics

Maths involves the maximum amount of preparation in the QA section. Since the
number of questions asked from each chapter does not exceed one or two, the
amount of time required to prepare for these goes up drastically.

However, these math questions cannot be ignored as you can (and should) attempt
70-80% of these based on your comfort level with certain chapters. This is unlike DI
sets where you may not be able to attempt a complete set at all if you do not
understand the given data/questions.

These questions also help build the fundamentals of data interpretation and are
required to solve data sufficiency and quantitative comparison questions.

Some of these concepts are:

Averages,RatioandProportion,MixturesandAlligation
Percentages,ProfitandLoss(withdiscounts)
SimpleandCompoundInterest,GrowthRates
Variation,TimeandWork(includespipesandcisterns)
TimeandDistance(includestrains,boats,races,etc.)
NumberTheory(includesHCF,LCM,divisibility,etc.)
LinearandQuadraticEquations
Sequences,ProgressionsandSeries(includesArithmeticProgression.,GeometricProgression,etc.)

Permutations&Combinations,Probability

Do not try to solve all the individual questions. Identify chapters (and concepts)
that you are most comfortable with and try to solve those first.

Build your basics with school level textbooks as most questions conform to the
difficulty level and style given in these textbooks.

4)DataSufficiency/QuantitativeComparison

One of these two question types might appear in some QA sections. While the
question structure is unfamiliar, the data within these questions is based on the
concepts of calculations and mathematics covered above.

The purpose of Data Sufficiency questions is NOT to solve a problem but to identify
whether the problem can be solved with the given data or not.

Similarly, Quantitative Comparison questions focus on finding out the relationship

(>, <, =, , etc) between two variables, after calculating the value of these
variables.

The key to solve such questions is to read and understand the instructions very
carefully, and then follow them to the letter since these instructions may vary from
paper to paper.

You should start practicing these questions only after you are comfortable with the
concepts of the chapters mentioned above.

5)OddManOut/CompletetheSeries

You will have a sequence of 5-6 numbers and you need to identify a number that
either continues the series or does not fit in.

These do not require conceptual knowledge but basic calculation skills

(multiplication, squares, factorials, etc.) are very useful.

Most series are based either on difference between consecutive terms or some
multiplicative pattern between consecutive terms.

Practice is essential for these. However, even with practice you may not be able to
identify the logic for certain questions of this type in the exam. If you are unable to
get the pattern in 2-3 minutes in the exam, it is advisable to leave the question for
the time being and come back to it later.
top

LogicalReasoning(LR)
Thereasoningsectiontestsyouranalyticalandlogicalreasoningskillsi.e.yourabilitytointerpretdata
andinformationgivenintheformofpuzzles,brainteasersorcluesandsortittoarriveatameaningful
outcome.Itdoesnotgenerallytestconceptualortheoreticalknowledge(apartfromoneortwoareas)
butrequiresalotofpracticeofdifferentquestiontypes.
Thevariousquestiontypesaskedinthissectionare:

QuestionType

NumberofQuestions

WeightageinSection

Arrangements

12to15

2530%

SequentialOutputTracing

4to6

1015%

OddManOut/CompletetheSeries

10%

Syllogisms

6to8

1520%

DataSufficiency

4to6

1015%

CriticalReasoning

6to8

1520%

VisualReasoning

5to10

1025%

Total

40

100%

Apartfromthequestiontypesgivenabove,therecanbemiscellaneouspuzzles(individuallyorin
groups)fromdifferentareas.Thesequestiontypesandmiscellaneouspuzzlesformacomprehensive
listofquestionsappearingintheLRsection.Considereachquestiontypeseparately:
1)Arrangements

This is the most frequently tested and most important area of this section.

Questions in this section are generally asked in 2-3 sets of 6-7 questions each.
Though the sets may be time consuming, you can get full marks (in minimal time) if
you solve the set correctly.

Also, they do not require conceptual knowledge but an ability to read and interpret
a large amount of data and represent it in forms of a figure/arrangement/table.

Some common arrangement types are:

Circular
Linearelementsinasinglerow/column
Linearelementsinmultiplerows/columns
Linearschedulingofevents/activities
Complexmultipleparameters

Practice as many sets as you can. As your practice increases, you will find better
and more efficient ways of representing the data and arriving at the final
arrangement.

Start representing the given data as a figure (for linear and circular arrangements)
or table (for complex arrangements and scheduling based questions). Then fill up
the figure/table with the direct and indirect clues. Keep marking the clues that you
have already used up and separately note down the clues that you cant use
immediately.

Sometimes you may not be able to fill up the entire figure/table. This does not
necessarily mean that you are wrong. The set may have been designed that way. Try
and attempt the questions first and then re-check the table (if necessary).

If the arrangement based sets are perfectly solved, clearing the sectional cut-off
becomes very easy.

2)SequentialOutputTracing

Like arrangements, these are also asked in sets of 4-6 questions. However, based on
the difficulty level, you can either solve the complete set or not be able to solve a
single question.

Here, an input in terms of numbers or words or a combination of both is given. This

input is processed through a series of steps and a final output is obtained. You need
to identify the logic that is applied in each step. Based on this logic, questions can
be asked in two ways:

Eachquestionofthesethasaseparateinputandthequestionhastosolved
accordinglyThesetendtobecomemoretimeconsumingsincethisisasgoodas
solvingfivesixdifferentsets.
OneinputisgivenandallthequestionsofthesetarebasedonitThisislesstime
consumingbutcanbeerrorproneifyoumakeanymistakeinapplyingthestepsto
theinput.

Typically, the patterns that are used in bank exams are:

RearrangementsThegivenwordsmaybeshiftedleftorrightinalphabetical
orderordependingonthenumberoflettersineachword.Similarly,thegiven
numbersmaybeshiftedinascending/descendingorderorbasedonsomeproperty
ofthenumber(odd/even,prime/composite,etc.)
ReplacementsThisgenerallyappliestonumbersintheinput.Ineachstep,the
givennumbersmaybereplacedbysomeothernumbersbasedonsome
mathematicaloperation(multiplication,division,square,etc).Theseareslightly
difficulttoidentify.

You need a lot of practice and immense concentration for these questions as a
single mistake can lead to errors in the entire set. Also, you should be able to
observe the way the position/nature of the words and numbers changes.

3)Syllogisms

This is probably the only area in this section that requires conceptual knowledge.
Consequently, most aspirants find this the most difficult part of the section.

It involves 2, 3, 4 or 6 statements (that conventionally sound absurd e.g. all dogs

are cats) followed by a few conclusions. You need to identify the relationship
between the given statements and identify the conclusions that definitely follow
from the given statements.

These questions are rule-based i.e. certain combinations of statements lead to

certain conclusions. So, they can either be solved by directly applying the rules or
using the Venn diagram based approach. However, it is not possible to solve these
without prior conceptual knowledge unlike the other questions in this section.

4)DataSufficiency

Technically, this is the same question type that also appears in the QA section.
However, the major difference here is that the data given is essentially logical in

nature rather than mathematical. So, while you may not be able to attempt a DS
question in the QA section if you do not know the relevant concept/formula, you
can theoretically attempt each DS question based on pure logic.

Another difference is that data sufficiency questions in this section may have
variations in terms of instructions:

2statementDSquestions(typicaloftheQAsection)
3statementDSquestions(alsoaskedintheQAsection)
Dataredundancyquestionswherethestatementthatisnotrequiredforthequestiontobesolvedhas
tobeidentified.

Again, the key to solve these questions is to read and understand the instructions
very carefully, and then follow them to the letter. In a lot of cases, even if the
instructions are the same, their order may change, thereby changing the answer
options.

5)VisualReasoning

You are generally given a sequence of 5-6 figures and you need to identify a figure
that either continues the series or does not fit in.

These do not require conceptual knowledge but basic observation skills to identify
the relevant patterns.

Some of the commonly used patterns are:

Addition/subtractionofelements
Rotationofelementsclockwiseoranticlockwise
Movementofelementsclockwiseoranticlockwise
Replacementofelements
Combinationsoftheabove

Typically, consecutive or alternate figures exhibit the same pattern. To solve these
questions quickly, identify the pattern, establish the position of an element,
eliminate answer options based on that and then move on to the next element.

Practice is essential for these questions. However, even with practice you may not
be able to identify the logic for certain questions of this type in the exam. If you
are unable to get the pattern in 2-3 minutes in the exam, it is advisable to leave
the question for the time being and come back to it later.

6)CriticalReasoning

This can be considered the most difficult and error-prone area of this section
because the questions test verbal reasoning skills.

You need to understand what exactly the question requires, apply a combination of
logic and English knowledge and then solve the question accordingly.

The common question types in this area are:

Implicitassumptions
Inferences
CauseandEffect

CourseofAction
StrengtheningandWeakeningofArguments
Probably/DefinitelyTrueorFalse

You should decide whether to attempt these or not based on your comfort level
with individual question types as well as with the pure LR questions.

7)MiscellaneousPuzzles

These may be individual or group questions from a large (almost infinite) number of
areas. While you may not able to cover each question type, the ones that you
should definitely practice are:

Directionbasedquestions
Relationshipsfamilytree,codedrelationships,relationshippuzzles
SeriesandAnalogiesnumberandletterseriesaswellasanalogies,alphanumericseries,oddman
outquestions
Codesletter&numbercodes,mixedcodes,sentencecoding,substitution,etc.
LogicPuzzlescomparisonsandranks,wordbasedpuzzles,etc.
NumericalLogicgamblinggames,oddweights,cubes,etc.
SelectionCriteria

During preparation, if you do not have adequate time, you can practice these
questions at the very end.

However, you should identify the question types that you are most comfortable with
and accordingly attempt those if and when they appear in the exam.

EnglishLanguage(VA)
Thesection(alsoknownasVerbalAbility)testsyourEnglishlanguageskillsbutisnotjustatestof
vocabularyorEnglishgrammar.Itismoreatestoflanguagecomprehensionandyourabilityto
interpretinformationgiveninEnglish.So,whileyouneedtohavegoodgrammarandvocabulary
basics,itisvitalthatyouhaveagoodreadinghabit.Readfromasmanydiversesourcesaspossible
andunderstandwhatyouread.Thisismoreusefulthantryingtomuguprandomwordsandtheir
meanings.
Thevariousquestiontypesaskedinthissectionare:
QuestionType

NumberofQuestions

WeightageinSection

ReadingComprehension

10to15

2530%

JumbledSentences

1012%

FillintheBlanks

1012%

ClosePassages

10

25%

ErrorsinUsage

5to10

1025%

SentenceCorrection

5to10

1025%

Vocabulary

1012%

ParagraphCompletion

1012%

Total

40

100%

Asinglepapermaynothaveallofthese;but,betweenthem,thesequestiontypesforma
comprehensivelistofquestionsappearinginthissection.Considereachquestiontypeseparately:
1)ReadingComprehension

This is the most important area of this section and is definitely tested in each
paper.

Questions can be asked in a single passage of 10-15 questions or in 2-3 passages of

5-8 questions each. The passage may be based on banking, finance and economics,
politics, current affairs, sports, science etc. Bank exams rarely include passages on
psychology, philosophy etc.

Questions in these RC passages are of the following types:

FactualTheanswertothequestionisexplicitlygiveninthepassage,eitherina
singlesentenceorindifferentpartsofthepassage.Youjustneedtoreadthe
passagethoroughlyandfindtherelevantsentence(s)toanswerthequestion.Ina
10questionpassage,56questionsareofthistype.Thenumberincreases
proportionatelyina15questionpassage.
VocabularyBasedCertainwordsinthepassagearehighlightedandtheir
synonym/antonymistobefound.Thissynonym/antonymhastobewithreference
totheusageofthatwordinthepassage.So,youneedtoreadtherelevantpartof
thepassageandidentifythesynonym/antonyminthecontextofthepassage.A10
questionpassagegenerallyhas4suchquestions(splitequallybetweensynonyms
andantonyms).Again,thisnumberincreasesproportionatelyina15question
passage.
InferentialTheserequireyoutoreadandunderstandthepassage,anddraw
inferencesbasedonwhatthepassagewantstosay.Thesearemoredifficultand
errorpronecomparedtotheearliertypes.Consequently,theyarerarelyaskedin
banktests.Youmayhaveatthemostonequestionofthistypeinapassageof10
questions.

There are three common techniques (among others) to attempt an RC set:

ReadthepassagethoroughlyfirstandthenattemptthequestionsImproves
understandingofthequestionsbutsignificantlyincreasestimeasyoumayneedto
rereadthepartsrelevanttoeachquestion.
ReadthequestionsfirstandthenrereadthepassageThissavestimeasyou
focusonlyondatarelevanttoeachquestion.However,itistimeconsumingfor
longpassagesanderrorproneforinferentialquestionsorforquestionswherethe
answerispresentindifferentsentences.
Skimthroughthepassage,readthequestionsandthenreadtherelevantparts
thoroughlyThistechniqueattemptstocombinetheadvantagesofboththeearlier
techniques.However,itcanbethemosttimeconsumingofthethreetillyou
masterit.

You need to practice RCs using all three techniques so that you are adept that the
one that you prefer most before the exam.

Read as much as you can and from as many sources as possible to improve your
comprehension skills. Editorials and business articles from prominent newspapers
like The Hindu, Economic Times, Hindu Business Line, Times of India, etc. are

useful. You should also read current affairs articles from magazines like India Today,
Outlook, OPEN etc. Other more convenient options like news and analysis websites
(CNN, BBC news, etc.) and ebooks can also be chosen for those who are always on
the move. These not only improve your language and comprehension but also help
you in the general awareness section and GDPI rounds. Apart from this, a healthy
reading habit always helps.

Note down new or unfamiliar words and look them up in a standard dictionary like
Oxford English Dictionary. Once you know the meaning, read the passage again to
understand how the word has been used.

2)JumbledSentences

These are generally asked in sets of 5 questions. A paragraph is broken up in 5 parts

(or sentences) and these are then arranged in random order. You need to arrange
the sentences in the most logical and correct order. The five questions require you
to identify the first sentence, third sentence, last sentence etc.

If solved correctly, this can be a very high-scoring area as you can get full marks.
Even if you go wrong, you may be able to arrange some of the sentences in order
and get marks for those. Therefore, practice and master this question type as far as
possible.

Good reading skills help you solve these questions accurately. However, if you do
not have a reading habit, you can solve these questions using the following tips:

Identifythefirstand/orlastsentence.Thefirstsentencegenerallyintroducesthe
topicwhilethelastsentenceprovidessomekindofconclusionordecision.Ifyou
areabletoidentifyeitheroneorbothofthese,arrangingtheremainingsentences
becomeseasier.
Trytoidentifytwoconnectedstatements.Theseconnectionscanbebasedon
comparisonoftwodifferentopinions/theories/pointsofviewortheintroductionof
ageneralizedtopicfollowedbyitsexplanationandfurtherfollowedbyan
example.Incaseofconfusion,writetheorderonpaperandthenreadthesentences
inthatordermentally.Thelogicalflow(orlackofit)oftenbecomesobviousby
doingso.

Pronouns (he/she/they etc.) and conjunctions (and, but etc.) can also be used to
identify the correct order.

3)FillintheBlanks

These are typically asked as individual questions and are relatively simpler. Thus,
even if you find 1 or 2 questions difficult, you can attempt the others easily.

Some types of fill in the blank questions are:

SingleblankquestionsOnlyonewordorphraseistobefilledinthesentenceor
passage.
Double/multipleblankquestionsTwoormoreblanksaretobefilled.Theseare
easiertoanswerinsomewaysasyoucaneliminatesomeansweroptionsassoon
asyoufillupevenoneblank.
MultiplewordsforoneblankYoumaybegivenasentencewithasingleblank.
However,thedifferencevisvissingleblankquestionsisthatmorethanoneof
theansweroptionsfillsthegivenblank.Youmayneedtofindoneormoreorall
theoptionsthatcorrectlyfillthegivenblank.Thougheliminationisusefulhereas

well,youmayneedtocheckeachoptionforsuitability.

In terms of the words that are to be filled, some common question types are:

Prepositionbasedcorrectuseofat/in/onetc
Articlebasedcorrectuseofa/an/the
Meaningbasedappropriatewordthatfitsintothegivensentencebasedonmeaningandusage
Phrase/Idiombasedappropriateuseofphrase/idiombasedonmeaningofthesentence

Like all areas in this section, reading skills are very useful. With good reading skills,
you can identify the words that are most appropriate to the sentence. However,
you need good grammar fundamentals before you can rely only on reading skills.

Some techniques that you can use to eliminate answer options and arrive at the
right word are:

Identifywhetherthesentenceispositiveornegativeinnatureandhowtheblank
affectsthispositive/negativenature.Basedonthis,youcanruleoutsomeoptions.
Lookforoptionsthatdonotfitinfromthepointofviewof
tenses/gender/usage/partsofspeechetc.
Lookforoptionswherethewordslookthesame.Oneormoreoptionsmayhave
incorrectspellings.
Considerthedegreeofemotioninthesentencee.g.ifthesentencetalksabout
extremehatred,thenamongdislikeandenmity,thelatterbecomesmore
appropriate.

4)ClosePassages

These can be considered a variation of fill in the blank questions. A passage is given
with 5 or 10 words/phrases missing. Each blank corresponds to one question where
the options give the words that can potentially replace the blanks.

Like jumbled sentences, you can get complete marks in these questions. Even if you
are unable to fill one or two blanks, you may be able to fill the rest. This is also
less time consuming compared to the other question types.

Most of the tips and techniques given for fill in the blank questions also apply here.

5)ErrorsinUsage

Like fill in the blank questions, these are individual questions. They require very
good grammar check skills along with a good reading habit. You may need to find
one or more errors in the given sentences.

Some of the common ways in which these questions are asked are:
Asentenceisdividedintofourunderlinedpartsandtheincorrectpartistobe
identified.Ifthereisnoerrorinthesentence,youneedtoselecttheunderlinedpart
calledNoError.Thisisthemostcommontypeaskedinbankexams.Afeature
ofthesequestionsisthattheentireunderlinedpartofthesentencemaynotbe
incorrect.Theremaybeasingleincorrectwordintheentireunderlinedpart.Also,
whileapartofthesentencemayseemcorrectinisolation,itmaybeincorrect
whenseenincontextoftheentiresentence.
Thesentencehasfourtofiveunderlinedpartsbutitisnotdividedlikeearlier.You
simpleneedtoidentifytheunderlinedpartthatisincorrect.Thedifferencewiththe

earlierquestiontypeisthatheretheentireunderlinedpartisincorrectunlikethe
earliercase.So,youneedtofocusonlyonthespecificunderlinedword/phrase.
Fourorfivesentencesmaybegiven.Youmayeitherneedtoidentifytheincorrect
sentencesorthecorrectones.Also,thenumberofcorrectorincorrectsentences
mayexceedone.Inthatcase,youcansavetimebyeliminatingansweroptions.

You need to revise parts of speech, tenses, clause and phrases, prepositions, word
usage and spelling to attempt these questions with good accuracy.

Like all other questions in this section, good reading habits can help you eliminate
incorrect/inappropriate options.

6)SentenceCorrection

Fundamentally, they are similar to the error-based questions seen above. However,
they go one step ahead and require you to replace the erroneous part with the
correct word/phrase/sentence.

The concepts that you need to revise remain the same as earlier.

Some of the common ways in which these questions are asked are:

Agivensentencehasahighlightedwordorphrasethatisincorrectduetooneor
morereasons.Youneedtoreplaceitwiththecorrectwordorphrasefromthe
options.Thisisthemostcommontypeofsentencecorrectionquestionsaskedin
bankexams.Thetipsseeninfillintheblanksanderrorbasedquestionsareuseful
here.
Asentenceisgivenandalltheansweroptionshavethesamesentencewrittenin
differentways.Youneedtoselectthesentencethatcapturesthemeaningofthe
givensentencewhilebeinggrammaticallycorrectandconcise.Iftwosentencesare
grammaticallycorrect,themoreconciseofthetwohastobemarkedastheanswer
option.
Somepartofasentenceisgivenanditneedstobecompletedusingoneofthe
partsgivenintheoptions.Thesequestionsarenotaskedveryfrequently.

You can expect either errors in usage or sentence completion questions in each
paper. However, it is unlikely that both will be present together.

7)Vocabulary

Since synonym and antonym based questions are directly covered in RCs and
indirectly in fill in the blanks, they are not asked very frequently.

However, whenever they are asked, some common question types are:
SynonymsYouneedtofindthemeaningofaword,phrase,idiomorforeign
expression.Whileoneormoreoptionsmaybevalidintermsofmeaning,youneed
tochoosetheoptionthatisclosesttothegivenword.
AntonymsYouneedtofindthewordthatistheexactoppositeintermsof
meaningtothegivenwordorphrase.Again,youmayhavemultiplewordsthatare
antonymsofthegivenword;youneedtofindthewordthatisexactlyopposite.
AnalogiesYouaregivenapairofwordsthathaveaspecificrelationship
betweenthem(synonym,antonym,gender,collectivenoun,occupation,etc).A
thirdword/phraseisgivenandyouneedtoidentifytheoptionthatshowsthesame
relationshipwiththethirdword.

OddManOutFourorfivewordsmaybegiven.All,exceptone,showthesame
property.Youneedtoidentifythewordthatdoesnotshowthesamepropertyas
theothers.
IdiomsandPhrasesAnyofthequestiontypesmentionedabovemaybeapplied
tocommonidiomsandphrasesaswell.

Instead of trying to mug up new words, focus on reading as much as possible. This
will automatically improve your vocabulary.

8)ParagraphCompletion

This is an extension of sentence completion questions. However, instead of a

sentence, an entire paragraph is given and you need to identify the sentence that
completes the paragraph.

The sentence should be a logical extension of the paragraph and should complete
it.

This question type is not asked frequently and can be error prone. So, you can
avoid it if you become comfortable with the other question types.
top

GeneralKnowledgeandCurrentAffairs(GK)

The general knowledge and current affairs section tests your general awareness
more than your knowledge of trivia and random information. Thus, while it is
beneficial to go through GK magazines and books, reading newspapers daily and
current affairs magazines on a weekly basis (at least) is a must. Keep a look out for
important events at the national and international level.

The various areas from which GK questions may be asked are:

1)BankingProductsandTerminology

This is the most important area of this section and is definitely tested in each
paper.

You can expect questions on commonly used products and terms like savings and
current accounts, term deposits, non-performing assets etc. These questions can be
either be:

DefinitionBasedHere,thetermisgivenandyouneedtomarktheright
definitionfromtheoptions.
ApplicationBasedTheuseorbenefitorapplicationoftherelevantbanking
productisgivenandyouneedtoidentifytheappropriateproductfromtheoptions.

You can refer to online glossaries on banking products to increase your expertise in
this area. Also, read up basic details, benefits and limitations of major banking
products and meanings of terms(e.g. Repo Rate, Current Account Deficit, etc.) used
in the banking industry.

Specifically, you should also keep a track of the various products being launched by
specific banks e.g. agricultural loans, special personal loans etc. Occasionally,

questions are also asked on these. You may need to refer to the website of
individual banks for information on these.
2)EconomicandCorporateUpdates

These test your general awareness but in the larger context of the economy in
conjunction with finance and politics.

You may expect questions on:

ReserveBankofIndiaeconomicpolicyannouncements,theirimpactonratios
likereporate,CRR,SLR,liquidity(alongwithdefinitionsoftheseterms)
FinancialPerformancesfinancialperformanceofmajorcorporates,especially
publicbanks
Mergers&Acquisitions,Takeovers,Buyouts,JointVentures
GovernmentPolicyAnnouncements

It is obvious that all these require up-to-date information which can be obtained
only by reading the newspaper thoroughly on an everyday basis. When you read the
newspaper, make it a point to go through all the sections and get information on
each. If required, make notes. Substantiate this information by following it up on
the internet as well or through current affairs magazines.

3)GovernmentSchemesandConstitutionalBodies

Questions from this generally pertain either to schemes launched in the past 2-3
years, schemes currently in the news and schemes that have just been announced.

Typical questions may be on acronyms, relevant ministry or government department

related to the scheme, objectives of the scheme, powers and responsibilities of the
implementing body, achievements and limitations of the scheme and so on.

Apart from government schemes, you may be asked questions on bodies like the
Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG), Election Commission of India(EC),
National Human Rights Commission(NHRC) etc. These questions may be on
objectives, formation, acronyms, powers and responsibilities of the body as well as
its members etc.

Finally, you may have questions on public representatives/bodies like Gram

Panchayats, Members of Parliament (MPs), Cabinet Ministers, the President of India
and so on.

For all these categories, basic civics knowledge and regular news updates are
important.

4)MarketingTerms

Like banking terms, you may also have questions on marketing terms such as
telemarketing, cross-selling etc.

As explained earlier, these can either be definition-based or application-based.

While most of these questions can be answered using common sense, going through
a glossary of marketing and sales based terms is always beneficial.

5)CurrentAffairs

This is a major part of this section but is difficult to prepare because of the
diversity of topics from which questions can be asked.

Reading the newspapers and following the news daily is a must for these questions.

Some of the common areas covered in current affairs questions are:

SportsRecords,Winners,Venues,UpcomingChampionships,etc.
AwardsSports,Literature,SocialWork,NobelPrizewinners,Indianawards,
etc.
EntertainmentMajorfilms,plays,documentaries,etc.
CorporateNewproducts,taglines,brandambassadors,mergers&acquisitions,
etc.
PoliticsGovernmentannouncements,Ministers,ChiefMinisters,Governors,
HeadsofConstitutionalbodies,etc.

You generally need to be aware of events that have happened in the 6-8 months
preceding the exam date.

6)Trivia

This is the pure general knowledge part of the section. It comprises static GK i.e.
GK that remains constant for long periods of time.

Theoretically, it is impossible to be completely prepared for this as you are not

expected to know things from all areas across different periods of time.

However, it has been seen that people who have a good reading habit and are
updated on current affairs generally manage to handle these questions well.

Apart from the areas covered in current affairs, some other areas covered in trivia
are:

Geographycountries,capitals,cities,rivers,mountainranges,etc.
Historyimportantdates,personalities,etc.
Sciencebasicdefinitionsinscience,climatechange,environment,etc.
HobbiesandProfessions
AcronymsandAbbreviations
ImportantPersonalities
LiteratureandEntertainment

As explained above, a well-read person is automatically able to tackle this area to a

large extent.
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Computer Awareness (CA)

The computer awareness section in bank exams is a relatively new entrant due to the
increasing usage of computers and the internet in all kind of bank jobs. As bank aspirants
you are expected to have a basic working knowledge of computers, their applications and
how to use them. Consequently, while bank tests do not really check your technical
expertise in this field, they definitely test your proficiency with common computer

applications.
The various areas from which questions may be asked in this section are:
1) Basics of Computer Hardware

These questions are based on concepts learnt in school. You may have questions on
input, output and storage devices. While you may be aware of most of these, you
should update yourself on these again.

You should also get updated information on newer devices like flash drives, pen
drives, re-writable disks and more in terms of their applications, limitations etc.

You may also get questions on different parts of conventional computers as well as
laptops e.g. monitor, CPU, motherboard, USB ports etc. If you are updated on
input, output and storage devices, you should be able to handle these questions.

Go through the Windows Help and Support application to get more information on
these.

2) Software & Desktop Applications and Windows

This directly tests your comfort with day-to-day computer applications.

Typical questions may ask you how a file is saved, where does it get saved when
deleted and so on.

Some areas that are commonly tested are:

Desktop Icons My Computer, My Documents, Recycle Bin, etc.

Start Menu Programs, Run, Search, Settings
Common Computer Operations Opening new files, creating new folders,
renaming, saving and deleting files, creating copies of files, cut-copypaste, etc.
Setting Changes Wallpapers, screensavers, desktop width, colour
settings, etc.

While there is no sure fire way to prepare for these questions, you can prepare by
increasing your comfort level with computers. The more you use them, the easier it
becomes for you to answer these questions. You then dont need to remember or
mug up answers.

Going through a glossary on Windows and computer applications may also help.

3) Microsoft Office Applications

Along with Windows, this is a popular area in bank exams. As bank aspirants, you
are expected to be familiar with at least MS Word and MS Excel. Knowledge of other
applications like MS Power Point, MS Outlook and MS Access (for databases) is also
useful. Questions on these areas generally test applications and shortcuts in MS
Office 2007 and other versions.

The list of questions that can be created on MS Office is almost endless, but some
common questions fall under the following categories:

File Creation New files, creating copies of files

File Editing and Management Cut-copy-paste, renaming files, saving and
deleting files, editing files either in part or full
Data Management Entering new data, editing and modifying existing
data
Data Operations Sorting & filtering data, vlookup & hlookup, pivot
tables, etc.
Data Formatting Styles, fonts, colours, borders, spacing, etc.

While you can formally learn all these, practice is the easiest way to master them.
The more you practice MS Office, the easier it is to not only learn the basic
operations but also the more useful shortcuts and tips.

Even with limited practice of a few months, you should be able to answer most
questions very comfortably.

4) Keyboard Shortcuts

Once you become conversant with Windows applications and MS Office, learning
shortcut keys becomes easier as they are used extensively in both.

You can expect questions on commonly used keyboard shortcuts, mainly based on
the CTRL, SHIFT and ALT keys on the keyboard.

You can also expect questions on other commonly used keys like Esc, Caps
Lock, Num Lock, Backspace, Delete, Enter, Print Screen and F1-F12.

Here, while using the keys gives you a good idea of what they are used for, you can
directly get this information from online glossaries.

5) Internet and Networking

With the advent of the internet, this has become very important in this section.
Since most jobs require you to use various websites, internet applications and email applications, you can expect a number of questions on these.

Some commonly covered areas are:

Browser Definition, common browsers, browser layout features (view,

search bar, tabs, etc.), browser applications (bookmarks, history) etc.
E-mail E-mail applications, creating, formatting and sending mails, mail
management tools, folders and labels, e-mail etiquette, e-mail features
(cc, bcc, read-receipt, etc.)
Websites website extensions (.in v/s .com v/s .org), website navigation,
home pages, etc.
Intranets comparison with internet, applications
Networking types of networks
Social Networking websites Applications and features of Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, hi5, etc.
Application Based websites and applications Use of Picasa, Instagram,
etc.
Security Viruses, Trojans, Anti-virus Softwares

Again, reading technology magazines and using the internet regularly are helpful.

6) Terminology and Latest News

Apart from terms used in the areas mentioned above, you can get questions on
other computer terms like reboot, fetch etc.

You can also get questions on events related to the computers and IT sector
(wherever applicable).

Going through a glossary of computer terms and keeping yourself updated through
computer magazines is helpful.