Bank clerk exam preparation for beginners, from day one

What you are actually preparing for

A bank clerk exam is a speed test of school-level skills. Nothing in it needs a degree in maths, economics or computers. What makes it hard is doing a lot of questions quickly and accurately.

For SBI Clerk, selection has three phases: Prelims (100 questions, 60 minutes), Mains (190 questions, 160 minutes), and a local language test for those who did not study the state's language in Class 10 or 12. There is no interview. Mains marks alone decide the final merit list.

You need to be a graduate in any discipline (final-year students can apply provisionally) and within the age limit. Our eligibility guide has the details for 2026.

Your first step: a baseline

Before reading anything, take the free 12-question test. It needs no account. You will probably find some questions strange and run short of time. That is normal and useful, because it tells you which subject is furthest from where it needs to be.

Then read the syllabus once. Do not try to understand every topic. Just notice the names: you will meet them again and again.

The first 30 days

Two to three hours a day is enough to follow this. If you have less, cut the number of questions, not the number of days.

How to study any topic from scratch

1. Read the topic notes on its topic page, about 10 minutes.
2. Do five questions slowly and read every solution.
3. Do 15 more at a normal pace.
4. Note one rule or shortcut you learnt in your own notebook.
5. Come back two days later and do 10 more without the notes.

That cycle of learn, practise, return is what makes topics stick. It works the same for syllogism as for profit and loss.

Five beginner mistakes

• Collecting resources instead of practising. Five books and three apps do not add up to one hour of practice.
• Starting with the hardest topic. Begin with simplification and inequality, which build confidence and speed.
• Taking full mocks in week one. A 30-question mini mock is enough at first.
• Ignoring English because "it cannot be prepared". It can, through daily reading and grammar practice.
• Studying in bursts. One hour daily beats seven hours on Sunday.

What a beginner can safely ignore for now

Beginners often feel they must cover everything at once. You do not. For the first month, leave these aside:

• General/Financial Awareness and Computer Aptitude. They are Mains-only in SBI Clerk. Start them about two months before Mains, apart from reading the news daily.
• Low-weight Quant chapters such as permutation and combination and probability.
• Long input-output and data sufficiency questions, which are mostly Mains material.
• Previous-year cut-off figures. They depend on state, category and year, and they will not change what you need to study today.

After the first month

Move to the 8-week study plan, which takes you from these basics to full mocks. By then you will know the format, have a working speed in the quick topics, and be ready for puzzles, DI and full-length tests. Our beginners' strategy guide covers the longer view.

Questions people ask