How do I crack IBPS PO with self-preparation?

Many candidates face such questions as, “How do I crack the IBPS PO exam with self-preparation?”, “Is it possible to crack the IBPS PO exam with self-preparation?”, and “How to crack IBPS PO exam without coaching?”. These questions are obvious as you prepare for a national-level competitive exam. The answer lies in your willingness to prepare and the efforts you put in to score better marks. For this, you need a step-by-step guide to effectively plan your preparation. This guide also provides you with a clear view of your self-preparation journey for the IBPS PO exam. Continue to read below and know the most effective way to crack the exam with confidence.

Is it Possible to crack the IBPS PO Exam with Self-Preparation?

Yes, cracking the IBPS PO exam through self-preparation is achievable with the right strategy, discipline, and resources. When you opt for self-preparation, you are saving a lot of money that you would need to pay for coaching. Now, you can use a fraction of that money in your mock test practice.

First 30 Days Preparation for IBPS PO

First, understand the exam pattern. Then, make a realistic study plan. Then, you should gather quality study material. You should make the best use of available online and offline resources. You need to master your basics first. Then, you must practice and analyse mock tests. Along with these, you should also start preparing for current affairs. There is very little time gap between the Prelims and the Mains exam, so dedicate a study slot every week for the descriptive writing practice, which includes 1 essay and 1 letter writing. And the last tip is to use the 80-20 rule, meaning shift your 80% focus on the topics that are more frequently asked in the exam and the other 20% on the topics that are less frequently asked in the exam.

Last 30 Days Preparation for IBPS PO

And when only 30 days are left for the exam, you should make a 30-day preparation strategy. During the last 30 days, focus on mastering the topic-wise concepts and sectionals in the first 15 days. In the next 10 days, attempt a full-length mock test and analyse it. And, in the last 5 days, try to do a complete revision of important topics and attempt mocks at the actual exam time. Meaning, at this time, you may have your admit card with you, and you know your shift timing, sit at that time for an online mock test that gives you a real exam experience. By doing this, you make yourself mentally prepared for the exam.

Step 1 – Understand the IBPS PO Exam Structure

The IBPS PO exam structure is divided into 3 stages: Prelims, Mains, and Interview. In the Prelims exam, English language, Quantitative Aptitude, and Reasoning Ability sections are asked. And, in the mains exam, the Objective section contains questions from Reasoning and Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & interpretation, English Language, General Awareness, and the subjective test contains questions from English Language (Essay and Letter writing).

Prelims Exam

The IBPS PO Prelims exam contains 3 sections such as English, Quant, and Reasoning.

• Each section is of 20 minutes duration.
• The medium of the exam will be in English and Hindi.
• There is a sectional timing applicable to the Prelims and Mains exams.
• There is a sectional cut-off applicable and an overall cut-off applicable in the Prelims exam.
• A negative marking of 0.25 marks applies to the IBPS PO Prelims exam.

Section	Maximum No. of questions	Maximum Marks	Medium	Duration
English	30	30	English	20 minutes
Quant	35	35	English/Hindi	20 minutes
Reasoning	35	35	English/Hindi	20 minutes
Total	100	100

• English Language – 30 Questions – 30 Marks (20 mins)
• Quantitative Aptitude – 35 Questions – 35 Marks (20 mins)
• Reasoning Ability – 35 Questions – 35 Marks (20 mins)

Mains Exam

The IBPS PO Main exam is divided into 2 Tests (same day): An objective test and a Subjective Test.

• The objective test contains 4 sections such as Reasoning & Computer Aptitude, Data Analysis & Interpretation, English Language, and General Awareness.
• And the Subjective test contains 2 questions: 1 Essay and 1 Letter writing.
• Total Marks = 200 (25 marks for Essay and Letter Writing) and
• Total Questions = 155 (2 questions each of Essay and Letter Writing).
• There is sectional cut-off in the mains exam.
• There is a negative marking of 1/4th of the marks allotted for the incorrect answer.

Section	Max No. of questions	Max Marks	Duration	Medium
Reasoning & Computer Aptitude	45	60	60 minutes	English/Hindi
English Language	35	40	40 minutes	English
General/ Economy/ Banking Awareness	40	40	35 minutes	English/Hindi
Data Analysis & Interpretation	35	60	45 minutes	English/Hindi
Total	155	200	3 hours
Essay & Letter Writing	2	25	30 minutes	English
Grand Total	157	225	3 hours and 30 minutes

• Reasoning & Computer Aptitude – 45 Questions – 60 Marks (60 mins)
• Data Analysis & Interpretation – 35 Questions – 60 Marks (45 mins)
• English Language – 35 Questions – 40 marks (40 mins)
• General Awareness (Banking/Finance) – 40 Questions – 40 Marks (35 mins)
• Essay & Letter Writing (Descriptive) – 2 Questions – 25 Marks (30 mins)

3. Interview

In the Interview, common questions may be asked like:

Personal questions:

“Introduce yourself” and “Why do you want to join as an IBPS PO?”, and “What motivates you the most?”.

Then, you may be asked the topics related to:

• Current affairs related questions and
• Banking terms, and
• Banking awareness trending topics.
• You should be ready to answer these types of questions.

Interview Structure for IBPS PO Exam:

• Duration: 15–20 minutes
• Total Marks: 100
• Panel: 4–5 members (bank officials, psychologists, etc.)
• Language: Usually English or Hindi (your comfort matters)
• Weightage: 20% in final selection (80% is from Mains)

Step 2 – Make a Realistic Study Plan

Making a realistic study plan will surely help you in cracking the IBPS PO exam. Allot more study hours to the higher-weightage topics. From Monday to Friday, focus on covering Prelims exam topics. And on Saturday and Sunday, shift your focus to preparing the Mains exam subjects. Because, there is very

• Divide your time between Prelims and Mains.
• Start with Prelims subjects, but keep one Mains subject in daily rotation.
• Example: Mon–Fri → Prelims focus, Sat–Sun → Mains + Mock

Step 3 – Gather Quality Study Material

It is the most important step in your self-preparation journey. Make the most use of the quality material available to you. Use the most recommended quality study material curated by toppers. You can also buy PracticeMock’s overall banking preparation Package. And you can also use our free preparation resources, such as Previous Year Paper solutions. And attempt topic-wise questions for the IBPS PO exam. Follow subject-wise strategies to crack the IBPS PO exam. Learn the basic concepts of the most important topics and learn their solving techniques. The list of subject-wise material that you need for the complete preparation of the IBPS PO exam is provided below.

• Books:
  • Quant: RS Aggarwal, Arun Sharma, or Fast Track Arithmetic, Attempt mock tests from PracticeMock, Solve IBPS PO Previous Year Questions.
  • Reasoning: RS Aggarwal or MK Pandey, Attempt Topic Tests and Mini Mock tests from PracticeMock
  • English: Wren & Martin, Word Power Made Easy, Attempt Sectional Tests from PracticeMock Website, Read daily or weekly The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary by PracticeMock
  • GA & Banking: Banking Awareness PDF by PracticeMock
• Mock Tests: Practice via PracticeMock Online Platform

Step 4 – Strengthen the Basics

Strengthen the basics for the IBPS PO exam. First, cover the basic concepts from Quantitative Aptitude and the Reasoning concepts. And then cover the important English language topics like grammar and vocabulary. Work consistently and analyse your weak areas. The concepts of these three subjects are essential for cracking the IBPS PO exam. Revise and recall important topic concepts.

• Focus first on clearing your concepts before jumping into speed practice.
• Don’t skip topics thinking they’re “tough” — work consistently on weak areas.

Step 5 – Practice and Analyse Mock Tests

Practicing time-bound questions through Mock Tests will surely be beneficial to you in many ways. It stimulates the real exam experience and boosts your confidence. Apart from checking your knowledge, it also analyses your weak areas. The Key strategy to cover mock tests is to take 1 mock test regularly and track your progress. Don’t panic if you initially fail to score well in mock tests. Take them as a reference for your studies and carefully learn the solutions.

• Take sectional and full-length mocks regularly.
• Review every mistake – understand the reason why you answered incorrectly.
• Track your improvement weekly.

Step 6 – Current Affairs Preparation

To prepare effectively for the current affairs is an important step in your IBPS PO self-preparation Journey. As the Exam is scheduled from 17th August onwards, you need to be careful while preparing current affairs. Focus on the last 4 to 6 months of current affairs preparation. Don’t overload yourself with many resources. Use limited resources online or offline. You can make use of the Monthly and Weekly current affairs free PDF from PracticeMock.

• Read newspapers daily (The Hindu or Indian Express), especially the editorial section.
• Read from Bazooka Weekly current affairs PDFs from PracticeMock.
• Focus on:
  • Banking & Financial awareness
  • Appointments, Awards, Reports, and Summits
  • Government Schemes.
  • Banking Terms
  • Union Budget and Economic Survey

Step 6 – Descriptive Writing Practice

Descriptive Writing carries 25 marks in the Mains, and its marks are counted for the final evaluation of the Mains exam result. Therefore, practicing the descriptive writing syllabus, which includes 1 essay and 1 letter. And to score well, weekly practice is important.

• Practice 1 essay and 1 letter weekly.
• Get feedback or compare with sample answers online.

Step 7 – Use the 80-20 Rule

Get to know the higher weightage topics that are most frequently asked in the exam. Learn concepts of such important topics in each section. Know the type of questions asked in the exam and the best possible way to solve them.

• The English language‘s important topics include Reading Comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar rules, Cloze Test, and Para Jumbles.
• The Reasoning section important topics include Puzzles and seating arrangement, Syllogism, Blood Relation, Direction Sense, and Inequality.
• The Quantitative Aptitude important topics include Data Interpretation, Arithmetic word problems, Simplification and Approximation, and Quadratic Equations.
• Also, prepare current affairs and static banking questions for the Mains exam.

Preparing these topics properly is essential for cracking the IBPS PO exam.

What does the 80-20 rule mean?

• 80% focus on high-weightage and frequently asked topics
• 20% on difficult or less common topics so that you can pick and answer easy questions from difficult topics.

Daily Study Time Allocation

As the IBPS PO exam is near now, start allocating time to study each subject daily. This will keep you motivated and ensure you are not feeling exhausted during your studies. Always take a break after each study hour and remain healthy. Allocate 1 to 1.5 hrs for quant topics, then invest 1 hour for each subject (Reasoning, English, current affairs) and 1 hour mock test practice. It is also essential to prepare for descriptive writing as it will fetch you more marks in the Mains exam.

Activity	Time
Quant Practice	1 to 1.5 hrs
Reasoning	1 hr
English	1 hr
Current Affairs + Banking	1 hr
Mock Test & Review	1 hr
Descriptive/Mains Topic	30 mins

Note: Allot more study hours as the exam comes near. You can follow the above-provided time distribution or adjust it based on your suitability.

Points To Remember

Remember important points as provided below:

1. Maintain regularity – even 3-4 focused hours daily are enough if done regularly.
2. Create short notes and flashcards for revision.
3. Join online forums (like PracticeMock Telegram groups) for peer learning.
4. Don’t get exhausted – schedule breaks and don’t over-study.

Final 30 Days Plan for Prelims

For the Prelims exam, you need more practice to increase your speed and accuracy. In the first 15 days, master important topics and attempt sectional tests. In the next 10 days, attempt mock tests. In the last 5 days, focus on light revision and attempt mocks as per the actual exam time.

• First 15 Days: Topic-wise mastery + sectionals
• Next 10 Days: Full-length mocks + analysis
• Last 5 Days: A complete revision of important topics, attempt mocks at the actual exam time

Summary

To crack the IBPS PO exam from self-preparation, you need to follow the right strategy. Follow a daily study routine and understand the structure of the exam. Make yourself thoroughly familiar with the important concepts of important topics. Revise regularly and attempt mock tests every week. Use quality study material and believe in yourself. Join online forums like PracticeMock telegram group, and be informed of the important exam-related updates. You can also download the PracticeMock App for mock test practice and important update notifications.

Also Read:

IBPS PO Exam Pattern	IBPS PO Salary
IBPS PO Syllabus	IBPS PO Cut Off

Join our exclusive Telegram group, where our experts are ready to answer all your queries, guide you in banking exam preparation, and give personalised tips to boost your success. Get access to real-time solutions, expert advice, and valuable resources to improve your study journey.

FAQs