The preparation for RBI grade ‘B’ exam should follow a structured time table approach with time being devoted to all the sections of the examination. It is good to begin preparation for both phase-1 and 2 simultaneously as they boost your confidence levels. Before beginning preparation for the exams, familiarize yourself with the syllabus of the exam and try to find the amount of coverage that you get from NCERT books alone. Here’s what you will obtain from NCERT books:
- On a general note, NCERT books are to teach you the fundamental concepts. You may begin your preparation process by first getting your basics right. For this, refer to the NCERT books thoroughly. Study each topic and make notes of them. The basic concepts that are required to be familiar in cracking the exam are given in-depth in the NCERT books. If you have any areas of doubt in the basic concepts, then NCERT books are your best guides. They provide in-depth analysis of a topic and squeeze out just the right and relevant content for your understanding.
- You may have observed the summary provided at the end of each chapter in the NCERT books. The summary is a very useful one. It helps you to do quick revision of your notes and you may glance through the points at one go. The summaries are very comprehensive, in the sense that they make sure to cover all the topics of the chapter without missing any of them.
- Within the chapters, solver examples are again very useful. They help you out in two ways. They are a great way to understand the application of concepts. Secondly, they are given in a very concise manner so that its easy for you to go over them again during your revision hours. The key points mentioned next to the solved examples give you note of the most important points to remember. There are chances when a particular concept is not understood fully. So these points help you to put in all of them in one easy manner and understand the topic thoroughly.
- Last but not the least, these books are available online as well. So, if you are a tech geek and learn to read things the online way, then these books must be very helpful to you in more than one ways. Also, the language used in NCERT text books is simple, easy to understand and any person can follow it clearly. The concise way of presentation makes it easy for anyone to follow the fundamentals and get their basics right.
- In-depth coverage of the topics: Though NCERT books give good leverage on teaching you the basics of the topic, the fundamental knowledge itself will not suffice. To be able to answer questions from any nook and corner of the globe, one should go in depth with the topics and research more on them.
- Analysis of topics from a competitive examination point of view: Reading NCERT books to get your fundamentals strong is one thing. Approaching concepts from an examination point of view is a totally different thing. Analyze the topics the way they are asked in the previous year papers. Attempt mock papers and present a good understanding of the topic by researching more from other information sources too.
- A higher level of language usage to showcase your written skills in the examination: This is another area where your skills in the written area need to be taken to another level. Restricting your written skills to textbooks alone may not give an edge and there is definitely a need to rise beyond the book knowledge.
Current affairs: NCERT books are updated from time to time and provide you with the latest information. But it’s certainly not possible to capture the latest current affairs in textbooks. For that, you would definitely require to read daily newspapers and keep yourself updated with the latest news and trivia.- Approach to answer tricky mathematical questions: Solved questions in the textbooks may sound good, but may not be the best when it comes to saving time. Since time efficiency is crucial when it comes to cracking the examination, it is always best to try out the method that consumes the least time in solving a particular question rather than sticking to the one provided in the textbook alone.
So, now we know why NCERT books are required in our exam preparation. They play the base material for our preparation. They give a good hold on understanding the fundamentals, that play a vital role in the examination. But sticking to these books alone may not work wonders. It is good to walk that extra mile and explore more sources from where information can be gathered so that we are better prepared to solve tricky questions in the exam. Reading daily newspapers and staying abreast with current affairs is crucial in solving a big chunk of the questions. In short, NCERT books alone are not sufficient for RBI grade ‘B’ preparation. We definitely need to supplement it with many other books and reference materials to garner good scores in the exam.