IBPS Clerk reasoning ability syllabus

Reasoning Ability is asked in both stages. Prelims gives you 35 questions for 35 marks in 20 minutes. Mains gives you 40 questions for 60 marks in 35 minutes, which makes it the highest scoring section of the four. The IBPS Clerk syllabus hub page covers the other sections.

Pattern

A prelims reasoning question is worth one mark and a wrong answer costs 0.25. A mains reasoning question is worth 1.5 marks, so a wrong answer costs 0.375, the steepest penalty anywhere in the IBPS Clerk paper. IBPS does not publish topic weightage for either stage, and the mix below comes from past papers.

Prelims and mains topics

• Puzzles: floor puzzles, box puzzles, scheduling by day, month or year, category based puzzles with two or three variables

• Seating arrangement: linear single row and double row, circular facing inward and outward, square and rectangular arrangements

• Syllogism: two and three statement sets, possibility conclusions, reverse syllogism

• Inequalities: direct comparisons and coded inequalities

• Coding and decoding: letter shifting, number coding, symbol coding, new pattern coded sentences

• Blood relations: direct family trees and coded relations

• Direction and distance: turns, shadows, shortest distance

• Order and ranking: position from either end, age and height ordering

• Alphanumeric and symbol series, alphabet based questions and word formation

• Data sufficiency: whether one statement, both, or neither answers the question

Mains only topics

• Input output: shifting, arranging and pattern based machine input across steps

• Logical reasoning: statement and assumption, statement and conclusion, statement and course of action, cause and effect

• Critical reasoning: strengthening and weakening an argument, identifying an inference

• Passage based reasoning, where a short paragraph carries the conditions

• Puzzles with three or more variables, including sets with incomplete information to be deduced

• Coded blood relations and coded direction sense

What is not in the syllabus

• No non verbal reasoning. Figure series, mirror images, paper folding and embedded figures do not appear

• No computer aptitude as a separate component of this section in the CRP CSA-XVI pattern

• No analytical decision making of the kind set in SBI PO

• No mathematical reasoning beyond the counting needed for ranking and ordering

How to spend the time

Puzzles and seating arrangement are roughly half the section in both stages, so they decide your score. Learn to read a puzzle and judge in 30 seconds whether the conditions pin down a starting point. A set that opens with a definite placement is worth attempting and one that opens with three floating conditions usually is not.

Syllogism, inequalities, coding, blood relations, direction and ranking are the quick marks. Twelve to fifteen of those come at about 20 seconds each once the method is automatic, which buys the minutes that puzzles eat.

In mains the maths changes. At 1.5 marks a question, a confident attempt is worth more here than anywhere else, and a blind guess costs more than anywhere else. Browse the available IBPS Clerk practice papers.

Common mistakes

• Guessing in mains reasoning at the same rate as prelims, where a wrong answer costs 0.25 rather than 0.375

• Starting the section with the longest puzzle on the screen

• Abandoning a puzzle halfway after already spending four minutes on it

• Treating possibility conclusions in syllogism as ordinary conclusions

• Practising only two variable puzzles, then meeting a three variable set in mains

• Skipping input output because it looks slow, when it is one of the most predictable mains topics

Prelims against mains

Frequently asked questions

How many reasoning questions are in IBPS Clerk?

35 in prelims and 40 in mains, making 75 across the two stages.

Why is mains reasoning worth 60 marks for 40 questions?

IBPS weights the section at 1.5 marks per question. It is the only IBPS Clerk section where the marks exceed the question count.

What is the negative marking in mains reasoning?

0.375 marks, being one quarter of the 1.5 marks assigned to the question. In prelims it is 0.25.

Is computer aptitude part of this section?

The CRP CSA-XVI mains table names the section Reasoning Ability with no computer aptitude component. Check the current notification before planning around it.

How many puzzles are asked?

Usually three to four sets in prelims and four to five in mains, which works out at roughly half the section either way. IBPS does not publish the split.

Is non verbal reasoning asked in IBPS Clerk?

No. Figure series, mirror images and paper folding do not appear in either stage.

Which reasoning topics are the fastest to score in?

Syllogism, inequalities, coding and decoding, blood relations, direction sense and ranking. Each takes about 20 seconds once the method is drilled.

Is input output asked in prelims?

No. It appears in mains only.

Can I skip reasoning and make up the marks elsewhere?

Not in mains. At 60 marks it is the largest single block in a 200 mark paper.

Does the reasoning section have its own timer?

Yes, in both stages. 20 minutes in prelims and 35 minutes in mains, and unused time does not carry over.