IBPS SO Reasoning syllabus
See the full IBPS SO syllabus for the exam pattern and other sections.
Reasoning appears on both IBPS Specialist Officer Prelims papers, and it is the better paid aptitude section on each. IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR and Personnel Officer and Marketing Officer candidates answer 25 questions for 25 marks in 20 minutes. Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari candidates answer 50 questions for 50 marks in 40 minutes, a full mark a question against half a mark for English on the same paper.
Pattern
| Paper | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes |
| Law and Rajbhasha | 50 | 50 | 40 minutes |
A wrong answer costs one fourth of the marks assigned to the question. The section is separately qualifying on both papers. IBPS publishes no topic wise question count.
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Topics
- Puzzles, including floor and flat, box, month and year, day, age and category based
- Seating Arrangement, linear, circular, square and uncertain
- Syllogism, including possibility and reverse syllogism
- Inequality, direct and coded
- Blood Relations, including coded relations
- Direction Sense and Distance
- Order and Ranking
- Coding and Decoding, including new pattern coding
- Alphanumeric Series and Number Series
- Alphabet Test and word based arrangement
- Data Sufficiency
- Input Output
- Logical Reasoning, covering statement and assumption, statement and conclusion, cause and effect and course of action
What is not in the syllabus
- No non verbal or figure based reasoning
- No computer aptitude. The IT Officer domain paper is separate and is not a reasoning section
- No published topic wise question split
- No partial credit on a set. A puzzle half solved earns nothing
How to spend the time
Reasoning is a set selection problem on both papers. Puzzles and seating arrangements carry most of the marks and arrive in blocks of four or five, so the choice of which set to open is worth more than speed inside any one of them.
The standalone questions build the floor. Syllogism, inequality, blood relations, direction sense, order and ranking, series and coding are independent and quick, and clearing them first banks marks before any set is attempted.
On the Law and Rajbhasha paper this section deserves more of the 120 minutes than English does, because it pays twice as much per question for the same effort. A candidate who finishes the English block early and carries the habit of thoroughness into Reasoning is spending time where it actually returns marks.
On the four section paper, 25 questions in 20 minutes usually means two sets and the standalone block. Choosing those two sets well is the whole section.
Across both papers, the useful test on a set is whether the first two conditions fix any element. If they do not, the set is likely an uncertain variable type and is expensive at this pace.
Common mistakes
- Attempting the section in printed order, which puts the slowest sets first
- Treating Reasoning and English as equally valuable on the Law and Rajbhasha paper, when Reasoning pays double
- Staying with a set after several minutes with nothing placed
- Clearing a strong total while missing this section's qualifying minimum
- Guessing across five options at minus 0.25 inside an unsolved set
- Practising topic wise only, which never trains the triage decision
- Letting aptitude practice crowd out Professional Knowledge, which carries the merit weight
Reasoning across the IBPS SO papers
| Feature | IT, Agriculture, HR, Marketing | Law and Rajbhasha |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 25 | 50 |
| Marks | 25 | 50 |
| Marks per question | 1 | 1 |
| Time | 20 minutes | 40 minutes |
| Share of the 125 mark paper | One fifth | Two fifths |
| Counted in merit | No | No |
Frequently asked questions
How many reasoning questions are in IBPS SO Prelims?
Twenty five for the IT, Agriculture, HR and Marketing posts, and fifty for the Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari posts.
Is reasoning the highest value section?
On the Law and Rajbhasha paper it ties with General Awareness at 50 marks each and clearly beats English. On the four section paper, Professional Knowledge is worth more at 50 marks from 25 questions.
Is there a sectional cut-off for reasoning?
Yes. The minimum IBPS sets for this test has to be cleared separately on both papers.
Is non verbal reasoning asked?
No. Figure based and non verbal reasoning do not appear in this paper.
Is computer aptitude part of the reasoning section?
No. For IT Officer candidates, computing is tested in the Professional Knowledge section, which is separate.
Is there negative marking?
Yes. One fourth of the marks assigned to a question is deducted for a wrong answer.
What should I attempt first?
The standalone questions, covering syllogism, inequality, blood relations, direction sense, order and ranking, series and coding, before opening any puzzle set.
How many puzzles are asked?
IBPS publishes no split. Past papers carry several sets, and they account for the majority of the questions on both papers.
Does Prelims reasoning count toward the merit list?
No. Merit is built from the Main Examination and the interview in an 80:20 ratio.
Is the section available in Hindi?
Yes. The reasoning test is set in English and Hindi. Try a free IBPS SO mock.