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The banking sector deals with financial and practical problems in everyday lives. This requires the ability to work under pressure at all times. Proper reasoning and management are very important for bank officials. The Bank PO is the official who will deal with all these issues in banks regularly.
This is the reason why the bank’s exams give heavy weightage to the reasoning section. The reasoning section has multiple problem-solving questions to test the management of the applicant. The time limit is kept less to put on pressure and see their skills under it.
The question is around coding, seating arrangement, blood relations, and more. The emphasis given is due to logical reasoning that very important soft skills that a candidate should have. The candidates must not take this section seriously as many applicants fail here.
The syllabus for the prelims and the mains are mostly similar due to common reasoning aptitude. The mains have computer aptitude with the reasoning question under the same section. Now let us take a look at the detailed Bank PO Reasoning Aptitude Syllabus –
Bank PO Exam Pattern
| Exam Name | Sections | Number of Questions | Marks | Time Duration |
| Preliminary Exam | English Language | 30 | 30 | 60 Minutes |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 35 | ||
| Reasoning Ability | 35 | 35 | ||
| Mains Exam | English Language | 35 | 40 | 3.5 Hours |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 35 | 60 | ||
| Reasoning Ability | 45 | 60 | ||
| General Awareness | 40 | 40 | ||
| Descriptive Paper | 2 | 24 |
Bank PO Reasoning Aptitude Weightage
- It is present at both stages.
- It is for 35 marks in prelims.
- And in mains, it is for 60 marks which includes computer aptitude as well.
- There is a negative marking of 0.25 marks per incorrect option.
- The average time to solve this section is 20 minutes in prelims and 60 minutes in mains.
- There is one mark for the correct answer.
Bank PO Prelims Reasoning Aptitude Syllabus
- Logical Reasoning
- Alphanumeric Series
- Directions
- Reasoning Puzzles
- Order and Ranking
- Alphabet Combination
- Data Sufficiency Tests
- Coded Inequalities
- Seating Arrangements
- Picture Series Puzzles
- Tabulation
- Syllogism
- Relationships
- Input/Output
- Coding and Decoding
- Assertion and Reason
- The statement, Argument, and Assumption
- Word Formation
Bank PO Mains Reasoning and Computer Aptitude Syllabus
- Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning
- Syllogism
- Seating Arrangements
- Double and Triple Lineups
- Scheduling
- Input/Output
- Blood Relations
- Ordering and Ranking
- Coding and Decoding
- Sufficiency of Arguments and Data
- Directions and Displacement
- Code Inequalities
- Alphanumeric Series
- Computer Aptitude
- Internet
- Memory
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Computer Related Terms Abbreviations
- Computer Fundamentals
- Microsoft Office and Related Word Processing
- Spreadsheet Applications
- Computer Hardware and Software
- Operating Systems and GUI Basics
- Networking
- Computer Network
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft Windows
The expected number of questions from the Reasoning Section in Bank PO Exams are –
- Puzzle – 05 questions
- Seating Arrangement – 10 questions
- Inequality – 05 questions
- Blood Relations – 2 – 3 questions
- Coded Inequalities – 05 questions
- Coding-Decoding – 05 questions
- Alphanumeric Series – 02 questions
- Syllogism – 05 questions
- Miscellaneous – 4-5 questions
Bank PO Prelims Reasoning Aptitude Analysis
2020 – Moderate
- Puzzles and Seating Arrangement – 20 Questions
- Syllogism – 04 Questions
- Inequality – 03 Questions
- Direction Sense – 04 Questions
- Blood Relation – 03 Questions
- Alphabets – 03 Questions
- Data Sufficiency – 03 Questions
2019 – Moderate
- Puzzle and Seating Arrangement – 15 questions
- Inequality – 05 questions
- Blood Relations – 03 questions
- Coding-Decoding – 05 questions
- Alphanumeric Series – 02 questions
- Syllogism – 05 questions
Bank PO Mains Reasoning and Computer Aptitude Analysis
2019 – Moderate to Difficult
- Puzzles & Seating Arrangement – 20 questions
- Syllogism – 02 questions
- Inequality – 03 questions
- Input-Output – 03 questions
- Coding-Decoding – 03 questions
- Blood Relations – 04 questions
- Direction & Distance – 04 questions
- Miscellaneous – 01 question
2018 – Difficult and Tricky
- Seating Arrangement – 10 questions
- Puzzles – 13 questions
- Input / Output – 4 questions
- Blood relations – 01 question
- Alphabets – 01 question
- Coding-Decoding – 03 question
- Miscellaneous – 05 questions
Reasoning Aptitude Weightage in Different Examinations
| Bank & Insurance Exams | Prelims | Mains |
| IBPS Exams – PO, Clerk, SO, and RRB Scale I/Asst. | 35 -80 | 30 – 60 |
| SBI Exams – PO, Clerk and SO | 30 – 40 | 45-60 |
| RBI Exams – Asst. and Grade B | 30 – 60 | – |
| NICL, NIACL, BOB, NABARD, Indian bank, Nainital Bank, IPPB, etc. | 20-60 | |
Tips to Prepare for Bank PO Reasoning Aptitude Section
- This section doesn’t involve theoretical material to study and thus practicing the question is the only way to prepare.
- The accuracy of solving a question is very important. This is because the part involves logical thinking.
- Using tricks and shortcuts are a good option. This is because the questions are tricky and lengthy to solve.
- If the questions are consuming more than the expected time, leave and move along to get more marks in other sections.
- Solve quizzes online and in books to improve your speed. The variety of questions and problems will help you understand better.
- Don’t assume the answers to these questions. If you don’t know the correct answer, leave it to avoid negative marking.
- Coding and encoding are easy to solve once you know their fundamental concepts.
- The syllogism is always present in the paper and is tricky to solve. Solve as many questions as possible to score well.
- Go through all the topics properly. Practice for each one of them to avoid surprises in the exam.
- Refer to the previous year question papers / mock papers and solve them to get an idea of the structure and questions.
- Recheck the answers at least once so that you know that it is correct and not be a problem of negative marking.
Conclusion
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The reasoning section of the exam is very tricky and needs a lot of brainstorming. This tests the management and pressure skills of the candidates. They are easy to solve but less time limit is a task. They are in both the stages – mains and in prelims with a good weightage.
The candidates often fail to solve all questions in the exam because of poor strategy. This is why we have added some tips for you to have a better result in the exam. The candidates appearing for the exam must consider going through the article for better understanding.