The recruitment of Probationary Officers by IBPS is one of the most sought-after banking exams in the country. As you all are well aware, the Preliminary phase of the exam was conducted on the 15th, 16th, and 22nd of October 2022 in various slots. The IBPS PO mains exam is scheduled for 26th November 2022. So, today we are providing you the strategy for the IBPS PO Mains Exam 2022 to help you all prepare for the exam in a more disciplined and planned way.
A well-crafted IBPS PO preparation guide can assist applicants in gaining a thorough understanding of the subjects. For several disciplines like English, quantitative aptitude, reasoning, and general knowledge, candidates must create an appropriate study schedule.
The prestige of the PO job description makes it a highly competitive field. The applicants will succeed if they put in sincere effort in the appropriate path. The IBPS PO exam preparation gives candidates comprehensive knowledge and advances them toward their objectives. IBPS PO preparation advice helps candidates review their fundamentals and key ideas. The preparatory advice also aids applicants in reviewing previously studied material.
Reasoning Ability
50 questions will be asked in this section and a total of 40 minutes will be provided to complete this section. This section is usually more scoring than others since it does not require you to spend too much time on calculations. You just need to observe the information provided logically.
If we have a look at the previous year’s IBPS PO Mains exam, 4 – 5 sets i.e. a total of 20 – 25 questions were asked from Puzzles and Rearrangement which is roughly 50% of the total questions of this section. Hence, make sure you practice these topics thoroughly.
The puzzles and arrangement questions asked in the Preliminary phase were a bit tricky as shared by our readers. Go through the questions properly and try to understand what information is already provided to you.
Apart from these, other topics asked included Syllogism, Input/ Output, Data Sufficiency, and Logical Reasoning. Syllogism, Inequality, and Input/ Output questions are comparatively easy and less time-consuming. Also, the latter comes in a set of 5, hence once you get the correct pattern of the input, answering the questions is very easy. We suggest you all practice these topics properly. Do not forget to practice some miscellaneous topics like Blood Relations and Directions based questions since they are easy and less time taking. Use the 50 minutes time constraint and practice the questions within this time frame.
Important Topics For IBPS PO Mains Reasoning Ability
● Puzzles
● Seating Arrangements
● Direction Sense
● Blood Relation
● Syllogism
● Order and Ranking
● Coding-Decoding
● Machine Input-Output
● Inequalities
● Alpha-Numeric-Symbol Series
● Data Sufficiency
● Logical Reasoning, Statement, and Assumption
English Language
As already mentioned, 40 questions will be asked about this topic and you will be given 30 minutes to complete this section. Considering the level of the English section of the Preliminary Exam, we suggest you all be very well prepared for this section. Now, if we glance over the previous year’s pattern of the IBPS PO Mains exam, 2 sets of Comprehension were asked along with Spotting Errors, the Cloze test, Sentence Improvement, and Para jumbles. Try to prepare the following topics thoroughly and attempt them first in the exam-
Spotting Errors / Sentence Improvement
Cloze Test
Para jumbles
Try to attempt the Reading Comprehension questions after you finish these topics. Keep the following things in mind while solving RC –
● First, try to go through the questions and then through the passage. It will help you mark out the answers easily.
● RC passages are likely to be based on topics like Banking & Economy, Social Issues, Business, Science and Technology, etc.
● Although the questions will be directly based on the content of the passage, make sure that you go through all the options provided for an answer since they are usually confusing.
● Try to develop the habit of reading at least 2 – 3 articles daily. This will help you go through the passage quickly and help you understand the passage better in the exam.
● A very common question that is asked in the passages is the central theme of the passage. If you properly go through the first 2 – 3 lines of the passage, you would get an idea of the gist of the passage and answer this question correctly.
Important Topics For IBPS PO Mains English Language
● Reading Comprehension
● Cloze Test
● Fillers
● Sentence Errors
● Vocabulary based questions
● Sentence Improvement
● Jumbled Paragraph
● Paragraph Based Questions
● Paragraph Conclusion
● Paragraph /Sentences Restatement
Quantitative Aptitude
A total of 50 questions will be asked from this section and you need to complete these within 40 minutes. If we consider the previous year’s mains exam, 4 DI sets i.e. 20 questions were asked from Data Interpretation. Apart from this, questions were also asked about Number Series, Data Sufficiency, and other miscellaneous topics. So, a thorough practice of Data Interpretation especially the ratio and average-based questions since they are usually doable is a must. The DI sets asked in the preliminary phase were calculative, hence we suggest you all practice regularly and hard to improve your speed and accuracy in calculations. You can go through the link below to clear your basics of Data Interpretation –
Apart from that, a few miscellaneous topics such as Ratio and Proportion, Boats and Streams, Time and Work, Problems on Ages, etc are comparatively easy if you have the basics clear. It is advisable to have a strong hold on these topics as well. Use the 50 minutes time constraint and practice the questions within this time frame.
Important Topics For IBPS PO Mains Quantitative Aptitude
● Average
● Age
● Quadratic Equation
● Percentage
● Simplification and Approximation
● Pipes & Cistern
● Time & Work
● Speed Time & Distance
● Simple Interest & Compound Interest
● Data Interpretation
● Number Series
● Problems on L.C.M and H.C.F
● Partnership
● Probability
● Profit and Loss
● Permutation & Combination
General Awareness
This section will consist of 40 questions with a total of 20 minutes to complete it. Questions will be asked mainly about current affairs & Banking Awareness topics. This section may also include questions on books & authors, Currencies, Important Places, Awards, Headquarters, Prime Minister’s Schemes, Important Days, etc. It would be advisable to go through the GK updates of at least the last 2 – 3 months.
Do not forget to prepare for the static GK part as well, especially the countries, their capitals, and currencies (Try to focus especially on the countries that have been in news lately, for instance, the countries visited by our Prime Minister or President or with whom any major MoU has been signed). Make sure you revise everything you prepare for this section regularly.
Important Topics For IBPS PO Mains General Awareness
● Banking Awareness
● International Current Affairs
● Sports Abbreviations
● Currencies & Capitals
● Financial Awareness
● Govt. Schemes and Policies
● National Current Affairs
● Static Awareness
● Static Banking
Computer Awareness
20 Questions will be asked on this topic and you’ll have to finish this section within 10 minutes. Go through the following topics in this section –
● Fundamentals of Computer
● History of Computer
● Internet
● MS Office – Word, Powerpoint, Excel & Access
● Memory
● Input Output devices
● Computer Shortcuts
(Author Arpit Sohgaura is reasoning expert at BYJU’S Exam Prep. Views expressed here are personal.)