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IBPS PO Mains 2019 : Strategy for Reasoning

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    10Pointer
  • Published
    13 November at 02:31 PM

IBPS PO mains consists of Objective Tests of 200 marks and Descriptive Test of 25 marks. Both the Objective and Descriptive Tests are conducted online. The Descriptive Test of 30 minutes duration with 25 marks is a Test of English Language (Letter Writing & Essay). Here is the IBPS PO Mains exam pattern 2019:

S.No.

Name of Tests(Objective)

No. of Questions

Time in Mins

Maximum Marks

1

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude

45

60

60

2

English Language

35

40

40

3

Data Analysis & Interpretation

35

45

60

4

General/ Economy/ Banking Awareness

40

35

40

Total

155

 180

200

 

IBPS PO Mains 2018 Exam ANALYSIS (OVER-ALL):

SECTIONS

GOOD ATTEMPTS

English Language 

11 to 16

Reasoning & Computer Aptitude 

15 to 18

Data Analysis and Interpretation 

8 to 12

General Awareness

23 to 25

TOTAL

69 to 74

 

Given below are some General tips to attempt each section of the exam

Reasoning and Computer Aptitude

The breakup of the reasoning section of last year is given below

Topic

No. of Questions

Level

Sitting Arrangement and Puzzles 

23

Difficult

Machine Input Output

3

Moderate-Difficult

Alphabet arrangement

1

Moderate

Coding-Decoding

3

Moderate-Difficult

Critical Reasoning(Statement Assumption, Inferences, etc)

10

Difficult

Miscellaneous

5

Difficult

Total

45

Difficult

 

General Strategy

There are 30 questions of 1 mark and 15 questions of 2 marks in the Reasoning Section.

Three things should be kept in mind while attempting the Reasoning Section

  1. Accuracy– Always try to attempt the questions with 100% accuracy. Each question has to be attempted correctly. Attempting questions with accuracy will increase the chances of scoring high and help you clear the sectional cut-off.
  2. Speed– A proper speed has to be maintained while attempting this section. This will come only if the mock tests are attempted regularly and focus should be on the kind of mistakes which you are making and how quickly you are recovering from them.
  3. Topic Selection – As banking exams are all about accuracy and speed, you should never skip any one of the above aspects if you are looking to score well. But the catch is that your speed and accuracy in the exam depend a lot on the kind of questions you attempt first. Which topic to attempt first plays a very important role in clearing the cut-off.

Topic WISE Strategy

The Reasoning section of the IBPS PO Mains exam consists of questions such as –  Coding-Decoding,  Seating Arrangement (Circular, Square), Linear Arrangement, Puzzle, Blood Relations, Ranking, Direction Test, and Critical Reasoning Section.

Here are some of the key things that you need to take care of.

  1. Never start the Reasoning section with Seating Arrangement and Puzzle type questions. If you get stuck, you will lose your valuable time. Rather start with one-liner questions.
  2. Divide the section of 60 mins into 2 blocks of 30 mins each and pick the easy questions in the 1st block of 30 mins and attempt them accurately. Carry this confidence to attempt a little difficult questions in the next block of 30 mins.
  3. Don’t be overconfident while solving the questions.
  4. Try to attempt the reasoning section in mid of the exam, which will maintain your speed and you will never feel nervous for other sections.
  5. You can start with those topics in which you have a good command which seems easy in the exam. Forex –  Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Ranking, Direction Test, etc. These should be attempted in the 1st block of 30 mins.
  6. Critical Reasoning questions are a little open-ended. E.g. Course of Action, Inferences, Assumptions, etc. Hence you should be careful while attempting those. Assumptions should be drawn only from the given statement, not from your real-life experiences. Don’t think too much beyond what is given in the statement to arrive at false assumptions. For the Course of Action type questions, the action should be in sync with the problem given and should have a direct positive effect on the solution of the problem. The attempts to these questions should be staggered between the 1st and 2nd block of attempts.

 

MATHEMATICAL Strategy

 Here are the various Scenarios to get some sample scores in the reasoning section. The negative marking is 1/4th of the maximum marks. Also, I have assumed that the mind remains fresh at the beginning, hence you attempt more in the 1st block and less in the 2nd Block of attempts. I have considered 3 cases of 70,80 and 90% accuracy and accordingly kept the attempts to be same 

 

 

 

Block-1 of 30 mins

Block-2 of 30 mins

Scenario 1 at 80% Accuracy

Total questions to Attempt

16

9

Accuracy at (80%)

13

7

2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy)

2

1

Net Marks in Each block

14.25

7.25

Total Score in Reasoning section

21.5

 

 

Block-1 of 30 mins

Block-2 of 30 mins

Scenario 2 at 90% Accuracy

Total questions to Attempt

16

9

Accuracy at 90%

14

8

2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy)

3

1

Net Marks in Each Block

16.5

8.75

Total Score in Reasoning section

25.25

 

 

Block-1 of 30 mins

Block-2 of 30 mins

Scenario 3 at 70% Accuracy

Total questions to Attempt

16

9

Accuracy at(70%)

11

6

2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy)

2

1

Net Marks in Each block

11.75

6.25

Total Score in Reasoning section

18

 

Reasoning Section had a cut-off of 10.25 in 2018 and 10.5 in 2017. Hence on a minimum, you need to have an accuracy of 70% but maintain a 100% accuracy for the 2 marker questions in order to comfortably clear the cut-off. Alternatively, attempt less in both blocks of attempts but maintain a 90% accuracy.

Last year the overall FINAL cut-off was 74.5(including the Description section which had a cut-off of 10). Let's assume that you just clear the cut-off of 10 in the descriptive section. Hence to get a maximum score of 64.5 and with the weight of the  Reasoning section being 30% (60 marks out of 200), you need to have a score of 30% of 64 or around 19 to be in the merit list. This fact has been assumed with the knowledge that the Final cut-off is distributed among different sections according to the weight of each section in terms of marks. To get a 19 score you need to be at around 75% accuracy with  25 attempts with 18 correct. Although in the final analysis, you need to have a score a little more than 10 in the descriptive section. Thus the desired overall score should be below 64.5 and hence the overall score of the Reasoning section will be around 18.5-19 marks.

Below, I have given a scenario to clear the cut-off.

 

 

 

Block-1 of 30 mins

Block-2 of 30 mins

Scenario to clear the cut-off at 90% Accuracy

Total questions to Attempt

7

6

Accuracy at 90%

6

5

2 mark questions( with 100% accuracy)

0

 0

Net Marks in Each Block

5.75

4.75

Total Score in Reasoning section

10.5

 

Now you can get an idea as to what is the difference in effort required to be put between clearing a cut-off and being in the merit list. Even if you lower your efficiency from 90 to 75%, you need to increase your net correct attempts from 11(out of 13 at 90% accuracy) to 18(out of 25 at 75% accuracy). I am not telling you to lower your efficiency, but have various scenarios in mind, the aim of all of them being not only to clear the cut-off but to be in the final merit list. The choice is between lowering your efficiency and increasing the number of attempts thus putting yourself at higher risk or increasing your efficiency but decreasing your number of attempts. Given a choice, you should definitely go for the later one, as that will make you more focussed. To do this task efficiently, in both the blocks of attempts, give yourself at least 1.5 mins in each section just to strategize as to which questions should be attempted in each of the attempt blocks. Keep the effective time of attempting this section at around 28.5 mins. This will make you smarter with regards to the choice of questions.

We will do a similar analysis of the other sections in my next Article on IBPS PO MAINS.

Verifying, please be patient.