IBPS SO Exam Pattern and Syllabus
A. Preliminary Examination
> For the post of Law Officer and Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Sr. No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| 1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| 2. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| 3. | General Awareness with Special Reference to Banking Industry | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 |
> For the Post of IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer, and Marketing Officer
| Sr. No. | Name of Tests | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| 1. | English Language | 50 | 25 | English | 40 minutes |
| 2. | Reasoning | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| 3. | Quantitative Aptitude | 50 | 50 | English and Hindi | 40 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 125 |
B. Main Examination
The Pattern for Mains Exam includes the Professional Knowledge for various Posts.
> For the Post of Law Officer, IT Officer, Agriculture Field Officer, HR/Personnel Officer
| Name of the Test | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| Professional Knowledge | 60 | 60 | English & Hindi | 45 minutes |
> For the Post of Rajbhasha Adhikari
| Name of the Test | No. of Questions | Maximum Marks | Medium of Exam | Duration |
| Professional Knowledge (Objective) | 45 | 60 | English & Hindi | 30 minutes |
| Professional Knowledge (Descriptive) | 2 | 60 | English and Hindi | 30 minutes |
How to Prepare for IBPS SO – English?
- Cloze Test
- Reading Comprehension
- Spotting Errors
- Sentence Improvement
- Sentence Correction
- Para Jumbles
- Fill in the Blanks
- Para/Sentence Completion
- In the Vocabulary part of English, topics such as homonyms, synonyms, antonyms, sentence completion, Sentence rearrangement questions, word formation are covered.
- Reading comprehension involves finding the conclusion, theme detection, passage completion, the topic rearrangement of the passage of the given paragraph/
- Topic grammar covers topics such as active, passive voice, direct indirect speech.
- Other important parts of the English Syllabus includes phrases and idioms, Grammar, Articles, Preposition, Sentence Improvement, Spotting Error Questions, One Word Substitution, Sentence Completion, Fill in the Blanks, etc
In Reading Comprehension, you will be given an unseen paragraph from any topic. You will be required to answer questions based on your understanding of the paragraph
A number of questions asked: 10 – 15 i.e., 2 or 3 paragraphs with 5 questions each.
One can expect around 20 questions from Grammar and Vocabulary. Although this part might look a bit tricky, practice makes it all better. Questions on error spotting, sentence rearrangement will only get easier with practice. There’s no shortcut to it.
How to Prepare for IBPS SO- Reasoning?
IBPS Reasoning Syllabus
| Verbal Reasoning Test | Non-Verbal Reasoning Test | Analytical Reasoning Test |
| – Analogy Classification – Number Series – Coding-Decoding – Input-Output – Blood Relations – Direction Sense Test – Logical Venn Diagrams – Alphabet Test – Sitting Arrangements – Mathematical Operations – Arithmetical Reasoning – Inserting the Missing Character – Number, Ranking and Time Sequence Test – Syllogism – Logical Sequence of Words – Alphanumeric Sequence – Puzzle Test | – Mirror Image – Water Image – Paper Folding – Paper Cutting – Counting the Number of Figures – Dice Problems – Five Figures Series – Missing Figure Series – Analogy Classification | – Statement and Conclusions – Statement & Arguments – Statement & Assumptions – Cause and Effect – Courses of Action Inference |
- Before starting to answer the question, always understand what the question says, and exactly what the answer should look like. More often than not, we end up answering questions that weren’t asked in the first place.
- Try to attempt the questions that seem easy to you. Often, topics like Classification/ Odd pair, Series Completion/ Analogy, Direction based tests/ Direction Sense Test, Number, Ranking & Time, Sequence Test, Alphabet Test/ Dictionary, are known to be less time-consuming. It might or might not be the same for you, so choose your strong topics carefully.
- More complex problems such as Seating Arrangement, Complex Puzzle, Floor Puzzle, Input-Output Machine can be attempted in the end. This will make sure that your confidence doesn’t go down.
- Path type questions require a good knowledge of directions. To solve questions on Dice or paper cutting, imagine the item in a 3D form.
How to prepare for IBPS SO: General Awareness?
The General Knowledge section requires a basic knowledge of the current affairs. This can be achieved by reading a renowned newspaper. Topics such as :
- Current Affairs
- Indian History
- Banking Awareness
- Agriculture
- Indian Constitution
- Finance and Insurance
- Sports
- Indian Economy Questions
- Budget and Taxes
- Government Schemes
- Countries / currencies
Read at least 2-3 newspapers every day and try to focus on the critical analysis and opinions of people on various sections of
