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IBPS Clerk: Reasoning Ability for IBPS Clerk

IBPS Clerk · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Reasoning Ability for IBPS Clerk

IBPS Clerk Reasoning Ability tests structured thinking. Prelims has 35 questions in 20 minutes; in Mains it is combined with Computer Aptitude as 50 questions/60 marks in 45 minutes. Puzzles and seating arrangements dominate, followed by syllogism, inequality, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, series and data sufficiency.

Core rules

  • Syllogism: draw Venn diagrams. “All A are B” does not convert; “Some A are B” does convert to “Some B are A”. A possibility conclusion is true unless it contradicts the statements.
  • Inequality: chain only compatible symbols; A > B ≥ C gives A > C. Treat “≥” as “greater than or equal”, not “greater than”.
  • Seating: fix definite clues first, draw slots, and mark facing direction before applying left/right.
  • Coding: compare letters position-wise and check shifts, reversals and position values (A = 1).
  • Blood relations: draw a family tree and do not assume gender from a profession.

Worked example

Statements: All pens are books. Some books are tables. Conclusion I: Some pens are tables. Conclusion II: Some tables are books. Only II follows. “Some books are tables” converts to “Some tables are books”. The pens may lie outside the table portion, so I is not certain.

Traps

Reading “some” as “some but not all”; missing the “either-or” case in syllogism; ignoring two possible seating arrangements; treating “>” and “≥” as identical; assuming a doctor is male.