IBPS PO Prelims Syllabus 2026: Topic-wise List for English, Quant and Reasoning

IBPS does not publish a detailed topic list for PO Prelims. The notification gives the three tests, their marks and their timing. Each cycle's information handout adds a short description of each test and some sample questions. The topic lists below combine those official descriptions with the question types that have appeared in recent Prelims papers.

IBPS PO exam pattern for Prelims

This is the pattern in the CRP PO/MT-XVI notification, dated 1 July 2026:

• Each section is timed separately. You cannot carry time from one section to the next.
• Every question has five options, and only one is correct.
• A wrong answer costs a quarter of the marks for that question. A question left blank costs nothing.
• You must clear a cutoff in each section and on the total.
• Prelims only decides who goes to Mains. Prelims marks are not counted in the final merit list.

This marks split, with 40 for Reasoning and 30 for Quant, has been used since the 2025 cycle (CRP PO/MT-XV). In 2024 (CRP PO/MT-XIV), Quant and Reasoning carried 35 marks each. For a section-by-section time plan, see our IBPS PO exam pattern guide.

CRP PO/MT-XVI: the 2026 cycle

IBPS listed 7,565 indicative vacancies for 2027-28 in its update of 27 August 2026. To apply, you need a degree in any discipline and must be 20 to 30 years old on 1 July 2026. Reserved categories get age relaxation.

The 2026 Prelims is over. If you are starting now, you are preparing for the next cycle, CRP PO/MT-XVII, which IBPS has not announced yet. In each of the last three years IBPS posted its exam calendar in January, so check ibps.in early in 2027.

English Language syllabus (30 questions, 30 marks)

The IBPS handout says this test checks grammar, vocabulary, sentence completion, synonyms, antonyms and reading comprehension. Question types seen in recent papers:

• Reading comprehension: one or two passages, with questions on facts, inference, tone and word meaning
• Cloze test
• Error detection and sentence improvement
• Fillers: single blank, double blank and word swap
• Para jumbles and sentence rearrangement
• Vocabulary in context: synonyms, antonyms and word usage
• Connectors and sentence completion

The reading passage usually carries the most questions. Read an editorial page every day and time yourself on it.

Quantitative Aptitude syllabus (35 questions, 30 marks)

The handout describes this test as a check of how fast and accurately you work with numbers: calculation, number reasoning, and reading tables and graphs. Question types seen in recent papers:

• Simplification and approximation
• Number series: missing number and wrong number
• Quadratic equations and quantity comparison
• Data interpretation: tables, bar graphs, line graphs, pie charts and caselets
• Percentages, ratio and proportion, averages and ages
• Profit and loss, simple and compound interest
• Time and work, pipes and cisterns
• Time, speed and distance, boats and streams, trains
• Mixtures and alligation, partnership
• Basic mensuration, probability, permutations and combinations

Quant has 35 questions for 30 marks, so each question is worth less than a mark. Do the quick types first: simplification, series and quadratic equations. Spend the time you save on one DI set.

Reasoning Ability syllabus (35 questions, 40 marks)

The handout's sample questions cover odd one out, analogies, word formation, drawing conclusions from statements, and coded maths operations. In recent papers, puzzles and seating arrangements take up the largest share.

• Puzzles: floors, boxes, months and days, schedules and comparisons
• Seating arrangement: linear, circular and square, facing in or out
• Syllogism
• Inequality: direct and coded
• Blood relations
• Direction and distance
• Coding-decoding
• Order and ranking
• Alphanumeric series
• Word and letter formation

Reasoning carries 40 marks for 35 questions, the highest marks per question in the paper. Accuracy here is worth more than anywhere else.

What Prelims does not test

Prelims has no General Awareness and no Computer Knowledge. Those come in Mains, which has four objective tests: Reasoning, General/Economy/Banking Awareness, English Language, and Data Analysis and Interpretation. Together they have 170 questions for 200 marks in 160 minutes. Mains also has a 30-minute descriptive paper with an essay and a comprehension, worth 25 marks. Start current affairs early, but keep Prelims topics first until you clear Prelims.

How to use this syllabus

1. Find your weak section first. Take a full mock before you plan anything.
2. Cover the topics that come every year. In English: reading comprehension, cloze and error detection. In Quant: simplification, series, quadratic equations and DI. In Reasoning: puzzles, seating, inequality and syllogism.
3. Practise in 20-minute blocks. Each section has its own timer in the exam, so time each section on its own.
4. Protect every section. A strong total does not help if one section falls below its cutoff.
5. Keep wrong answers low. Read our negative marking strategy guide before your next mock.

Start with a free full mock

The quickest way to see where you stand is IBPS PO Full Mock 1, free. It follows the same three 20-minute sections and marks split as the real exam, and the report shows your score and time in each section. Your mock score shows where you are today. It is not a prediction of your result. More mocks are on the IBPS PO page.