RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : How To Prepare For Reasoning Ability

The much awaited RBI assistant prelims exam is just a few days away and we are sure that all of you are neck deep in your preparation. In order to help you make the most of these final days and to ensure that you don’t miss out on anything in terms of preparation, here we bring to a preparation guide for the reasoning ability section of the RBI Assistant prelims 2017.

Before we move on the preparation strategy and tips for the reasoning ability section of the RBI Assistant prelims, lets us take a quick look at the exam pattern.

RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : Exam Pattern | Points To Note

Name of Tests (Objective)	No. of Questions	Maximum Marks	Total Time
English Language	30	30	1 Hour
Numerical Ability	35	35
Reasoning Ability	35	35
Total	100	100

• It is important to note here, that speed is a very important factor in this exam as one has to solve about 100 questions in 60 minutes.
• Hence, working out a time distribution that works for you is a crucial factor in succeeding in this exam.
• That said question selection and order of attempt are two other important things one should work on during these final preparation days.

We have covered each of the other sections in the following articles. These are as follows:-

• RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : Study Plan | Previous Year’s Cutoffs
• RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : Preparation Guide For Numerical Ability
• RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : Preparation Guide For English Language
• RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 : Section-wise High Priority Topics

Let us now look at the reasoning ability section in further detail. We will be covering: syllabus, important topics, preparation resources and topic-wise tips for the reasoning section in this article.

RBI Assistant Prelims Reasoning Ability : Syllabus | Important Topics

As can be observed from the exam pattern above, the reasoning ability section in RBI Assistant Prelims 2017 will have 35 questions for a total of 35 marks. The following table enlists the topics along with the number of questions that can be expected from those topics as observed over the years.

Topics	Expected Number of Questions*
Inequality	5
Syllogism	5
Alphanumeric Series Number Series Alphabet series	5
Seating Arrangement Puzzles	15
Blood Relations Direction Sense Order & Ranking	5

Note that these numbers are subject to change and are based on an analysis of previous years papers. The numbers are in no way definite.

The above mentioned topics are extremely important from the exam perspective and should be prepared well. Coding-decoding and input-output are two other important topics for the reasoning section.

RBI Assistant Prelims Reasoning Ability : Topic-wise Tips

Inequality

It is one of the scoring topics in the reasoning section as it is not very time taking. Broadly, the inequality question type can be categorized as follows:
1. Direct Inequalities
2. Coded Inequalities

Practicing a good number of questions from this topic will help you improve both speed and accuracy.

Syllogism

A new pattern has been introduced in this topic. Here conclusions are given in questions and statements are given in answers. This is known as reverse syllogism. Practice all question types to master this topic. Here is a preparation video for reverse syllogisms for your reference.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ycT3qTfeFE&width=700&height=375[/embedyt]

Alphanumeric Series / Number Series / Alphabet Series

The key to this topic is a good observation skill which can only be developed through practice and clear concepts. Learn some shortcuts and common series patterns to be able to identify them quickly. Here is a video for the preparation of this topic.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mvZK7UDKO4&width=700&height=375[/embedyt]

Seating Arrangement | Puzzles

Practice the questions of linear, circular and square seating arrangements. Some of the most important puzzle types are : floor-based puzzles, calendar related puzzles, scheduling and comparison based puzzles.

The puzzles and seating arrangement questions consisting of negative information are usually on the tougher side. So practice them well. Also, for seating arrangement questions, be thorough with the inward-outward facing concepts. Here’s a preparation video for your reference.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxrVBaCFFl4&width=700&height=375[/embedyt]

Blood Relations

A technique that many people find useful in solving the blood relation questions is to apply the question to oneself and solve accordingly. A caveat here is, never to assume the gender. Only consider what is mentioned explicitly in the question.

Direction Sense

Learn the concepts of directions, cardinal directions, sunrise, sunset etc. It’s preferable not to solve these questions verbally. Always draw a sketch. Watch the video to learn this topic:-

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxFyg-uOjag&t=1s&width=700&height=375[/embedyt]

Order and Ranking

There are rules and formulas for this chapter which you must know in order to solve them accurately in minimum time. Understand questions of left and right as well as top and bottom and between. Watch the following video to learn the tips and trick of this topic.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsy22vyl5Jo&t=21s&width=700&height=375[/embedyt]

We hope this article helps you fill the gaps in ( if any ) in your preparation.

All the best!