IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 2026 (Aug 22 Shift 1): Review & Good Attempts

The banking recruitment season is in full swing, and candidates nationwide are locked in intense competition. With over 11 lakh applicants vying for 7,565 probationary officer and management trainee vacancies, understanding the exam trends is paramount. The examination is structured across two days—August 22 and August 23—spanning a total of 6 shifts. Below is our comprehensive evaluation of the IBPS PO Prelims exam 1st shift of 22nd August 2026, featuring detailed breakdowns of good attempts, question distributions, and structural parameters.

IBPS PO Prelims Exam Structure & Shift Timings

The preliminary examination follows a strict digital format comprising 100 questions divided into three distinct sections. Each section has a dedicated time limit of 20 minutes, culminating in a total exam duration of 60 minutes. The sequence encountered by candidates today was: Reasoning -> English Language -> Quantitative Aptitude.

Exam Shift Schedule

For candidates preparing for subsequent slots or following the multi-day schedule, note the exact timing parameters for all shifts:

Overall Good Attempts and Difficulty Level

The first shift of August 22, 2026, presented a 'moderate' difficulty overall. Aspirants targeting a safe score aimed for total good attempts ranging between 70 to 76.

Section-Wise Detailed Question Pattern

1. Reasoning Ability (Moderate)

The Reasoning section carried 35 questions worth 40 marks. Puzzles and seating arrangements dominated the section with 23 questions.

• Puzzles and Seating Arrangement: 23 questions
• Blood Relation (Persons, generation not given): 3 questions
• Inequality: 3 questions
• Direction Distance: 3 questions
• Meaningful word: 1 question
• Pair Formation (word based): 1 question
• Odd One Out: 1 question

Specific puzzle configurations included a Month + date-based variable (5 questions), Box-based + variable 6 boxes (5 questions), Parallel row 14 persons (5 questions), Selection-based 9 persons (5 questions), and Comparison-based 6 persons (3 questions).

2. English Language (Easy to Moderate)

Consisting of 30 questions for 30 marks, this section offered a comfortable testing ground for well-prepared candidates.

• Reading Comprehension: 8 to 9 questions (focused on modern town planning, disease, etc., including fill-in-the-blanks and antonyms)
• Cloze Test: 5 questions (based on crops)
• Word Swap: 3 questions
• Sentence Rearrangement: 3 questions
• Error Detection (across 5 sentences): 5 questions
• Word Replacement: 2 to 3 questions

3. Quantitative Aptitude (Moderate to Difficult)

Comprising 35 questions for 30 marks, this section featured some time-consuming questions, though no questions appeared from Caselet DI.

• DI (Line Graph): 5 questions (Easy)
• DI (Table DI): 5 questions
• Approximation: 5 questions
• Missing Number Series: 5 questions
• Q1/Q2 (Partnership based): 3 to 4 questions
• Arithmetic: 10 to 11 questions

Notable missing number series questions recorded in the shift were: 1) 100, 116, 152, x, 316; 2) 8000, x, 480, 192, 96, 57.6; 3) 107, x, 117, 139, 225, 674; 4) 300, 420, 543, 672, 810, 965; 5) 33, x, 138, 200, 273, 359.

Next Steps & Further Analysis

Candidates who have completed their exam should review their performance against the good attempts and prepare for subsequent score normalization. If you are appearing for later shifts or upcoming days, make sure to keep your documentation ready and verify your call letters. For more shift breakdowns, check out the IBPS PO Prelims Shift 2 Exam Analysis 2026- Click to Check or review the subsequent day's schedule via IBPS PO Prelims Exam Analysis 23 August 2026- Click to Check. Ensure you download your credentials early using the IBPS PO Prelims Admit Card 2026 Out- Click to Download link if required for reference.