IBPS PO Prelims 2026: Last 10 Days Strategy for the 22–23 August Exam

IBPS PO Prelims 2026 is scheduled for 22–23 August. With about ten days left, the syllabus is no longer the question — what you do with your remaining hours is. This is a plain, day-by-day plan built around one principle: in the last stretch, mocks and revision beat new topics every time.

Quick Answer

Spend the last 10 days on one full mock per day, same-day analysis, and short section-wise revision — nothing new. The prelims paper is 100 questions in 60 minutes with sectional timing (English 30 Q/20 min, Quantitative Aptitude 35 Q/20 min, Reasoning 35 Q/20 min) and 0.25 negative marking per wrong answer. Your target is not 100 attempts; it is a safe, accurate 65–75 attempts with 85%+ accuracy.

The 10-Day Plan

Section-Wise: What Is Worth Revising Now

Quantitative Aptitude (35 Q, 20 min)

Prioritise what appears every year: simplification/approximation (10–15 Q), number series, quadratic comparisons, and 2 DI sets. Arithmetic word problems (percentage, ratio, profit-loss, time-work) fill the rest — revise formulas, do not learn new shortcut tricks this late; unpractised tricks cost accuracy.

Reasoning (35 Q, 20 min)

Puzzles and seating arrangement are roughly half the section. Practise choosing the right two or three puzzles rather than solving all of them. Keep inequalities, syllogisms, blood relations and direction sense as your guaranteed quick marks.

English (30 Q, 20 min)

One reading comprehension daily, plus cloze test and error spotting sets. If grammar is weak, rely on reading questions and para-jumbles where elimination works. Vocabulary revision is only worth it from your own notes.

How to Use Mocks in the Last Week

A mock without analysis is entertainment. For every mock, spend as long on analysis as the mock itself: classify each error as concept, calculation, or panic; check which questions you should have skipped; and track your accuracy per section. If your accuracy is under 80%, cut attempts, not speed. You can take a free full-length IBPS PO prelims mock with honest percentile on Pareeksha''s test series — no card, no counter, no fake discount timer.

Attempt Strategy for Exam Day

• Order within each section: two passes. First pass: everything you can answer in under 40 seconds. Second pass: the 2-minute questions. Never start a third pass on a question you have already left twice.
• Negative marking: at 0.25 per wrong answer, guessing blind on 8 questions to gain 2 is a losing trade. Guess only when you can eliminate two options.
• Sectional timing is fixed: you cannot borrow time across sections, so a disaster in one section stays contained — reset mentally at each section change.
• Cut-off reality: prelims is qualifying in nature for reaching Mains, but marks discipline built now carries into Mains, where scores count.

What NOT to Do

• Do not start a new chapter, new coaching batch, or new mock series pattern now.
• Do not take two full mocks a day — analysis quality collapses.
• Do not compare attempt counts with toppers'' claims on social media; accuracy at your own level wins.
• Do not study past midnight in the final three days; reporting times are early.

FAQs

When is IBPS PO Prelims 2026? 22 and 23 August 2026, in multiple shifts.

How many attempts are safe? There is no universal number. 65–75 attempts with 85%+ accuracy has historically cleared most cut-offs comfortably; a highly accurate 55 can also clear it.

Should I take a mock on the last day? No. A bad score the day before the exam costs more in confidence than a good score gains.

Is there sectional cut-off? IBPS has used overall cut-offs with sectional timing in recent cycles; check the official notification for this year''s rules rather than assuming.