"Aptitude" is not one exam with one syllabus. It is a family of tests — government recruitment exams, bank officer exams, and the psychometric tests employers use in campus placements — that draw on the same few abilities: working with numbers, reasoning from rules, reading precisely, and staying accurate at speed. This page sets out the topic map the Myndaq aptitude course is built on, then shows where those topics appear in two recruitment exams whose official notifications set out their tests: the SSC Combined Graduate Level Examination (Tier-I) and the SBI Probationary Officers preliminary exam.
The topic map: eight areas
The course is organised into eight chapters, each split into modules:
- Numerical Reasoning — Data Tables; Charts and Graphs; Ratios and Percentages; Rates and Currency; Numerical Word Problems; Number Series.
- Deductive Reasoning — Syllogisms; Conditional Logic; Arrangements and Seating; Grouping and Matching.
- Pattern Reasoning (Text) — Letter Series; Number Patterns; Letter and Symbol Analogies; Odd One Out.
- Diagrammatic Reasoning (Visual) — Visual Matrices; Shape Sequences; 2D Rotation; Odd Figure Out.
- Critical Thinking (Watson-Glaser style) — Inference; Recognition of Assumptions; Deduction; Interpretation; Evaluation of Arguments.
- True / False / Cannot Say — judging statements strictly against a short passage.
- Language and Comprehension — Vocabulary and Synonyms; Verbal Analogies; Sentence Completion; Reading Comprehension.
- Speed and Accuracy — Rapid Mixed questions; Error Checking; Perceptual Matching.
SSC CGL Tier-I: where the map fits
The SSC's notice for the Combined Graduate Level Examination 2026 sets out Tier-I as four sections of 25 questions, 50 marks each, in one hour with a 15-minute timer for each section, objective multiple-choice, with 0.50 marks deducted for each wrong answer:
- General Intelligence and Reasoning. The indicative syllabus lists, among others, semantic, symbolic/number and figural analogies and classification; number, semantic and figural series; coding and decoding; Venn diagrams; drawing inferences; statement and conclusion; syllogistic reasoning; space visualisation and orientation; embedded figures; indexing and address matching; and critical thinking. Course coverage: Pattern Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning, Diagrammatic Reasoning and Critical Thinking map directly; Speed and Accuracy's matching tasks correspond to indexing and address matching.
- Quantitative Aptitude. The notice lists computation with whole numbers, decimals and fractions, percentage, ratio and proportion, averages, interest, profit and loss, discount, time and distance, time and work — and also algebra, geometry, mensuration, trigonometry and data interpretation through histograms, bar diagrams and pie charts. Course coverage: Numerical Reasoning covers the arithmetic and data-interpretation topics. It does not cover school geometry, mensuration, algebraic identities or trigonometry, which SSC candidates need to study separately.
- English Comprehension. Understanding correct English, basic comprehension and writing ability. Course coverage: Language and Comprehension.
- General Awareness. Current events, history, culture, geography, economy, general policy and scientific research. Not covered — the course is an aptitude course, not a general-knowledge one.
The notice says the Reasoning, Awareness and English parts are pitched at graduation level and Quantitative Aptitude at 10th-standard level.
SBI PO prelims: where the map fits
The State Bank of India's Probationary Officers advertisement for 2026–27 sets out a preliminary exam of 100 marks in one hour, in three separately timed sections of 20 minutes:
- English Language — 40 questions. Course coverage: Language and Comprehension.
- Quantitative Aptitude — 30 questions. Course coverage: Numerical Reasoning (arithmetic, percentages, ratios, data tables and charts, series).
- Reasoning Ability — 30 questions. Course coverage: Deductive Reasoning (syllogisms, conditional logic, seating and grouping puzzles) and Pattern Reasoning.
There is no sectional cut-off at the prelim stage in SBI's advertisement; candidates are shortlisted for the main exam on aggregate marks. The main exam is a separate, longer test with its own sections, set out in the same advertisement.
IBPS bank exams
IBPS runs the common recruitment processes for probationary officers and clerks in its participating banks. Its detailed notifications set out each preliminary exam's sections, but they could not be read at source for this article, so no section list is given here. Read the current notification on the IBPS website before mapping your preparation to it.
Campus placement tests
There is no official syllabus for campus placement aptitude tests. Each employer — or the assessment company it uses — sets its own test. The course's areas are named after the question formats employer tests are built from — numerical reasoning from tables and charts, deductive and diagrammatic reasoning, verbal reasoning, and critical-thinking formats in the Watson-Glaser style of inference and assumption questions — but which of them a given recruiter uses, and in what proportion, is the recruiter's choice. Ask your placement cell whether it knows which test a recruiter uses, and check that format before you prepare.
What the map does not include
- General awareness and current affairs (SSC Tier-I).
- School geometry, mensuration, algebra and trigonometry (SSC Tier-I Quantitative Aptitude).
- Descriptive writing (bank PO main exams).
- Subject knowledge for technical placement rounds.
For how to diagnose your weak areas and build a routine, see the aptitude test preparation guide. For what the recruitment exams charge, see aptitude-based recruitment test fees. For worked questions by topic, see aptitude practice questions.
Quick answers
What is the aptitude test syllabus?
There is no single one. Most aptitude tests draw on numerical reasoning, logical and pattern reasoning, verbal ability and speed-and-accuracy tasks; each exam's notification or each employer's test sets the exact mix.
Does aptitude preparation cover SSC CGL Tier-I?
It covers General Intelligence and Reasoning, English Comprehension, and the arithmetic and data-interpretation parts of Quantitative Aptitude. It does not cover General Awareness or school geometry and trigonometry.
What is in the SBI PO prelims?
English Language (40 questions), Quantitative Aptitude (30) and Reasoning Ability (30), 100 marks in one hour, 20 minutes per section.
Is there negative marking in SSC CGL Tier-I?
Yes. The SSC notice deducts 0.50 marks for each wrong answer.
Do campus placement tests have a fixed syllabus?
No. Each employer or its assessment provider sets the test; ask your placement cell which format is used.
