Types of Seating Arrangements Questions

Seating Arrangements questions are part of the Reasoning Ability Section, which is one of the most crucial sections of all the major Bank exams. This section can prove to be very scoring if you have practiced it well. A careful analysis of the previous year’s questions of all Bank Exams tells that the seating arrangement questions form a major part of the questions from the Reasoning section. Seating arrangement questions are usually asked in both Prelims and Mains examinations of all the major Bank exams like  SBI PO, SBI Clerk, IBPS PO/SO/Clerk/RRB & RBI exams, etc. You must prepare this topic well to score maximum marks in this section. You must practice as many Seating arrangement questions as possible to master the topic.

In this article, we will throw light on different types of seating arrangement questions, which will pop up in the upcoming Bank exams.

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Different Types of Seating Arrangements

Different types of seating arrangements on which questions can be asked are:

1. Linear Arrangement
2. Circular Arrangement (inward facing, outward facing or facing both sides)
3. Rectangular/Square Arrangement (inward facing, outward facing or facing both sides)
4. Combination of Linear, Circular & Square along with Puzzles

Let’s throw light on all the arrangements:

1.    Linear Seating Arrangement

Linear Seating Arrangements are generally asked in a single row or double row arrangement. In it, the directions of the people in which they are sitting in the spot which is to be considered carefully in order to ascertain the answer. Usually, in this sort of arrangement, a single row of arrangement is formed.

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2.    Circular Seating Arrangement

In the circular arrangement, the questions are generally asked in the forms were, ‘all the people are either facing towards the center,’ or ‘all people are facing outside the center,’ or, a question where ‘some people are facing inside and some are facing outside the center.’

To answer these types of questions, you should pay close attention to finding the exact direction in which people are sitting.

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3.    Double Row Arrangement

Double Row Arrangement questions invite situations where there will be two groups of persons and you have to arrange one group in one row and the other group in another row. People in this normally face each other.

4.    Square/Rectangular Arrangement

In this seating arrangement, three types of arrangements are possible, either all people will face towards the center, in the second case, all the people will face outside the center, or, in the third case, the people will face inside while others will be facing outside.

The directions in this arrangement will be similar to the directions of the circular arrangement question.

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5.    Combination of Linear, Circular and Square Seating Arrangements with Puzzles

This problem can be complicated, as it is a combination of all the above-mentioned situations. Hence, to master this combination you need good practice. Practice them!

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Tips & Tricks to Solve Seating Arrangement Questions

You will be asked Seating arrangement questions in the form of blocks containing 4-5 questions. You will receive some related information, and you will be required to answer the question based on it.  Mostly, this information is of two types, direct and indirect.

Type I: Direct Information-

You will be required to find direct information, which is clearly mentioned in the statement of the question while answering the given question.

Type II: Indirect Information-

You will have to find the indirect connection between different parts of the information, after filling the all the direct information correctly, while answering the question. These connections act as indirect information.

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Tips to Solving Seating Arrangement Questions

Here are some of the tips that, if you’ll follow, will lead you to success:

1.  Don’t get terrified complexity of the language

Don’t get terrified by the complexity of the language of the question or the size. It is just the information you have to base your answer on.

2.  Choose only the useful or definite information

Choose only useful information. The information is “definite information,” and fix the place accordingly. For instance, A is sitting second to the left of B.

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3.  Read the entire question carefully

Read the entire question carefully before giving the answer and look for all the relevant and important details. You will find all the details in the question itself. You just have to find what the question is expressing.

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4.  Pay attention to all the possible scenarios

Pay attention to all the possible scenarios and possibilities in the question, because as you will read on the question the possibilities may get canceled. Thus, the answer will change.

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5.  Your technique should remain the same

Solve the question combined with puzzles, just as you would have solved a normal seating arrangement question. Your technique should remain the same.

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6.  Ignore the negative information

Ignore negative information in the first step of solving the question. Negative information is that information that does not tell you anything definitely but gives an idea to eliminate a possibility. For instance, A is not sitting on the immediate left of/adjacent to B. or B is not opposite of E.

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Practice seating arrangement questions via Mock Test

The best way to prepare the seating arrangement questions is by Practicing them via IBPS 2021 Mock Test. It will tell you which questions you have not mastered and encourage you to focus on your weak areas. It’s proven in psychology that you are more likely to retain information if you learn it separated over time. Since Mock Tests stimulate revision and studying, they check and encourage earlier learning and so space out learning, which is most likely to improve your retention. Hence, you need to make sure that you practice specific seating arrangements and puzzle-based questions every day for better retention to invite the best results. We recommend you to practice Reasoning Aptitude questions by attempting Mock Tests as much as possible to fly higher and higher in the upcoming Bank exams!