Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving
What the section tests
Logical reasoning measures pattern detection, deductive validity, ordering and sequencing, syllogisms, and data sufficiency. You will meet series completion, seating or ranking puzzles, conditional statements, and questions asking what must be true given a set of facts. The skill is translating words into a clear structure: a table, a diagram, or a chain of if-then statements.
Traps to watch
The biggest trap is confusing "must be true" with "could be true". A conclusion that is possible is not necessarily forced. In syllogisms, watch quantifiers: "all", "some", and "no" behave differently, and "some A are B" does not imply "some B are not A" without care. In ordering puzzles, candidates assume a unique arrangement when two are possible; check whether a clue really fixes a position. Reversal errors also occur, such as treating "if it rains, the ground is wet" as "if the ground is wet, it rained".
Rule of thumb
Draw it. Use a grid for ordering, circles for syllogisms, and arrows for conditionals. Test each option by asking whether the given facts forbid it. If they do not forbid it and do not force it, it is not the answer to a "must" question.
Worked example
"All sergeants are officers. Some officers are drivers." What must follow? Only that some drivers are officers. It does not follow that any sergeant drives, because the drivers among the officers may all be non-sergeants.