Irish Verbal Reasoning cheat sheet

A syllogism is valid if the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; validity is about form, not truth.

In a categorical syllogism, a term distributed in the conclusion must be distributed in the premise.

The contrapositive of 'If P then Q' is 'If not Q then not P'; they are logically equivalent.

The converse of 'If P then Q' is 'If Q then P'; the converse is not logically equivalent to the original.

In an analogy, identify the specific relationship (e.g., part-to-whole, cause-effect, synonym) before choosing the answer.

For word meaning questions, use context clues: definition, example, contrast, and cause-effect signals in the sentence.

In a logical deduction puzzle, list all entities and constraints, then eliminate possibilities systematically.

For assumption questions, negate the answer choice; if the argument falls apart, the choice is a necessary assumption.

For strengthening or weakening an argument, focus on the link between evidence and conclusion, not on the conclusion itself.

A figure rotated 90° clockwise moves the top edge to the right; 90° counterclockwise moves the top edge to the left.

Reflection across a vertical axis swaps left and right; reflection across a horizontal axis swaps top and bottom.

In a 2D net of a cube, opposite faces are separated by exactly one face in a straight line.

When folding a net, track which edges meet; edges that coincide must have matching lengths.

In sequence problems, check for alternating patterns, constant increments, or operations cycling through a set.

For odd-one-out, compare features such as number of sides, symmetry, rotation, and shading; the odd one differs in exactly one feature.

A shape has rotational symmetry of order n if it maps onto itself n times in a full 360° turn.

In matrix problems, apply row-wise or column-wise rules; the same transformation often applies across each row or column.