Reasoning and General Intelligence
Reasoning and General Intelligence tests logical structure rather than calculation: series, analogies, coding-decoding, syllogisms, blood relations, directions, seating and non-verbal patterns. The supervisor role also requires interpreting rules, schedules and inspection sequences, so questions reward disciplined elimination.
Core rules and concepts
- Alphabet positions: A=1 to Z=26; reverse position = 27 − forward position. EJOTY (5,10,15,20,25) helps locate letters.
- Number series: check differences, ratios, squares/cubes, alternating operations, and prime positions.
- Coding-decoding: identify whether letters shift by a constant, reverse order, or map to positions.
- Syllogism: draw Venn diagrams; “some A are B” does not imply “all A are B”; “no A is B” excludes overlap.
- Seating: fix one person, then apply left/right and facing-direction constraints; reverse left/right for opposite-facing rows.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree, using gender-marked symbols.
Worked example
If CAT is coded as 3120, then C=3, A=1, T=20 are written in order. For DOG, D=4, O=15, G=7, so the code is 4157. The reasoning is positional, not alphabetical sorting; do not rearrange letters unless the question states it.
Traps
Assuming “some” means “all”; forgetting that left and right swap when a person faces south; treating a nephew as a son; missing a second pattern in a series; and overcomplicating coding when a simple letter-position rule fits all given examples. Always test the rule on every example before applying it.