General Intelligence and Reasoning: Pattern Rules and Verified Conclusions
What this domain tests
This paper checks whether you can spot a pattern or a rule and apply it consistently under time pressure, rather than recall facts. The usual question families are analogies, odd-one-out classification, number and letter series, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking and seating arrangement, syllogism, and non-verbal items such as mirror images, paper folding and embedded figures.
Core rules to keep ready
- Alphabet positions run A=1 to Z=26; also learn reverse values (A=26, Z=1) because many codes are built on them.
- Number series normally run on one of five engines: constant difference, constant ratio, squares/cubes, primes, or two alternating series interleaved.
- In blood relations, draw a small tree and label generations; never solve them mentally.
- In direction sense, fix north at the top of the page. A left turn while facing south leaves you facing east.
- In syllogism, draw Venn diagrams and accept only what is forced. A 'possibility' conclusion is treated as true unless the statements forbid it.
Worked example
In a certain code PEACE is written as QFBDF. How is TIGER written? Compare letter by letter: P→Q, E→F, A→B, C→D, E→F. Each letter moves one place forward, with no wrap-around involved. Apply the same rule: T→U, I→J, G→H, E→F, R→S. Answer: UJHFS.
Traps that cost marks
Continuing a letter series past Z without wrapping back to A; assuming a series is arithmetic when only alternate terms follow the rule; adding real-world knowledge to a syllogism; and misreading 'only a few' or 'some not' statements, which must be drawn explicitly rather than assumed.