General Intelligence and Reasoning
What this domain tests
General Intelligence and Reasoning measures pattern recognition, logical deduction and spatial ability. Typical items are series, analogies, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms, seating arrangement and non-verbal figures.
Core rules
- Series: check differences, ratios, squares, cubes and alternating patterns before assuming one rule.
- Coding: write the alphabet with positions 1–26; test forward/backward shifts, reversals and letter-pair rules.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree and mark gender only when the statement supports it.
- Syllogism: “All A are B” does not imply “All B are A”; “Some A are B” is reversible.
- Direction: fix a reference point and track left/right turns after each move.
Worked example
If TIGER is coded as VKIGT, what is LION? Each letter moves two places forward: T→V, I→K, G→I, E→G, R→T. Applying the same rule: L→N, I→K, O→Q, N→P. Answer: NKQP.
Traps
Counting alphabet positions from 0 instead of 1 is a common error. In direction questions, a left turn after facing south points east, not west. In syllogisms, avoid adding real-world knowledge; use only the statements. In seating puzzles, confirm whether “left” means the subject’s left or the observer’s left.
Exam focus
Practise short timed sets by type, then mixed sets. For non-verbal items, check rotation, reflection, number of sides and shading changes in that order.