Reasoning Ability
What the section tests
Reasoning Ability measures logical processing under time: series (number, letter, figure), analogies, coding–decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogism, seating arrangement, puzzles, clocks, calendars and mirror/water images.
Core rules
- In letter series, convert letters to positions (A=1 … Z=26) and look for constant or increasing gaps.
- In coding, test one rule across the whole word before applying it to the target.
- In blood relations, draw a family tree and mark gender; do not infer gender from names.
- In syllogism, accept only what must follow from the premises; “some” does not imply “all”.
- In direction sense, fix north and track left/right turns; use Pythagoras for shortest distance.
Worked example
If TEACHER is coded as VGCEJGT, how is STUDENT coded? Compare letters: T→V, E→G, A→C, C→E, H→J, E→G, R→T. Each letter moves two places forward. Apply to STUDENT: S→U, T→V, U→W, D→F, E→G, N→P, T→V, giving UVWFGPV. The reasoning is the uniform shift, not a memorised pair.
Traps
- Applying a +2 shift to the first letter only, then guessing.
- Assuming “only son” means the speaker; it means the father in many blood-relation items.
- Treating a possible conclusion in syllogism as definite.
- Forgetting that a clock’s hour hand also moves while the minute hand moves.
- In seating puzzles, ignoring “facing north/south” reversal.