Reasoning and Logical Thinking
What this domain tests
Reasoning and Logical Thinking covers verbal and non-verbal reasoning: series, analogy, coding, blood relations, directions, arrangements, syllogisms, clocks, calendars, and figures. Questions are short but time-hungry; the exam rewards a repeatable method rather than intuition.
Core areas
- Series and analogy: number, letter, and mixed patterns.
- Coding–decoding, blood relations, direction sense, ranking.
- Syllogism, seating arrangement, Venn diagrams.
- Clocks, calendars, mirror and water images, paper folding, dice.
Rules that decide marks
- Alphabet positions: A=1, Z=26; remember EJOTY (E=5, J=10, O=15, T=20, Y=25). Opposite letters sum to 27 (A–Z, B–Y).
- Direction questions: draw north-up axes and compute net displacement with Pythagoras.
- Blood relations: draw a family tree and mark gender and generation before answering.
- Syllogism: accept only what the premises force. All A are B does not imply all B are A; some A are B is reversible.
Worked example
If TEACHER is coded as VGCEJGT, how is STUDENT coded? Each letter moves two places forward: T to V, E to G, A to C, C to E, H to J, E to G, R to T. Apply the same shift to STUDENT: S to U, T to V, U to W, D to F, E to G, N to P, T to V. The answer is UVWFGPV. Verify the shift on one known letter before writing the full answer.
Traps
Assuming information that the syllogism does not state; reversing all statements; forgetting left and right after a turn; missing alternating patterns in a series; confusing a mirror image with a water image. In arrangement questions, fix the most constrained position first.