Problem-solving and Critical Thinking in English
Verbal reasoning questions in the IEO ask you to see structure rather than recall facts: analogies, odd-one-out sets, letter and word series, syllogisms, coded words, and short inference passages where only one option is actually supported.
Analogies
Build a precise sentence for the stem pair - a wheel is part of a car, a pen is used to write, warm is less than hot - then test every option against that same sentence, keeping direction and part of speech. Common relations: synonym/antonym, part–whole, category–member, worker–tool, cause–effect, degree.
Odd one out
Name the property shared by all but one. Distractors often share a surface feature - same first letter, same suffix - while differing in meaning. Check whether the odd item lacks the property or adds one.
Syllogisms
Draw Venn circles. All A are B puts A inside B; No A is B keeps them apart; Some A are B guarantees at least one overlap. From All poets are dreamers and Some dreamers are realists nothing follows about poets and realists. Some means at least one, possibly all.
Series and codes
Number letters 1–26 and watch for constant shifts, alternating shifts, reversal pairs (A–Z, B–Y sum to 27), vowel–consonant alternation and word length. In coding questions, state the rule as a formula (each letter +1) before applying it.
Inference
A correct conclusion follows from the passage alone. An assumption is an unstated premise the argument needs. Separate fact from opinion, and cause from mere correlation.
Worked example
AZ, BY, CX, DW, ? (A) EV (B) EU (C) FV (D) DV. A. First letters climb A→B→C→D, so the next is E. Second letters fall Z→Y→X→W, so V. The reverse-pair check confirms it: A+Z = 1+26 = 27, B+Y = 27, so E must pair with V, ruling out EU and FV.
Traps that cost marks
Choosing a true statement the passage never supports; reading some as some but not all; reversing the analogy direction; missing not, except or cannot in the stem; importing outside facts into an inference.