Intelligence and Reasoning: Verbal and Non-Verbal
What is tested
Reasoning papers test number and letter series, analogies, coding–decoding, blood relations, direction sense, syllogisms, odd-one-out, figure series, mirror images, and paper folding. Speed matters, but accuracy first: a wrong pattern is worse than a skipped item.
Rules
- Series: check differences, then ratios, then alternating patterns, squares, cubes, and primes. If differences are 3, 5, 7, 9, the next is 11.
- Analogies: state the relationship as a full sentence before choosing an option.
- Coding: write the alphabet with positions and check shifts (+1, −2, alternating).
- Blood relations: draw a family tree; mark males and females separately.
- Direction sense: draw north–south and east–west axes; left and right depend on the direction a person is facing, not on the page.
- Syllogisms: accept only what the premises force. “Some A are B” does not mean “all A are B”.
Worked example
Find the next term: 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ? Differences are 3, 5, 7, 9, so the next difference is 11 and the answer is 38. The trap is assuming a doubling pattern after 3 and 6; test differences before ratios.
Traps
Stopping at the first plausible pattern, reversing left and right after a turn, and importing outside knowledge into syllogisms. For figure series, track one feature at a time: rotation, shading, number of lines.