Reasoning Ability Complete Guide: Verbal, Non-Verbal and Logical Reasoning for Competitive Exams

Reasoning Ability is the backbone of every major competitive exam in India. It carries 35 to 60 marks depending on the exam and tests your analytical thinking, pattern recognition, and logical deduction skills. Unlike General Knowledge where you need to memorise facts, reasoning rewards practice and method. This comprehensive guide covers every topic across verbal, non-verbal, and logical reasoning with strategies, shortcuts, and the approach toppers use to score 90% or above in this section.

Reasoning Topics and Their Weightage Across Exams

Topic	IBPS PO	SBI PO	SSC CGL	RBI Grade B	LIC Assistant
Puzzles and Seating Arrangement	15-20 Q	15-20 Q	2-4 Q	15-20 Q	12-15 Q
Syllogism	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	2-3 Q	3-5 Q	3-5 Q
Coding-Decoding	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	3-5 Q
Blood Relations	3-5 Q	2-4 Q	2-3 Q	2-3 Q	3-5 Q
Inequality	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	2-3 Q	2-3 Q	3-5 Q
Direction Sense	2-3 Q	2-3 Q	2-3 Q	1-2 Q	2-3 Q
Data Sufficiency	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	0	5-8 Q	2-3 Q
Alphanumeric Series	3-5 Q	3-5 Q	2-3 Q	2-3 Q	3-5 Q
Non-Verbal (Figure/Pattern)	0	0	5-8 Q	0	0
Analogy and Classification	0-2 Q	0-2 Q	4-6 Q	0-2 Q	2-3 Q

Key Insight: Banking exams are dominated by puzzles and seating arrangements (50% to 60% of reasoning marks), while SSC exams have a more evenly distributed pattern with significant non-verbal reasoning.

Verbal Reasoning Topics

Puzzles and Seating Arrangement (The Game-Changer)

This is the single most important topic for banking exams. Types you must master:

• Linear Seating: People sitting in a single row facing north or south. Single row and double row (facing each other) variations.
• Circular Seating: People sitting around a circular or square table facing inward or outward.
• Floor-Based Puzzle: People living on different floors of a building with various conditions.
• Box Puzzle: Items arranged in a stack with ordering conditions.
• Tabular/Complex Puzzle: Multiple variables (person, city, profession, age, colour) to be matched using given clues.
• Scheduling Puzzle: Events/activities assigned to days of the week or months.

Puzzle-Solving Strategy (Step-by-Step)

1. Read all clues once: Get an overview of the puzzle. Identify the type (linear, circular, floor, etc.).
2. Draw the base structure: Sketch the row, circle, floors, or table immediately. This visual framework is essential.
3. Identify definite clues: Start with clues that give fixed positions. Example: "A sits at one end of the row" or "B lives on the top floor."
4. Process conditional clues: Use clues like "C sits to the left of D" or "E does not live on the floor immediately above F" to narrow possibilities.
5. Use elimination: After placing definite information, eliminate impossible positions for remaining people.
6. Handle "either-or" scenarios: When two arrangements are possible, test each against remaining clues. One will lead to a contradiction.
7. Verify: Cross-check your final arrangement against ALL clues before answering questions.

Time Target: Aim to solve a 5-question puzzle set in 6 to 8 minutes in Prelims, 8 to 10 minutes in Mains. If you are stuck for more than 10 minutes, skip and return later.

Syllogism -- Venn Diagram Method

Syllogism questions provide 2 to 3 statements and ask you to determine which conclusions follow. The Venn diagram method is the most reliable approach.

Rules to Remember:

• "All A are B": Circle A is completely inside circle B.
• "Some A are B": Circles A and B partially overlap.
• "No A is B": Circles A and B do not touch at all.
• "Some A are not B": Part of circle A lies outside circle B.

For "possibility" questions: If the conclusion is not definitely true, check if there is any valid Venn diagram arrangement where it COULD be true. If yes, the possibility follows.

Shortcut for All/Some/No chains:

• All A are B + All B are C = All A are C (definite)
• All A are B + Some B are C = Some A are C (not definite -- common mistake)
• Some A are B + All B are C = Some A are C (definite)
• Some A are B + Some B are C = No definite conclusion between A and C
• No A is B + All B are C = Some C are not A (definite)

Coding-Decoding

Modern banking exams use new-pattern coding that involves shifting logic:

• Letter shifting: Each letter is shifted by a fixed number of positions (e.g., A becomes D when shifted by +3).
• Conditional shifting: Vowels shift by one rule, consonants by another.
• Word rearrangement coding: Words in a sentence are coded using a pattern (reverse order, alphabetical order, etc.).
• Number coding: Letters replaced by numbers using position values, reverse position, or a mathematical rule.

Strategy: Write the alphabet with position numbers (A=1, B=2, ... Z=26) on your rough sheet before the exam. This reference saves time.

Blood Relations

Draw a family tree for every blood relation question. Use these conventions:

• Male: Square or + symbol
• Female: Circle or - symbol
• Married couple: Horizontal line connecting them
• Parent-child: Vertical line going down
• Same generation: Siblings on the same horizontal level

Common trick: Gender-neutral names and coded relationships. Always ask: "What is the gender of this person?" before determining the relationship.

Inequality (Coded Inequalities)

These are the easiest 3 to 5 marks in any exam. Steps:

1. Decode the symbols: Replace coded symbols with actual inequality signs (>, <, =, >=, <=).
2. Write the chain: Combine all statements into a single chain if possible.
3. Check each conclusion: A conclusion follows only if there is a direct, unbroken chain from the left variable to the right variable.
4. Remember: You cannot combine > and < in the same chain to draw a conclusion. Example: A > B and B < C tells you nothing about A and C.

Non-Verbal Reasoning (Important for SSC)

Figure Series and Pattern Completion

Look for these patterns:

• Rotation: The figure rotates 45, 90, or 180 degrees in each step.
• Element addition/deletion: One element is added or removed in each step.
• Mirror image: The figure flips horizontally or vertically.
• Shading pattern: Shading moves in a specific direction or alternates.
• Counting elements: Number of sides, dots, or lines increases/decreases by a pattern.

Paper Folding and Cutting

Visualise the fold, mentally "cut" the folded paper, then unfold to see the result. Practice with actual paper initially to build spatial reasoning.

Embedded Figures

The question figure is hidden within one of the answer figures. Look for the exact shape, orientation, and proportions of the question figure.

Dice and Cube Problems

For standard dice: Opposite faces always sum to 7 (1-6, 2-5, 3-4). For cube problems, learn the formula for painted cube questions:

• 3 faces painted (corner cubes): Always 8
• 2 faces painted (edge cubes): 12(n-2)
• 1 face painted (face cubes): 6(n-2)^2
• 0 faces painted (inner cubes): (n-2)^3

Where n = number of smaller cubes along one edge.

Logical Reasoning

Statement and Conclusion / Assumption / Course of Action

These appear primarily in RBI Grade B and SBI PO Mains:

• Statement-Conclusion: Does the conclusion logically follow from the statement? Avoid making assumptions beyond what is stated.
• Statement-Assumption: What must be assumed (taken for granted) for the statement to hold true?
• Statement-Course of Action: Is the proposed action a practical and logical response to the problem stated?
• Cause and Effect: Are the two events related as cause and effect, or are they independent events? Could there be a common cause?

Critical Reasoning Tips

1. Read the statement objectively -- do not bring in outside knowledge.
2. A conclusion must follow ONLY from the given statement, not from general knowledge.
3. An assumption is something unstated that the author takes for granted. It is not explicitly mentioned in the statement.
4. A course of action must be practical, not extreme, and must address the problem stated.

60-Day Reasoning Preparation Plan

Week	Topics	Daily Practice
Week 1-2	Linear and Circular Seating, Inequality	20 questions/day
Week 3-4	Floor/Box Puzzles, Syllogism, Blood Relations	25 questions/day
Week 5-6	Coding-Decoding, Direction Sense, Data Sufficiency, Alphanumeric Series	25 questions/day
Week 7	Non-Verbal Reasoning (Figure series, Paper folding, Dice -- for SSC)	30 questions/day
Week 8	Logical Reasoning (Statement-based questions), Mixed puzzle practice	30 questions/day
Week 9	Full-length sectional tests (timed): 35 questions in 20 minutes	2 tests/day

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Spending too long on one puzzle: If a puzzle takes more than 10 minutes, skip it. Return only if time permits.
2. Not drawing diagrams: Many candidates try to solve seating and blood relations mentally. This leads to errors. Always draw on rough paper.
3. Rushing inequality questions: These are easy marks. Take 30 seconds extra to verify rather than losing 0.25 marks to carelessness.
4. Ignoring new patterns: Banking exams introduce new puzzle types regularly. Stay updated by solving the latest mock tests.
5. Skipping non-verbal reasoning for SSC: Banking aspirants who also appear for SSC often neglect figure-based questions. Dedicate at least one week to non-verbal topics.

Practice MCQs

Q1. Statements: All pens are books. Some books are tables. Conclusions: I. Some pens are tables. II. Some tables are books.

1. Only I follows
2. Only II follows
3. Both I and II follow
4. Neither follows

Answer: (b) From "All pens are books" and "Some books are tables," we cannot definitively conclude that "Some pens are tables" (because the overlapping books might not include the pens). However, "Some tables are books" is the converse of "Some books are tables," which is always true. So only Conclusion II follows.

Q2. If CLOUD is coded as DMPVE, what is the code for STORM?

1. TUPSN
2. TUPRA
3. TUSQO
4. TUPSN

Answer: (a) Each letter is shifted by +1: C->D, L->M, O->P, U->V, D->E. Applying the same rule to STORM: S->T, T->U, O->P, R->S, M->N = TUPSN.

Q3. Pointing to a man, a woman says "He is the son of my father's only daughter." How is the man related to the woman?

1. Brother
2. Son
3. Nephew
4. Cousin

Answer: (b) "My father's only daughter" is the woman herself. So the man is the son of the woman. The man is her son.

Q4. In a row of students, Ravi is 15th from the left and 20th from the right. How many students are in the row?

1. 34
2. 35
3. 36
4. 33

Answer: (a) Total students = 15 + 20 - 1 = 34. We subtract 1 because Ravi is counted from both ends.

Q5. If A > B, B >= C, C = D, and D > E, which of the following is definitely true?

1. A > E
2. B = D
3. C > E
4. Both (a) and (c)

Answer: (d) Chain: A > B >= C = D > E. From this chain: A > E is definite (following through from A to E). C = D > E, so C > E is also definite. Both (a) and (c) follow.

Master Reasoning Through Consistent Practice

Reasoning ability improves only through deliberate, timed practice. There are no shortcuts for puzzles -- only familiarity with patterns built through solving hundreds of questions. Start with basic-level puzzles and progressively move to exam-level complexity. Track your accuracy and time per set religiously. For topic-wise reasoning practice sets, previous year questions sorted by difficulty, and full-length mock tests with detailed solutions, visit JobSafal at www.jobsafal.com. Build your reasoning skills systematically and turn this section into your highest-scoring area.