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Learn reasoning concepts, understand solving techniques, work through solved examples and practise questions — for TSPSC, APPSC, Telangana Police, AP Police, SSC, UPSC, banking, railway and other State and Central government exams.
Reasoning Ability tests how well you think logically and analytically — spotting patterns, drawing valid conclusions and solving structured puzzles — rather than testing subject knowledge. It is usually split into two parts: Verbal Reasoning (analogy, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, puzzles) built on words, letters and numbers, and Non-Verbal Reasoning built on figures, diagrams and images.
Nearly every competitive exam — TSPSC, APPSC, SSC, UPSC, banking, railway and police recruitment — carries a dedicated Reasoning section, because it is considered a fair test of trainable thinking skill rather than rote memory.
The fastest way to improve is to learn each topic's method first (draw the family tree, draw the compass, draw the Venn circles), solve a few questions slowly and correctly, and only then build speed through repetition. As with aptitude, accuracy comes first — a fast wrong answer costs more than a slow right one under negative marking. Use the worked examples and Quick Revision cards below to revise, then practise with the MCQ bank and mock test.
Analogy asks you to find the relationship between a given pair, then apply the same relationship to a second pair. First name the relationship in plain words (e.g. "part-to-whole", "worker-to-tool", "cause-to-effect") before searching the options — guessing without naming the relationship is the most common source of errors.
Classification (Odd One Out) asks which item does not belong with the rest. Check the group against several possible rules in turn — category (all fruits vs. one vegetable), property (all prime vs. one composite) and pattern (all follow a letter-shift rule) — since the "obvious" rule is sometimes a deliberate trap.
Check, in order: a constant difference, a constant ratio, differences that themselves form a series (2nd-order difference), squares/cubes with an offset, or two interleaved series (alternate terms follow separate rules).
Find the coding rule from the given example (a fixed letter-shift, a reversed order, a substitution table) and apply the identical rule to the new word — never assume the rule; derive it letter by letter from what is given.
Draw the family tree with each generation on its own horizontal line, oldest at the top. Join a married couple with a double line and drop a line to their children. Mark gender as + (male) / − (female) / ? (not stated) as you learn it.
Track two running totals — net North–South and net East–West — and let opposite movements cancel. The straight-line distance back to the start is the hypotenuse: √(NS² + EW²).
Right turn: North→East→South→West→North. Left turn: North→West→South→East→North.
Total persons = (Rank from top) + (Rank from bottom) − 1
Rank from bottom = Total persons − Rank from top + 1
In a circular arrangement facing the centre, clockwise and anticlockwise directions are the reverse of what they are when everyone faces outward — decide which way the group faces before assigning left/right.
For a seating arrangement puzzle: list every clue first, place the most specific/fixed clue first (a person at a fixed end or seat number), then work outward using the relative clues, marking each seat as you fix it.
| Statement | Meaning | Valid conversion |
|---|---|---|
| All A are B | A sits entirely inside B | Some B are A |
| No A is B | A and B do not overlap | No B is A |
| Some A are B | A and B overlap partly | Some B are A |
| Some A are not B | Part of A lies outside B | no valid conversion |
Statements are taken as true even when they contradict the real world (accept "All cats are birds" for the purposes of the question), and a conclusion must follow from every possible Venn diagram that satisfies the statements — not just the one that seems most likely.
Puzzles combine several reasoning skills — ranking, blood relations, direction, comparison — into one multi-clue question. List every clue first, fill in whatever is stated directly (fixed positions, exact ages), then use elimination on the remaining clues one at a time rather than trying to solve everything at once.
Mirror image: left and right are reversed (as in a vertical mirror). Water image: top and bottom are reversed (as in a reflection on still water).
Additional topics that appear less frequently, with a short pointer for each. Detailed standalone pages for the ones without a link yet are being added.
Judge whether an argument is "strong" (directly relevant and substantial) or "weak" (based on a minor point or a hypothetical).
Read in detail →An assumption is something taken for granted, unstated, without which the statement would not make sense.
Read in detail →Decide if the Assertion is true, if the Reason is true, and if the Reason correctly explains the Assertion.
Read in detail →Decide only whether each statement gives enough information to answer — do not actually solve for the value unless required.
Read in detail →Coded inequality chains (A > B = C ≤ D) are solved by combining the symbols step by step, the same way as a mathematical inequality chain.
Read in detail →Clock angle = |30H − 5.5M| degrees. A normal year has 1 "odd day", a leap year has 2.
Read in detail →An effect must happen after its cause and be a direct result of it — two events that are simply related in time are not automatically cause and effect.
Draw overlapping circles for each group; the overlapping region represents items common to both (or all three) groups.
When symbols are substituted for operators (e.g. "+" means "×"), rewrite the whole expression with real operators first, then calculate using BODMAS.
Quick-reference positions for the English alphabet — the basis for letter-based series, coding-decoding and ranking questions.
| Letter | Pos. | Letter | Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1 | N | 14 |
| B | 2 | O | 15 |
| C | 3 | P | 16 |
| D | 4 | Q | 17 |
| E | 5 | R | 18 |
| F | 6 | S | 19 |
| G | 7 | T | 20 |
| H | 8 | U | 21 |
| I | 9 | V | 22 |
| J | 10 | W | 23 |
| K | 11 | X | 24 |
| L | 12 | Y | 25 |
| M | 13 | Z | 26 |
Position from the other end = 27 − (position from this end). For example, D is the 4th letter from the start, so it is the (27 − 4) = 23rd letter from the end.
If CAT is coded as DBU, how is DOG coded in the same language?
Given: CAT → DBU
Approach: Compare each letter's position with its code letter's position.
Solution: C(3)→D(4), A(1)→B(2), T(20)→U(21) — every letter shifts forward by 1. Applying the same rule: D(4)→E(5), O(15)→P(16), G(7)→H(8).
Answer: EPH
Find the next number in the series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Given: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
Approach: Look at the differences between consecutive terms.
Solution: Differences are 4, 6, 8, 10 — increasing by 2 each time, so the next difference is 12. Each term also equals n × (n + 1): 1×2=2, 2×3=6, 3×4=12, 4×5=20, 5×6=30, so the next term is 6×7=42.
Answer: 42
Pointing to a photograph, a man said, "She is the daughter of my grandfather's only son." How is the woman related to the man?
Given: The man's grandfather has only one son.
Approach: Identify who "my grandfather's only son" must be.
Solution: The man himself is a descendant of his grandfather through his father, so his father is definitely one of the grandfather's sons. Since the grandfather has only one son, that son must be the man's father. "Daughter of my father" is the man's sister.
Answer: Sister
A man walks 5 km towards North, then turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. How far is he from the starting point, and in which direction?
Given: North 5 km → right turn, 3 km → right turn, 5 km
Approach: Track net North–South and net East–West movement.
Solution: Facing North, turning right faces East (3 km East); turning right again faces South (5 km South). Net North–South = 5 km North − 5 km South = 0. Net East–West = 3 km East.
Answer: 3 km, to the East of the starting point
In a class of 40 students, Ravi ranks 14th from the top. What is his rank from the bottom?
Given: Total students = 40, Rank from top = 14
Formula: Rank from bottom = Total − Rank from top + 1
Solution: 40 − 14 + 1 = 27
Answer: 27th from the bottom
Practise questions covering Analogy, Classification, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Ranking, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Puzzles, Venn Diagrams, Data Sufficiency and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Practice Reasoning Questions →A 20-question multiple choice test on Reasoning Ability.
Start Reasoning Mock Test →Practise Reasoning in the pattern commonly followed by these examinations. CompeteBits does not claim a question came from a specific official examination unless the source is verified. For verified, question-by-question previous year papers with worked solutions, see Previous Papers and the Study Materials reasoning pages linked above.
Quick-access cards for last-minute revision.
Reasoning Ability tests logical and analytical thinking through pattern recognition and structured problem-solving, using topics like analogy, series, coding-decoding, blood relations, syllogism, seating arrangement and non-verbal reasoning.
The most important topics are Analogy, Classification, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Ranking, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Puzzles and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
Practise the same question types repeatedly so you recognise the pattern instantly, memorise alphabet positions and direction rules, and draw diagrams (family trees, seating layouts) quickly rather than reasoning in your head.
Solve using the full method (draw the diagram, list every clue) before relying on shortcuts, re-read exactly what is being asked (for example, whose direction or relation is required), and verify your answer against every given condition.
Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Seating Arrangement and Syllogism are tested most frequently across TSPSC, APPSC, SSC, banking and police exams.
SSC exams cover Analogy, Classification, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Ranking, Syllogism, Seating Arrangement, Puzzles and Non-Verbal Reasoning. Practise topic-wise, then attempt full mock tests under time pressure.
Banking exams emphasise Seating Arrangement, Puzzles, Syllogism, Data Sufficiency and Coding-Decoding, usually at a higher difficulty than SSC. Practise multi-clue puzzles specifically, since they take the most time.
TSPSC and APPSC General Studies papers test core reasoning topics such as Analogy, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense and Ranking, usually at a foundational to moderate difficulty level.
You can practice Reasoning multiple-choice questions on CompeteBits, covering Analogy, Classification, Series, Coding-Decoding, Blood Relations, Direction Sense, Ranking, Syllogism and Non-Verbal Reasoning.
You can attempt a timed Reasoning mock test on CompeteBits with instant scoring and correct/wrong answers.