Reasoning for SSC CGL Exam

SSC CGL 2018 notification is out. Tier – I Examination will be conducted in August. The exam has four sections and Reasoning for SSC CGL is one of the most important sections. Read more about exam pattern and syllabus for SSC exam. With just two months under the belt, it becomes all the more important to pull up your socks now. You can even prepare for SSC CGL on the go using your mobile.

Reasoning accounts for about 25% of the paper in Tier I examination. Since SSC CGL does not have sectional cutoffs, it will be a lot wiser to play by your strengths and maximize your scores in sections such as reasoning than to target unreasonable marks in sections such as GK. Scoring high in reasoning in SSC CGL will help to offset low scores in the vague and broad general knowledge section. You can access Previous year papers of SSC CGL  to get hold of the type of questions. You can practice  SSC CGL mock tests to get adapted to the test taking environment.

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Reasoning for SSC CGL:

Reasoning is usually one of the high scoring sections in SSC CGL. Unlike GK section, wherein, you have to memorise a zillion facts, reasoning section rewards those who think. Someone with a logical bent of mind going unprepared has a very good probability of outscoring someone who has not put his efforts in the right direction. Hence, It will not be an understatement to claim that thinking ability forms the bedrock of this section.

Reasoning for SSC CGL is a lot different from banking examinations.Usually, questions are of individual type(Even sets have 2-3 questions at the maximum). SSC reasoning questions are simple and demand a different skill set. Each question carries 2 marks, and wrong answers are penalised with a negative score of 0.5 marks. There are 25 questions in this section totalling to 50 marks. Let us have a look at commonly asked types of questions in SSC CGL reasoning.

Types of Questions Asked in SSC CGL Reasoning:

Analogy:                                                                                                                                                    These type of questions make a comparison between attributes of a particular object.You have to select the attribute that is analogous to the attribute of given pair.
Eg) Lion:pride:: dolphin: ?
These questions can be easily solved provided you at least have some vague idea about the attributes discussed.However, avoid guessing in these type of questions if you are clueless about the meaning of the words used.

Blood relations and Direction sense:                                                                                                     These questions are the easiest of the lot. The chances of someone getting these questions wrong after putting in a decent effort is abysmally low. You can use flowcharts and construct diagrams to aid in visualising.

Set theory:                                                                                                                                               Usually, these questions involve the construction of Venn diagrams to solve them. One has to be very careful with the words used in the question.
E.g) 50 persons use pens to sketch is different from 50 persons use only pens to sketch.

Coding, decoding:        

These questions are similar to the ones that get asked in banking examinations. Words are coded, and you are asked to code another word using the logic previously used. Coded blood relation questions can also be asked in reasoning.

Visual Reasoning:                                                                                                                                  These questions are something unique to SSC and other central government examinations. These questions check the ability of a candidate to perceive something in his mind. Symbol puzzles, mirroring about an axis or both axes are usually asked. Paper folding and punching holes and other such questions usually asked in this section.Apart from these questions, questions on colouring and cutting of cubes, dices are also frequently asked in this section.

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Anagrams:Number series:
Reasoning for SSC CGL usually contains questions on identifying the incorrect number in the series, completion of series and other such questions. You must get the logic used within the first few seconds of looking at the question to solve these problems.However, it is not recommended to spend more than a minute on these questions if the logic is hard to spot.

These are questions in which a word is given and other possible words that can be made from the given word are asked. SSC CGL reasoning paper contains 2-3 questions of this type. These questions are very easy to solve provided one has a decent grip over the language.

Miscellaneous problems:                                                                                                                          Apart from the problems discussed above, problems from various other topics such as syllogism, odd one out and arrangements get asked in the exam.

Tips to solve Reasoning for SSC CGL:

1.Attention to detail:
When millions of people (literally) are vying for a post, missing out the minute details is nothing short of blasphemy. You must try to get questions right in the first attempt itself since doing a question, again and again, makes you lose out some productive time that could have been used elsewhere.

2.Avoid affairs:
Getting too much involved in a beautiful question and solving it in 5 minutes might make you feel content but you miss out on 5 other template questions that could have been solved in the same time frame. Limit adventures to the practice sessions. Have a sound test-taking strategy on the D-day.

3.Allocate enough time:
Since SSC CGL does not have sectional time limits, allocate adequate time for the sections based on your strengths and weaknesses. Rather than mimicking standard sectional timings, formulate your own strategy. Remember, You have to play it ‘your’ way in the examination.

You can read about Geometry for SSC CGL  in our previous blog post.

Also read tips for Quantitative aptitude for SSC CGL.

Know how to start English preparation for SSC CGL exam.