The logical reasoning section is very important in competitive exams. It comprises several kinds of logical reasoning tests that are designed to test the candidate’s analytical and logical reasoning capabilities. The logical reasoning tests are often presented in a group or single type format, depending on the level of the test. The logical reasoning tests can be either verbal or non-verbal:
Verbal reasoning involves expressing ideas in spoken form. To be able to answer verbally, one needs to have a good vocabulary. People who cannot properly express their ideas may fail the exam. Verbal reasoning is similar to other kinds of intelligence, for example musical intelligence or artistic ability. It is the ability to understand and use abstract thoughts in the workplace. For this ability, a person needs to have a good understanding of cause-and-effect relationships, as well as abstract thoughts.
Logical reasoning is divided into two main categories, these are deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is one of the main types of logical reasoning, where a conclusion is reached after the deduction of all the possible consequences. An example of a deductive problem would be: Bill went to see Mary at this restaurant, but Mary didn’t like Bill’s choice of food. Deduction does not imply that something is already known, it only suggests a relationship between the facts that are already known and the conclusion that follows.
One kind of deductive logical reasoning is the number series test, also known as analogical reasoning. Here the question is as to whether there is a solution to a given number combination by applying the same rules that we used when dealing with the normal number series. For example, if we were to graph the number combinations that can be made up by the alphabet, from A to Z, how should we place the diagonal onto the graph? In order to answer this question we would need to know which analogies could be used, and how many analogies are there between the letters of the alphabet and the numbers we are dealing with.
Another form of deductive logical reasoning is non-verifiable or “folk” logical reasoning. This form is more akin to language, as it requires the use of words such as “is”, “was”, “occasionally” and “sometimes”. Non-verifiable logical reasoning relies on the ability to make inferences from observed behaviors. For instance, John is a patient who often drinks his milk before bedtime. The doctor thinks it might be a symptom of acid reflux and therefore gives him some medicine to keep his stomach acid down.