Cracking Analytical Reasoning

Hey everyone!

Analytical Reasoning requires a systematic approach to a problem. The questions are usually simple- it is all about arranging the information they give you. Take the following example:

An employee has been assigned the task of allotting offices to six of the staff members. The offices are numbered 1 – 6. The offices are arranged in a row and they are separated from each other by six foot high dividers. Hence voices, sounds and cigarette smoke flow easily from one office to another.

Mr. John needs to use the telephone quite often throughout the day. Mr. Rohan and Mr. Brown need adjacent offices as they need to consult each other often while working. Miss. Manasi, is a senior employee and has to be allotted the office number 5, having the biggest window.

Mr. Donald requires silence in the offices next to his. Mr. Tushar, Mr. Rohan and Mr. Donald are all smokers. Miss Manasi finds tobacco smoke allergic and consecutively the offices next to hers to be occupied by non-smokers.

Unless specifically stated all the employees maintain an atmosphere of silence during office hours.
The ideal candidate to occupy the office furthest from Mr. John would be

A. Mr. Rohan
B. Mr. Tushar
C. Mr. Donald
D. Mr. Brown

The three employees who are smokers should be seated in the offices.

A. 1, 2 and 4
B. 2, 3 and 6
C. 1, 2 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 6

The ideal office for Mr. Rohan would be.

A. 2
B. 6
C. 1
D. 3
E. 4

In the event of what occurrence, within a period of one month since the assignment of the offices, would a request for a change in office be put forth by one or more employees ?

A. Mr. Donald quitting smoking.
B. The installation of a noisy teletype machine by Miss Manasi in her office.
C. Mr. John needing silence in the office (s) next to her own. .
D. Mr. Brown suffering from laryngitis.
E. Mr. Tushar taking over the duties formerly taken care of by Mr John.

General Steps to solve problems

Always break down the problem. The problem will give you a set of data. Organize this data in a manner that makes sense. In this problem draw 6 slots or dashes and place each person as per the condition given for each person. You know that Mr. Rohan and Mr. Brown are definitely positioned next to each other. You know that Ms Manasi is definitely in room five and that she dislikes smoking. The only two members who can live near her are the non-smokers- Mr. Brown and Mr. John. If Mr. Brown is in room 6 then he cannot be next to Mr. Rohan. Therefore, Mr. Brown has to be in room 4 with Mr. Rohan in room 3 and Mr John in room 6. You know that Mr. Donald requires silence next to him but you also know that Mr. John uses the telephone often. Therefore, Mr. John cannot be placed beside Mr. Donald and the answer to the first question will be Mr. Donald. Continue organizing the data in this manner.

Solve the set before answering the questions. Instead of half organizing data and half answering questions it is better to solve the set and find the arrangement (or whatever it is that is required) before answering the questions.

Take hints from the options. As this is a multiple choice test you can automatically cross out options depending on the choices available under a question. For example, the fact that Ms Manasi has not been given as an option in question 1. shows that she is definitely not in the room furthest from John, that is, she is probably in a room close to John. Most of the time the options in a number sequence question can help you figure out the connection. While solving the set these hints should be kept in mind.

Use a formula when possible but always learn the logical way of arriving at an answer in case you forget the formula. This is especially true of calendar and clock problems.

Make questions of your own. A good way of learning how to solve analytical questions is by questions of your own. Creating your own pattern will help you learn how to find patterns easily.

Ans 1 : C

Ans 2 : D

Ans 3 : D

Ans 4 : E

Now that you know some basic points to be kept in mind here is a sample test to show you the kind of questions you can expect at CLAT. This is just for you to test your current skill and comfort with logic. Do not worry if you are not able to solve any of the questions. CLATGyan will give you week by week lessons on each aspect of logic along with sample problems for your convenience.

Best of Luck!

Rupali Samuel