Syllogisms and logical puzzles look intimidating but reward the most mechanical methods in the section. Draw the right diagram, add every clue, and the answer is simply read off the page. The skill is choosing the diagram fast and trusting it over your intuition.
Syllogisms: the minimum-overlap Venn
A syllogism gives you a few statements about groups and asks whether a conclusion follows. Draw the groups as overlapping circles, but only commit to the overlap the statements actually force — nothing more. 'All A are B' nests A inside B; 'some A are B' forces just one shared point; 'no A are B' keeps them apart. By drawing the minimum overlap, you avoid inventing relationships the text never stated.
- All A are B — draw circle A wholly inside circle B.
- Some A are B — overlap the circles and mark a single shared point.
- No A are B — keep the circles fully apart, no contact.
- Most or few A are B — treat as 'some' unless a number forces more.
Default to No when nothing forces it
A conclusion only follows if it must be true in every arrangement your diagram allows. If you can picture even one valid arrangement where the conclusion fails, it does not follow — so the answer is No. This is the single most useful habit for the five-statement format: unless the statements force the conclusion, default to No rather than to what merely sounds plausible.
Beware the conclusion that simply feels true. 'Some A are B' never lets you flip it into 'some A are not B', and 'no A are C' tells you nothing about B and C. If your pen can draw one legal picture where the statement fails, the honest answer is No — however obvious it seems.
All wolves are mammals; all lycans are wolves. Draw lycans inside wolves inside mammals. 'All lycans are mammals' must hold in that nested picture, so Yes. Add 'no wolves are red': since lycans sit entirely inside wolves, no lycan can be red either — Yes. But 'some foxes are wolves' has nothing forcing it, so it's No.
Logical puzzles: build a grid
Puzzles ask you to arrange people, objects or positions under a set of clues. Don't reason in your head — draw a grid. For matching problems (who teaches what, who chose which colour) use a table of people against options and tick or cross each cell. For ordering problems (fastest to slowest, hottest to coolest) draw a single ranked line of slots and slide names in.
Work from the most certain clue first
Start with the clue that pins something down completely, then cascade. Each definite placement lets you cross out cells or fix neighbours, and the grid tightens until only one arrangement survives. If the question asks what 'must be true', test the candidate answers against your grid — anything that could be otherwise is out.
Five bakers use ovens at 165, 180, 195, 210 and 225C. Clues: Raj is hotter than Lucas; Lucas is above Sofia but below Mei; Nina is above Mei. Draw five slots low to high. Sofia, Lucas, Mei, Nina rise in that order, and Raj must sit above Lucas — fill the line and any 'must be true' option reads straight off it.
Save logical puzzles for last and timebox them. They are the slowest type, so if the grid stalls, take your best read, flag it, and protect the easy marks waiting elsewhere rather than sinking three minutes into one arrangement.
Why this saves time overall
Drawing feels slower for the first few questions and then pays for itself: you stop re-reading the stem, you stop second-guessing, and you stop making the silent errors that come from juggling clues mentally. Because logical puzzles are your last type in the attack order, a clean grid is also your best defence against the clock at the end.