Modern Approach to Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal

Introduction to R.S. Aggarwal's Book

• The book "Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning" by R.S. Aggarwal is a comprehensive guide to reasoning skills.
• It covers both verbal and non-verbal reasoning, categorized into different topics.
• The book is widely used for various competitive exams.
• It features a large number of solved and unsolved problems.
• The book aims to build logical thinking abilities.

Verbal Reasoning

• Analogies: Identifying relationships between terms and applying them to find missing terms.
  • Different types of analogies are covered, like word-pair, number-pair, letter-pair, etc.
  • Practice questions and examples for each type are included.
• Classification: Grouping items based on their common features and identifying outliers.
  • Focus on specific criteria for categorization.
  • Different types of classifications are detailed.
• Coding-Decoding: Deciphering or interpreting coded symbols or patterns.
  • Includes examples of codes using letters, numbers, and symbols.
  • Explains different methods for deduction.
• Blood Relations: Understanding relationships between family members using diagrams and symbols.
• Direction Sense: Understanding directions and analyzing movements.
  • Practice questions with various scenarios and different directions.
• Series: Identifying patterns and sequences of numbers, letters, or symbols.
  • Includes problems with increasing/decreasing patterns.
• Non-Verbal Reasoning: Identifying patterns, shapes, and relationships among different figures.
• Logical Deductions: Determining the validity of arguments based on premises(premises or statements of fact.)
  • Understanding of inferences and conclusions.
• Puzzles: Solving puzzles that involve logic and problem-solving techniques.
• Statement and Conclusions: Identifying the logical conclusions from given facts in terms of assumption or arguments
  • Different assumptions may lead to different conclusions.

Non-Verbal Reasoning

• Figure Matrices: Identifying missing figures in matrices based on patterns.
  • Includes different types of matrices with various types of arrangement and patterns.
• Figure Classification: Identifying figures based on their common properties and patterns.
  • Grouping similar images and distinguishing non-matching items.
• Series: Identifying missing figures in a sequence based on their similarities.
  • Locating trends using similarities between patterns in a sequence.
• Embedded Figures: Identifying one figure within another larger figure.
  • Pinpointing specific shapes, designs, and patterns within another figure.
• Figure Analysis: Analyzing information from the figures based on different properties like size, shape, and shading.
• Paper Folding: Imagining the shape of a piece of paper after folding and unfolding it.
• Mirror Images: Identifying the mirror image of a given figure.
• Water Images: Identifying the water image of a given figure.
• Cube Counting/Folding: Visualization of 3D objects like cubes and boxes based on net shapes(2D representation).
• Problem-Solving Based on Visual Patterns and Sequences.
• Analogical Reasoning based on figures rather than words

Problem-Solving Strategies

• Logical Reasoning: Step-by-step approach for breaking complex problems.
• Identifying the pattern: Recognising repetitive qualities, relationships and sequences to solve problems.
• Drawing diagrams: Helping visualise complex information, and forming solutions.
• Elimination: Rejecting incorrect options to determine the correct answer.
• Assumption: Considering all possible assumptions when solving problems.
• Application of logical rules: Utilizing standard and established logic to solve problems.

Study Tips

• Practice regularly: Solving a variety of problems builds proficiency in reasoning.
• Focus on understanding: Don't just memorize solutions.
• Analyze solutions: Learn from correct and incorrect answers.
• Identify your weaknesses: Focus on areas needing improvement.
• Time management: Practice solving problems within time limits.