🎯 Goal: Master key reasoning topics (Blood Relations, Syllogisms, Seating Arrangements, and Coding-Decoding) by revising concepts, solving practice questions, and analyzing UPSC PYQs.

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🔍 Step 1: Concept Revision (2 Hours)

🔹 Blood Relations:

Blood relations questions test your ability to understand and interpret familial connections. They often involve deciphering complex relationships based on given clues. Here’s a breakdown:

Direct Relations:

• These are the most straightforward and immediate connections within a family.
• Examples include:
  • Father/Mother: Your direct parents.
  • Brother/Sister: Your siblings.
  • Son/Daughter: Your immediate offspring.
  • Husband/Wife: Your spouse.
• These relationships are typically easy to identify and understand.

Complex Relations:

• These involve more indirect or extended family connections, requiring you to trace lineages and understand hierarchical relationships.
• Examples include:
  • Uncle/Aunt: Your parents’ siblings or your spouse’s siblings.
  • Grandparents: Your parents’ parents.
  • Cousins: Your uncles’ or aunts’ children.
  • Nephew/Niece: Your siblings’ children.
  • In-laws: Relations through marriage (e.g., father-in-law, sister-in-law).
• Solving questions involving complex relations requires careful analysis and the ability to visualize family trees.
• These are often the relations that cause the most confusion.

Key Strategies for Solving Blood Relation Questions:

• Draw a Family Tree: Visual representation is crucial. Use symbols to denote gender and lines to show relationships.
• Break Down Complex Statements: Divide long sentences into smaller, manageable parts.
• Use Yourself as a Reference: Relate the given information to your own family structure to simplify the problem.
• Pay Attention to Gender: Gender is vital in determining relationships.
• Practice Regularly: Familiarize yourself with different types of questions and patterns.

• Tips:
  • Use family trees to visualize connections.
  • Follow generation-wise approach (Parents → Self → Children).
• Example:
  • Pointing to a woman, Rahul said, “She is the only daughter of my father’s only daughter.” How is the woman related to Rahul?
  • Answer: Daughter

🔹 Syllogisms:

Syllogisms are a form of logical reasoning that conclude from two or more premises.

1. Categorical Syllogisms:

• These syllogisms deal with categorical statements, which assert or deny that all or some members of one category are included in another.
• They use quantifiers like “all,” “some,” “no,” and “some…not.”
• Example:
  • Premise 1: All cats are mammals.
  • Premise 2: All mammals are animals.
  • Conclusion: Therefore, all cats are animals.
• These syllogisms focus on the relationships between categories.

2. Conditional Syllogisms (Hypothetical Syllogisms):

• These involve “if-then” statements, also known as conditional statements.
• They explore hypothetical scenarios and the logical consequences that follow.
• Example:
  • Premise 1: If it rains, then the ground is wet.
  • Premise 2: It is raining.
  • Conclusion: Therefore, the ground is wet.
• These focus on the relationship between an antecedent (the “if” part) and a consequent (the “then” part).

3. Venn Diagram-Based Syllogisms:

• Venn diagrams are a visual tool used to represent categorical syllogisms.
• They use overlapping circles to show the relationships between different categories.
• You can determine whether the conclusion logically follows by visually representing the premises.
• This method is particularly helpful for visualizing and solving complex categorical syllogisms.
• This is a method of visually checking the validity of categorical syllogisms.

Key aspects of syllogisms:

• Premises: The statements that provide the basis for the conclusion.
• Conclusion: The statement that is logically derived from the premises.
• Validity: A syllogism is valid if the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises.
• Understanding these different types of syllogisms is essential for developing strong logical reasoning skills.

• Key Rule: All + All = All, All + Some = Some, Some + Some = No Conclusion
• Example:
  • Statements: All A are B. All B are C.
  • Conclusion: All A are C. ✅ (Valid)
  • Strategy: Solve using Venn Diagrams.

🔹 Seating Arrangements:

• Types:
  • Linear Arrangements (Row-wise left-right placement)
  • Circular Arrangements (Clockwise & Counterclockwise)
• Example Strategy:
  • Identify fixed positions first.
  • Use “left/right of X” hints carefully.

🔹 Coding-Decoding:

• Types:
  • Letter shifting (A → C, B → D…)
  • Mathematical operations on numbers
• Example:
  • If APPLE is coded as CQRGN, how is MANGO coded?
  • Solution: Shift each letter forward by 2 places → OCPIQ

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✍ Step 2: Solve 20-30 Practice Questions (2 Hours)

• Blood Relations: 5-7 questions
• Syllogisms: 5-7 questions
• Seating Arrangements: 5 questions (both linear & circular)
• Coding-Decoding: 5-7 questions

🔹 Sources for Practice:

• UPSC CSAT previous year papers
• Logical reasoning books (RS Aggarwal, Arun Sharma)
• Online quizzes

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📖 Step 3: Solve Previous Year Questions (PYQs) (1.5 Hours)

• Pick PYQs from the last 5 years (UPSC CSAT Paper).
• Time yourself while solving (strict time-bound practice).
• Analyze mistakes & revisit concepts where required.

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⏳ Step 4: Rapid Revision & Short Notes (30 Minutes)

✔ Revise formulas, shortcuts & tricks.
✔ Create quick notes for seating arrangement patterns.
✔ Memorize key Syllogism Rules and Coding-Decoding Letter Shifts.

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✅ Outcome by End of Day 26:

✔ Mastery over Blood Relations, Syllogisms, Seating Arrangements, and Coding-Decoding.
✔ 20-30 questions practiced for speed & accuracy.
✔ PYQs solved & analyzed for UPSC pattern understanding.
✔ Short Notes Prepared for Quick Revision.

📌 Next Step: Continue CSAT practice with more reasoning topics (Maths & Comprehension). 🚀