In this guide
General Intelligence and Reasoning is the largest section in the RRB Group D CBT: 30 of the 100 questions, going by recent notices. It is also the section where practice pays back fastest. There are no facts to memorise beyond the alphabet, and most question types repeat the same few patterns.
That makes reasoning the best place to build a safe score. This guide sorts the topics by how long they take, gives you a four-week order and a daily routine, and ends with the maths of guessing, because with negative marking a careless guess is worse than a blank.
The topics, grouped by speed
| Type | Topics | Aim for |
|---|---|---|
| Quick | Analogy, classification (odd one out), number and letter series, coding–decoding, mathematical operations, alphabetical order and jumbling | Under 40 seconds each |
| Medium | Blood relations, directions, ranking and order, Venn diagrams, syllogism, calendar and clock | 40–60 seconds each |
| Long | Seating arrangement, puzzles, statements and conclusions, data sufficiency | 1–2 minutes each |
The syllabus in the notification uses slightly different names, such as "relationships" and "similarities and differences". Read it once and match each item to a topic in this table.
A four-week order
| Week | Topics | Why this order |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Letter positions, analogy, odd one out, series, coding–decoding | These build the alphabet speed every later topic needs |
| 2 | Blood relations, directions, ranking, mathematical operations | Diagram and rule topics, each learnt in two or three days |
| 3 | Syllogism, Venn diagrams, calendar and clock, jumbling and dictionary order | Rule-based; one method each |
| 4 | Seating, puzzles, statements, data sufficiency | Long types come last, once the basics are fast |
From week 5, solve one timed mixed set of 30 questions every day, and a full mock every two or three days.
Learn the alphabet by position
Most letter questions (series, coding, analogy) need the position of a letter. Counting on your fingers costs seconds on every question. Learn these anchors instead.
EJOTY gives the multiples of 5:
| E | J | O | T | Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 |
Then count one or two steps from the nearest anchor. R is two before T, so R = 18.
Opposite letters add up to 27: A–Z, B–Y, C–X, D–W, E–V, and so on. The same rule gives positions from the right end: a letter's position from the right = 27 − its position from the left.
A daily routine (45–60 minutes)
- 10 minutes: 15 quick questions (series, analogy, coding), timed.
- 25 minutes: the topic of the day. Learn the method, then solve 20 questions.
- 10 minutes: 3–4 long questions, such as a seating arrangement or a puzzle.
- 5 minutes: check answers and write each mistake in a notebook, with the reason.
Time budget in the exam
The CBT gives 90 minutes for 100 questions, which is 54 seconds a question on average. Reasoning has many quick questions, so a sensible target is to finish the section in about 25–30 minutes. Do the quick types first, then the medium ones, and leave long puzzles for the end.
If a question passes two minutes, mark it and move on. It carries the same one mark as a 20-second question.
Worked examples
Example 1 (coding): If CAT is written as DBU, how is DOG written?
- C → D, A → B, T → U. Each letter moves forward by 1.
- D → E, O → P, G → H. Answer: EPH.
Example 2 (letter position): Which letter is 11th from the right end of the alphabet?
- Position from the left = 27 − 11 = 16. The 16th letter is one after O (15).
- Answer: P.
Example 3 (ranking): In a row, a candidate is 7th from the left and 12th from the right. How many people are in the row?
- Total = 7 + 12 − 1 = 18. Subtract 1 because the candidate is counted in both positions.
Example 4 (guessing): Each wrong answer costs one-third of a mark. Is a blind guess worth it?
- With four options, a blind guess is right 1 time in 4. Expected score = 1/4 × 1 − 3/4 × 1/3 = 1/4 − 1/4 = 0. It gains nothing on average.
- If you can rule out one option for certain, you choose from three. Expected score = 1/3 × 1 − 2/3 × 1/3 = 1/3 − 2/9 = 1/9 of a mark, a small gain.
- So guess only after you have eliminated at least one option with certainty. Our guide to negative marking covers this in detail.
Habits that raise accuracy
- Draw a diagram for blood relations, directions and seating, every time.
- Write letter positions above the word in coding questions.
- Test every option against every clue in puzzles. The right option fits all of them.
- Read the last line twice. Many errors come from missing "not", "left" or "second from".
- Keep a mistake notebook. Reread it every Sunday.
Practice set
- Which letter is 20th in the alphabet?
- What is the opposite letter of G?
- Find the next number: 5, 10, 20, 40, ?
- Find the odd one out: Apple, Mango, Carrot, Banana.
- If PEN is written as QFO, how is INK written?
- Which letter is 18th from the right end of the alphabet?
- A person walks 5 km north, turns right and walks 3 km, then turns right again and walks 5 km. Where are they now, compared with the start?
- A is B's sister. B is C's father. How is A related to C?
Answers:
- T. The T of EJOTY is 20.
- T. G is 7, and 27 − 7 = 20.
- 80. Each term doubles.
- Carrot. It is a vegetable; the others are fruits.
- JOL. Each letter moves forward by 1.
- I. 27 − 18 = 9, and the 9th letter is I.
- 3 km east of the start. North 5, then east 3, then south 5. The north and south cancel.
- A is C's aunt (C's father's sister).
What to do next
- Learn EJOTY and the opposite-letter pairs this week.
- Follow the four-week order, then switch to one timed mixed set a day.
- Start week 1 with number and letter series, then move to coding–decoding.
- Keep a mistake notebook and reread it every Sunday.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Railway Recruitment Boards website .
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