Logical guessing or logical reasoning is something which is not taught in the schools. It’s based on your own critical thinking to differentiate between what is right or wrong. Where we can cram lessons from social sciences and language subjects, logical guessing involves your own perspective. It is commonly seen that logical guessing questions in JEE become the forte of some students and it looks like that they were born with logical reasoning; whereas for the other students it’s a pain. They just don’t seem to get it right ever. So what should be done to overcome this? Following are some ways and techniques by which you can perform better in the logical guessing section of your maths paper in IIT JEE, and also shape up your logical thinking in a better way-

During the Examination:

1. Always remember that in the logical guessing section of the JEE, there will be mixed type of questions: easy, medium and difficult. So solve the easy ones first and keep the difficult ones for the end. In this way you will not only finish the known portion on time, but clearing more questions of the sections will give you a lot of confidence to attempt the tougher ones.

2. The best technique to go ahead while solving such questions is to eliminate the possible wrong answers before you set towards finding the right solutions. For e.g., you know that the answer would be in a particular unit. Then remove the options of other unit. As you will narrow down the choices, it will become easier to reach the correct answer.

3. If there are some answers which you are unsure of, mark your guess on the question paper with pencil, before you move on to the next question. For e.g. if you think ‘b’ is the right answer but you are unsure, write ‘b’ with pencil on the question and move ahead. This way while you are running out of time you would not have to go through the entire thought process of solving the question again, you can just weigh your guess in such a case.

4. Many students make the mistake of going through all the statements of the questions and making sense out of each statement. Employ a bottom to top approach. Read the main question at the end and then go through the supporting facts. There might be some facts just to confuse you. Read through the lines here.

During Exam Preparations:

1. Logical guessing questions in JEE do not come from the entire syllabus. There are certain sections from which these are picked and repeated. So whilst you are solving such questions, classify them broadly under the topics from which they are picked. So as you would attempt more and more questions, you will start getting an idea of which portions do these come from. And then you have to get the basics from such chapters clear.

2. Practice a lot. The more you practice, the more types of questions you will be able to solve. Note the time you take to solve different kind of questions and then subsequently with practice try to reduce the time taken. Lesser the time taken, more number of questions you will be able to do, and thus you will be thoroughly prepared for the JEE.

3. Never make the mistake of considering this section to be easy. There are many students who thinking it’s just about the everyday logic and go unprepared. In such cases, these questions overwhelm the students and they start panicking. Let it not happen to you. Though this may look simple but as you will sit down to solve them, you will see them getting twisted.

In your everyday routine:

There are certain ways in which you can improve your critical attitude so that you develop a logical thinking. Though it cannot happen over a couple of days, but over a period of time you see changes in your perspective.

1. Ask a lot of question to yourself about the things happening around you. Notice the behaviour of people. Find a pattern in which things move around you and others. If not satisfied with the answer, as the people. For e.g. before posing a question to someone, guess their reply, then cross check whether your guess what right or wrong. If right, pat your shoulder! If wrong, discuss the ‘why’ with the person involved. Do the exercise again.

2. Meditate. Meditation clears your mind of all the obstacles you counter while thinking in a straight line. So meditate everyday to gain focus and concentration. This will aid in logical and critical thinking.

3. Play brain games. Play Sudoku, solve puzzles and riddles, and go through different type of IQ questions. Such games and questions help in keep your mind active and working.

4. Eat right foods like lot of green veggies, nuts, protein rich food, blueberries etc. to keep your brain healthy and sharp.

And above all, never think that you cannot do it. It is logic and it’s what you employ in your life every day. Researchers say that you cannot increase your logical reasoning skills but you can certainly improve it with concentration. So concentrate on what is in your plate and you definitely pass through it successfully!