SSC CGL Reasoning · Classification
Letter, Number and Symbol Groups
Each option is a short group of terms like K11@, mixing a letter, a number and a symbol. Three groups follow one pattern in every part; the odd group breaks it in one part.
Why this matters
Fourteen questions in the bank, all from the 2025 shifts, with 6 EASY and 8 MODERATE. Each term has three parts, and the odd group usually breaks the pattern in only one of them, so check every part before you choose.
Concept 1 of 2: The number tied to the letter's position
Definition
1. For each term, compare the number with the letter's position (A1 to Z26). Find the link the three groups share: the same, plus 1, plus 2, or the reverse position (27 minus the position). 2. Then check how the letters move from term to term: forward or back, and by how many places. 3. Then check how the numbers move. If they follow the letters, they step by the same amount. 4. The odd group breaks one of the three checks: a number off by one or two, a letter step of 3 among steps of 2, or a wrap missed.
- Wrapping: going back 3 from A reaches X (A1, X24). Forward past Z starts again at A.
- Fast route: look at the last term of each group first. Setters often build the odd group by changing only its last letter or last number.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Classification · Letter, Number and Symbol Groups
Checking the letters but not the numbers
Counting from the wrong end of the alphabet
Concept 2 of 2: Checking every part of the group
Definition
- Symbols: in most groups each term carries a different symbol. A symbol used twice in one group is the break.
- Directions: if the letters go back while the numbers go up in three groups, a group whose numbers also go back is the odd one.
- Skips: letters or numbers that should run in order (M, N, O and 1, 2, 3) are broken by one that jumps (V, X, Y or 10, 11, 13).
- Check the parts in the same order every time: letters, then numbers, then symbols.
- Fast route: read down the symbols of each group first; a repeat is visible in a second and needs no counting.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Classification · Letter, Number and Symbol Groups
Stopping once the letters and numbers fit
Missing a direction change
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Watch out for (4)
- Checking the letters but not the numbers→ The number tied to the letter's position
- Counting from the wrong end of the alphabet→ The number tied to the letter's position
- Stopping once the letters and numbers fit→ Checking every part of the group
- Missing a direction change→ Checking every part of the group
Test yourself on Classification
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.