SSC CGL Reasoning · Free notes
Syllogism: SSC CGL Reasoning
Syllogism has 113 questions in the SSC CGL Tier I bank: 41 from the 2023 shifts, 40 from the 2024 shifts and 32 from the 2025 shifts, with 80 EASY and 33 MODERATE. Each gives two or three statements about groups and asks which conclusions must follow, however odd the statements sound. A small set of rules does all the work: how each kind of statement turns round, what two statements give when they share a group, and when a conclusion about what is possible holds. Learn the table once and every question becomes a check against it.
The handout has every subtopic, worked example, formula and trap with answers shown.
Subtopic notes
Two-Statement Syllogism
19 PYQsTwo statements about groups (All, Some, No) and two conclusions to test: a conclusion follows only if it must be true whenever both statements are true.
Three-Statement Syllogism
94 PYQsThree statements that link four groups in a chain, with two or three conclusions to test, some of them about what is possible rather than what is certain.
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 10 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Formula & revision sheet
0 formulas · 10 gotchas across all subtopics — the exam-eve cheat-sheet
Watch out for (4)
- Turning "All" round into "All"→ Turning a statement round and joining two
- Joining two Some statements→ Turning a statement round and joining two
- Reading "Some A are not B" into "Some A are B"→ Statements with No and Some not
- Joining two No statements→ Statements with No and Some not
Watch out for (6)
- Carrying an All across a Some→ Following a chain of All and Some
- Taking the order of the words for the order of the chain→ Following a chain of All and Some
- Spreading a No to the whole group→ Chains with a No statement
- Drawing a conclusion across the No→ Chains with a No statement
- Rejecting a possibility because it is not certain→ Conclusions about what is possible
- Treating "At least some" as a possibility→ Conclusions about what is possible
PYQ weightage by concept
5 concepts · 113 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
PYQ weightage by concept
5 concepts · 113 PYQs — where the marks actually sit, so you know what to drill first
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Turning a statement round and joining two | 13 | 12% |
| Statements with No and Some not | 6 | 5% |
| Concept | PYQs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Following a chain of All and Some | 60 | 53% |
| Chains with a No statement | 26 | 23% |
| Conclusions about what is possible | 8 | 7% |
Test yourself on Syllogism
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.