An MBA entrance exam tests not just Quantitative Abilities, Verbal Abilities but also Logical Reasoning. Logical thinking is critical for management professionals in order to carry out their tasks and diagnose problem areas. CAT 2021 will be conducted in November 2021 and this article will help you prepare for Logical Reasoning Section. While quantitative and verbal skills can be acquired relatively easily, logical reasoning builds over time, as it requires the mind to think and look at a proposition differently. For instance,
‘All men are dogs
All dogs are cats
∴All men are cats’,
might not be true in real life but is a valid conclusion within the world of logical reasoning.
Crossword puzzles are a good source of building up logical thinking abilities. Crossword puzzles force you to push your brain slightly beyond its capabilities, which causes the regrowth of brain neurons. This increases your overall brain power and can promote sounder, logical thinking.
1. Simplify
The ability to simplify a given proposition and to break it down into an easily understandable unit is at the heart of logical thinking. A proposition may seem to be complex on the face of it but breaking it down it simpler terms will enable you to crack the answer. It is similar to solving the pieces of a murder to solve the case. Crosswords are a good source to develop this skill of simplifying things.
2. Clues
Solving crosswords regularly trains you to deduce the basis or the rules of the crossword. Doing this regularly teaches you how to apply a variety of rules that you come across in crosswords in the exam. For instance, solving crosswords on anagrams, vocabulary, Sudoku and so on will acquaint with different methods of solving a particular proposition.
3. Aid memory
Crosswords and puzzles are beneficial for the mind. A puzzle often requires the solver to think outside the puzzle content itself and use knowledge of experience, language, other domains and sometimes, even imagination to solve it. Once the answer for such a puzzle is worked out and understood, the memory for it remains permanent. Solving crosswords help to compare hidden information in a crossword, compare it with information already in the memory, and combine both.
This develops critical and analytical skills too, which are necessary for logical thinking.
4. Develops confidence
Confidence plays a significant role in an MBA entrance exam. This confidence comes from regular practice. Having solved crosswords and other puzzles that test logical reasoning frequently, you will feel confident in handling such questions in the exam. This is because you are familiar with the content and form of the question and it does not seem unexpected to you.
5. Focus
Logical thinking depends to a great extent on concentration and focus. A mind which is distracted will find it difficult to think logically. Crosswords are a good source for developing focus and concentration. It trains you to think of the problem exclusively and forget everything else.
The fact that crosswords require you to think beyond the conventional, to look for hidden patterns and rules, enable critical and analytical skills, it contributes to develop logical reasoning.
100 Mock Questions on DILR for your practise
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