Accenture Logical Reasoning Questions: 20 Solved Examples

The Critical Reasoning sub-section of Accenture’s Cognitive Ability test covers six question types, and each has a mechanical approach that removes most of the guesswork.

This article covers the logical reasoning questions specifically, with step-by-step worked solutions for each type. For the full test structure, the section sequence, and the ASE versus Advanced ASE CTC difference, read the Accenture placement papers guide first.

What logical reasoning covers in Accenture’s Cognitive section

Accenture’s Cognitive Ability test has three sub-sections: Critical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning, and Verbal Ability. Logical reasoning questions sit inside Critical Reasoning.

The six question types that appear there:

Question type	What it tests	Core technique
Syllogisms	Validity of conclusions from categorical statements	Venn diagram
Blood relations	Family-tree deduction from clue chains	Step-by-step relation map
Number and letter series	Pattern identification in sequences	Difference table or positional value
Seating arrangements	Position deduction from constraints	Ordered position grid
Coding-decoding	Letter-shift or letter-value encoding	Shift pattern from one known example
Statement and conclusion	Which conclusions follow from given statements	Venn diagram or elimination

For numerical aptitude and data-interpretation questions (also in the Cognitive gate), see the Accenture aptitude questions guide.

Syllogisms

Syllogism questions give two or three categorical statements and ask which conclusions necessarily follow. The reliable method is to draw a Venn diagram for each premise rather than reasoning verbally; verbal chains introduce errors under time pressure.

Worked example 1

• Statements: (1) All cats are animals. (2) Some animals are pets.
• Conclusion A: Some pets are cats.
• Conclusion B: All cats are pets.
• Solution:
  • Step 1: Draw “cats” as a circle fully inside “animals” — All cats are animals.
  • Step 2: Draw “pets” overlapping “animals” but not necessarily reaching the cats circle — Some animals are pets.
  • Conclusion A requires pets and cats to overlap. The diagram allows this but does not force it. Does not follow.
  • Conclusion B requires cats to be a subset of pets. Not forced. Does not follow.
• Answer: Neither conclusion follows.

Worked example 2

• Statements: (1) No manager is a clerk. (2) All clerks are employees.
• Conclusion I: No manager is an employee.
• Conclusion II: Some employees are not managers.
• Solution:
  • Clerks are a subset of employees. Managers have zero overlap with clerks.
  • Conclusion I: managers could still be employees through a path other than being a clerk. Does not necessarily follow.
  • Conclusion II: all clerks are employees and no clerk is a manager, so at least the clerk-employees are not managers. Follows.
• Answer: Only Conclusion II follows.

Worked example 3 (statement-conclusion type)

• Statements: (1) All engineers are graduates. (2) No graduate is illiterate.
• Conclusion I: No engineer is illiterate.
• Conclusion II: Some graduates are engineers.
• Solution:
  • Engineers are a subset of graduates (Statement 1). Graduates and illiterates have no overlap (Statement 2).
  • Because engineers are inside graduates, and graduates have no overlap with illiterates, engineers also have no overlap with illiterates. Conclusion I follows.
  • Because all engineers are graduates, there exist graduates who are engineers (assuming the engineer class is non-empty). Conclusion II follows.
• Answer: Both conclusions follow.

Blood relations

Blood-relation questions chain several relational clues and ask you to identify a final relationship. Write each clue as an explicit step in a family tree rather than holding the chain in your head.

Worked example 4

• Statement: “Pointing to a photograph, Priya says: his mother is the only daughter of my father.”
• Question: How is the person in the photo related to Priya?
• Solution:
  • “The only daughter of Priya’s father” = Priya herself.
  • Therefore “his mother” = Priya.
  • The person in the photo is Priya’s son.
• Answer: Priya’s son.

Worked example 5

• Statement: A is B’s father. C is A’s sister. D is C’s mother. E is B’s brother.
• Question: How is D related to E?
• Solution:
  • A is B’s father; E is B’s brother, so A is E’s father too.
  • C is A’s sister, so C is E’s paternal aunt.
  • D is C’s mother. Since C and A are siblings, D is also A’s mother, which makes D E’s paternal grandmother.
• Answer: D is E’s grandmother.

Worked example 6

• Statement: Ravi introduces Seema as “the daughter of the only son of my grandfather.”
• Question: How is Seema related to Ravi?
• Solution:
  • “The only son of Ravi’s grandfather” = Ravi’s father.
  • Seema is the daughter of Ravi’s father = Ravi’s sister.
• Answer: Seema is Ravi’s sister.

Number and letter series

Series questions ask for the next term in a numeric or alphabetic sequence. Compute the first-difference column before guessing at the pattern.

Worked example 7

• Series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ?
• Solution:
  • First differences: 4, 6, 8, 10 — increasing by 2 each step.
  • Next difference: 12. Next term: 30 + 12 = 42.
  • Cross-check: the series follows n times (n + 1) for n = 1, 2, 3, …: 1x2 = 2, 2x3 = 6, 3x4 = 12, 4x5 = 20, 5x6 = 30, 6x7 = 42.
• Answer: 42.

Worked example 8

• Series: Z, X, V, T, R, ?
• Solution:
  • Positional values: Z = 26, X = 24, V = 22, T = 20, R = 18.
  • Difference: -2 at each step.
  • Next value: 18 - 2 = 16, which is P.
• Answer: P.

Seating arrangements

Seating questions give a set of positional constraints and ask where a specific person sits. Number the positions 1 to n, fill in all directly stated placements first, then resolve range constraints last.

Worked example 9

Five students (Arjun, Bhavna, Chetan, Divya, Esha) sit in a row facing north.

• Arjun sits at the leftmost end.
• Chetan sits at the rightmost end.
• Bhavna is immediately to Arjun’s right.
• Esha is next to Chetan.
• Divya is between Bhavna and Chetan but not adjacent to Chetan.

Who sits in the middle (third position)?

• Solution:
  • Position 1: Arjun (leftmost). Position 5: Chetan (rightmost).
  • Position 2: Bhavna (immediately right of Arjun at position 1).
  • Position 4: Esha (next to Chetan at position 5).
  • Position 3: Divya (the only remaining slot; verify: position 3 is between Bhavna at 2 and Chetan at 5, and is not adjacent to Chetan at 5). Constraint satisfied.
  • Final order: Arjun, Bhavna, Divya, Esha, Chetan.
• Answer: Divya sits third.

Coding-decoding

Coding questions give one encoded example, then ask you to apply the same rule to a new input. Extract and verify the rule from the key before touching the question word.

Worked example 10

• Key: PENCIL is coded as QFODLM.
• Question: What is the code for PAPER?
• Solution:
  • Check the shift per letter: P→Q, E→F, N→O, C→D, I→J, L→M. Each letter shifts forward by one position in the alphabet.
  • Apply to PAPER: P→Q, A→B, P→Q, E→F, R→S.
  • Code: QBQFS.
• Answer: QBQFS.

Worked example 11

• Key: CAT = 24, DOG = 26.
• Question: Using the same code, what is BAT?
• Solution:
  • CAT: C = 3, A = 1, T = 20. Sum = 24. Matches.
  • DOG: D = 4, O = 15, G = 7. Sum = 26. Matches.
  • Rule: sum of each letter’s alphabetical position.
  • BAT: B = 2, A = 1, T = 20. Sum = 23.
• Answer: 23.

How to approach the section on test day

The Critical Reasoning section rewards method over intuition. Practical pointers:

• Syllogisms: sketch the Venn circles first (10 seconds). Testing a conclusion against a diagram takes 5 seconds; testing it verbally takes 30 and introduces errors.
• Blood relations: write each clue as a single relational arrow before attempting the answer. Holding a four-step chain in your head while reading option C is how errors happen.
• Series: write the first-difference column. If the first-difference column does not reveal a pattern, write the second-difference column.
• Seating arrangements: fill in directly stated positions first (leftmost, rightmost, fixed). Then resolve “adjacent to” constraints. Handle “between X and Y” last, after the rest of the grid is partially filled.
• Coding-decoding: verify your extracted rule on the given key before applying it to the question word. One wrong assumption about the shift direction wastes the time you saved on easier questions.
• Time discipline: if a seating arrangement or blood-relation chain has more than five clues, mark it and return. Spending four minutes on one question is not a recoverable position in a section with a fixed time limit.

For the Attention to Detail module that accompanies the Cognitive section, see the Accenture Attention to Detail guide.

What Accenture freshers work on after placement

Clearing the logical reasoning gate advances you to interviews and, eventually, an offer. What the onboarding process makes clear quickly is that Accenture’s 2026 fresher profile includes active GenAI training from week one.

Accenture launched LearnVantage in 2024 specifically to build AI-economy skills for clients and their people, and the GenAI Scholars Program gives freshers more than 40 hours of self-paced content built on Stanford Online material.

The same decomposition method that makes seating-arrangement grids reliable under time pressure (one constraint at a time, verify before the next step) also applies to building and debugging LLM pipelines. TinkerLLM covers that territory at ₹299, in a hands-on format that prioritises shipping something over watching videos. The 2026 AI roadmap for Indian engineering students maps the longer path for those targeting AI-specialist roles.