Word and letter sequence questions look daunting because they punish guessing — but reward systematic thinking. Here's the systematic version.
Identify the rule
"AZ, BY, CX, ?" The first letters go forward (A, B, C, D). The second letters go backward (Z, Y, X, W). Answer: DW. The trick is to look at two rules at once.
Number sequences in disguise
"2, 5, 11, 23, ?" Each number doubles and adds 1. 23 × 2 + 1 = 47. Practice now on sequence questions to feel the patterns.
When in doubt, look at differences
If the rule isn't obvious, write the differences between each pair. Often the rule jumps out from the differences (a steady +3, or a doubling).