GATE XH0 Reasoning and Comprehension: How to Score the Compulsory 25
The compulsory part every GATE Humanities candidate writes — what the 2023–2026 papers actually asked, how it has shifted from passages to puzzles and maths, and how to prepare.
Updated : 14 hours ago
View Complete ArticleChecked 25 September 2026. Syllabus and pattern are official for GATE 2027. Question-kind counts are ours, from the official 2023–2026 papers.
Every GATE Humanities candidate — whichever of the six sections they choose — writes the same compulsory part: Reasoning and Comprehension, called XH-B1 until 2026 and XH0 from 2027. It is 16 questions for 25 marks, a quarter of the paper, and it is shared with thousands of candidates from other subjects. For a Psychology candidate it is often the difference between two score bands.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Questions | 16 (7 one-mark, 9 two-mark) |
| Marks | 25 of 100 |
| Syllabus skills | Reading comprehension, expression, analytical reasoning, logical reasoning |
| Question types | MCQ, MSQ and NAT — mix varies by year |
| Negative marking | MCQ only: −1/3 (1-mark), −2/3 (2-mark) |
Where other pages get this wrong
The syllabus says XH0 does not test grammar or vocabulary directly — but the papers keep including them, and lately a lot of maths.
Commonly published instead: "XH-B1 is pure reading comprehension and critical reasoning, like the LSAT."
That is the syllabus's own description. The official papers tell a different story: every paper from 2023 to 2026 had at least one grammar, vocabulary or sentence-ordering question, and since 2025 the part has been dominated by puzzles, coding-decoding and arithmetic — five quant or data questions in each of 2025 and 2026 — with only one or two passage-based questions. Prepare for the paper, not just the description.
What the last four papers actually asked
Our grouping of each question in the official papers. "Reading & critical reasoning" includes passage questions, assumptions, weakening, conclusions and syllogisms.
| Paper | What appeared |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Vocabulary, preposition, passage fill-in, para-jumble, sentence order; 2 passage questions; analogy; course of action; ranking and blood-relation puzzles; coding; percentage, algebra and numerical-answer items |
| 2024 | Three reading passages (tone, narrator, inference); fill-in, synonym, punctuation, tenses; assumption, weaken, course of action; analogies, coding, machine input–output; blood relation. No NAT and no quant or data items (coding answers still involved numbers). |
| 2025 | One sentence-ordering and one passage question; five coding, series, odd-one-out and symbol items; four puzzles (direction, ages, occupations); five quant and data (time, sets, tax slab, figure count, area) |
| 2026 | Fill-in, para-jumble, grammar; weaken and conclusion; two syllogisms; four puzzles (ordering, seating, family, score distribution); five quant (geometry, series, coin game, combinatorics) |
From the official answer keys. 2026 had nine MSQs — more than half the part.
How to prepare each kind
Puzzles, coding and analogies (4–9 questions)
- Seating and ordering arrangements, blood relations, direction sense, coding-decoding, series and odd-one-out.
- These overlap heavily with General Aptitude, so practice counts twice. Draw a diagram for every arrangement puzzle — never solve one in your head.
Quant and data (0–5 questions)
- Percentages, ratios, time and work, basic geometry and area, counting, sets and simple tables.
- The level is Class 10 arithmetic, but numerical-answer items have no options to check against. Practise on an on-screen calculator.
Reading and critical reasoning (1–6 questions)
- Short passages with inference, tone and "which statement weakens/strengthens" questions; assumptions, conclusions, courses of action, syllogisms.
- For weaken/strengthen items, name the argument's conclusion in your own words first; the right option attacks or supports the link to it, not the topic.
Language (1–5 questions)
- Fill in the blank, synonyms, prepositions and tenses, punctuation, para-jumbles and sentence ordering.
- Para-jumbles: find the opening sentence (no pronoun referring back) and the closing one first, then order the middle.
Nine of the sixteen 2026 questions were MSQs, which carry no negative marking but score only when every correct option — and no wrong one — is chosen. In reasoning MSQs, judge each option separately against the passage or rule; one extra tick loses the whole question.
Four worked examples
These are illustrations written for this guide, one for each kind of question, to show the method rather than to predict the paper. Try each before reading the solution.
1. Ordering puzzle
- Five students — A, B, C, D, E — sit in a row facing north. C sits in the middle. A is immediately to the left of C. E sits at the right end. B is not next to E. Who sits at the left end?
- Number the seats 1–5 from the left. C is in seat 3 and A in seat 2; E is in seat 5. That leaves seats 1 and 4 for B and D. Seat 4 is next to E, so B cannot take it: B is in seat 1 and D in seat 4. B sits at the left end. The method — fix the certain positions first, then place the rest by elimination — works for every arrangement puzzle, and drawing the five seats takes ten seconds.
2. Weakening an argument
- Argument: "Students who attend the voluntary evening sessions score higher in the final exam, so the sessions improve performance." Which option most weakens it?
- The conclusion is causal (sessions → higher scores). The strongest weakener offers another cause for the same correlation — for example, "the students who choose to attend were already the highest scorers before the sessions began". Options that merely say the sessions are expensive or long do not touch the causal link.
3. Sentence ordering
- Four sentences must be put in order: (P) This led to a sharp rise in enrolment. (Q) In 2019 the state made primary schooling free. (R) Yet attendance, unlike enrolment, barely changed. (S) Researchers therefore turned to what happens inside classrooms.
- Q has no word pointing back and sets the scene, so it opens. P's "This" refers to Q. R's "Yet … unlike enrolment" contrasts with P. S's "therefore" draws the conclusion. Order: Q, P, R, S.
4. Quick quant
- A price rises by 20% and then falls by 20%. What is the net change?
- 1.2 × 0.8 = 0.96, so a 4% fall. Successive percentage changes multiply; they do not cancel — and the order does not matter, since 0.8 × 1.2 gives the same 0.96.
Illustrative items written for this guide, not taken from a GATE paper.
Why 25 compulsory marks move Psychology ranks
Each XH section is ranked separately, but the score that ranks you is built from all 100 marks — General Aptitude and XH0 included. Because every Psychology candidate writes the same XH0 and GA, differences there feed straight into the Psychology rank. With Psychology marks as volatile as they have been (the average Psychology mark fell from 49.4 in 2025 to 27.8 in 2026, per the official GATE statistical reports), the 40 compulsory marks are the steadier part of the paper — the part you can most reliably prepare to a high level.
A four-week XH0 block
| Week | Focus | Daily practice |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puzzles: arrangements, blood relations, direction | 10 puzzles, diagram every one |
| 2 | Coding, series, analogies, odd-one-out; syllogisms | 15 quick items, timed |
| 3 | Quant: percentages, ratio, time, geometry, counting | 10 numerical items on an on-screen calculator |
| 4 | Critical reasoning and language | 2 passages + 5 language items |
After the four weeks, keep XH0 alive with one timed 16-question set a week from the official papers until the exam. Because General Aptitude tests similar skills, this block also covers most of your GA preparation.
Practise it, don't just read it
XH0 practice is best done from the official papers; the library quizzes cover the Psychology section itself.
The ProSyllabus GATE Psychology library currently has four topic quizzes: Measures of Central Tendency and ANOVA and Post Hoc Tests (XH5.1, Research Methods and Statistics), Classical Conditioning Paradigms (XH5.4, Learning) and Neurotransmitters and Limbic Functions (XH5.3, Biological Basis). Each has ten questions and a worked explanation for every option. For the other sections, work from the official past papers.
How many marks is XH reasoning and comprehension in GATE?
Twenty-five of the 100 marks, from 16 questions: seven one-mark and nine two-mark questions. It is compulsory for every Humanities and Social Sciences candidate.
What is XH0 in GATE 2027?
XH0 is the new code for the compulsory Reasoning and Comprehension part of the GATE Humanities paper. It was called XH-B1 until 2026; its syllabus content did not change.
Does GATE XH reasoning have maths questions?
Yes, in practice. The syllabus describes comprehension and reasoning, but the 2025 and 2026 papers each had five quantitative or data questions, such as percentages, geometry, counting and tax-slab calculations.
Is grammar tested in GATE XH-B1?
The syllabus says the part does not directly test grammar or vocabulary, but every official paper from 2023 to 2026 included at least one grammar, vocabulary or sentence-ordering question.
Is the XH reasoning section the same for all Humanities subjects?
Yes. Psychology, Economics, English, Linguistics, Philosophy and Sociology candidates all write the same XH0 part.
More in this series
- GATE Psychology 2027 syllabus changes, section by section
- GATE Psychology topic-wise weightage, counted from 2023–2026 papers
- GATE Psychology marks vs score vs rank, with calculator
- GATE Psychology previous year papers 2021–2026, with answer keys
- GATE Psychology 2027 week-by-week plan, October to February
- What a GATE Psychology score opens — IIT PhDs, fellowships, GATE vs UGC NET
- GATE Psychology cutoffs, universities and careers
- GATE Psychology notice board — official updates
Sources
- official — GATE 2027 XH0 Reasoning and Comprehension syllabus (IIT Madras)
- official — GATE 2026 XH-B1 Reasoning and Comprehension syllabus (IIT Guwahati)
- official — GATE 2027 question paper pattern
- official — GATE 2027 Information Brochure, revised 17 Sep 2026
- official — GATE 2026 XH Psychology question paper (IIT Guwahati)
- official — GATE 2026 XH answer key
- official — GATE 2025 XH Psychology question paper (IIT Roorkee)
- official — GATE 2025 XH answer key
- official — GATE 2024 XH Psychology question paper (IISc Bengaluru)
- official — GATE 2024 XH answer key
- official — GATE 2023 XH Psychology question paper (IIT Kanpur)
- official — GATE 2023 XH answer key
- official — GATE 2026 Statistical and Performance Report (IIT Guwahati)
- official — GATE 2025 Statistical and Performance Report (IIT Roorkee)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
