UCAT Syllogisms: how to solve them

UCAT 2027·6 min read·Source: UCAT ANZ scoring

Direct answerUCAT 2027

A syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning where you're given a series of statements followed by a number of claims. Your task is to determine whether or not the claims are true based on the statements provided.

Reviewed by the MedPath UCAT team · June 2026

The basics

What is a syllogism question?

Syllogism questions are logic-based questions where you are provided a number of premises from which you can build a network of interconnected relationships. Each question is followed by a series of conclusions which you must substantiate ('follows') or reject ('doesn't follow') based on the premises.

Almost every syllogism trap originates from reading one or more premises too generously. Students that excel at this question type are those that are able to nail down the precise form of each premise and understanding how it affects the other premises.

A universal: every member of A sits inside B. Strong, but only in one direction.

Example

All cardiologists are doctors.

What it lets you conclude

Every A is a B (every cardiologist is a doctor).
The contrapositive: anything that is not B is not A (not a doctor, so not a cardiologist).

What it does not give you

The reverse, “All B are A”: not every doctor is a cardiologist.Reversal fallacy
That any A actually exists; “all” makes no promise the group has members.Existential import

Understanding the four basic types of premises above and what they mean (and don't mean) allows you to do virtually any UCAT syllogism question. Once you're comfortable with those, you can explore our Syllogism trap pages to see what catches most students out.

Example

A worked example

Try it yourself

Decision Making · Syllogisms

Premises

1All cardiologists are doctors.
2No doctors are unregistered.
3Some doctors work night shifts.

Judge each statement — does it follow from the premises?

ANo cardiologists are unregistered.

BSome cardiologists work night shifts.

CAll doctors are cardiologists.

Give every statement a verdict — partial credit applies.

The traps

Common mistakes

Wrong verdicts come from a few recurring traps, almost always one premise form read too generously. Here are the most common ones we've seen in recent papers with a worked guide:

Reversal fallacyLive example

Treating “all A are B” as if it also means “all B are A” (the trap in statement C above).

→

Existential import

Assuming a group must have members, so “some” must be true, when the premises only make a universal claim.

→

Contrapositive missed

Overlooking the valid inference that “if not B, then not A.”

→

Implicit assumption

Accepting a conclusion that needs a premise you were never given.

→

Subset vs whole

Applying something true of part of a group to the whole group, or the reverse.

→

How to approach it

A reliable method

Identify the form of each premise.

Pin every premise to one of the four forms above: All, No, Some, or Some-not.

Take each conclusion on its own.

Verdicts are scored separately so treat the question as several small yes/no problems.

Ask “is it forced?”, not “is it plausible?”

A conclusion follows only if the premises make it impossible to be false.

Watch direction and quantity.

“All A are B” never gives “all B are A”, and a claim about some never reaches all.

Attempt every statement.

As a partial credit question type, an (educated) guess is better than no response.

How to practiCe

How to practice

A basic understanding of the four main forms of premises is enough to push you to the 80th percentile in syllogism respondents. Getting to the 95th percentile means drilling enough that you can identify and avoid traps on sight.

MedPath drills syllogism questions from its foundations then trap by trap, steering your practice towards what's causing you the most trouble.

Practise adaptively

Practice syllogisms adaptively.

MedPath drills syllogisms trap by trap and adapts to the ones that keep catching you out.

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FAQ

Common questions

Do I need outside knowledge to answer syllogisms?+

No. You judge each conclusion only against the premises in front of you. A statement can be true in the real world and still not “follow” from the premises.

How are syllogisms scored?+

As part of Decision Making’s 300–900 scaled score, and the multi-statement format awards partial credit, so it is worth giving a verdict on every statement.

What’s the most common mistake?+

Reversing a premise (reading “all A are B” as “all B are A”) and treating a merely possible conclusion as a forced one.

Part of Decision Making in The Complete UCAT Guide. Other Decision Making types: Logic Puzzles · Venn Diagrams · Interpreting Information · Recognising Assumptions · Probabilistic Reasoning.