Which of the following terms will replace the question mark (?) in the given series? AEYT, CGWR, EIUP, ? , IMQL

Correct — B. Work the four letter positions as four separate series.

Rule: positions 1 and 2 move +2, positions 3 and 4 move −2, at every term.

Position 1: A(1), C(3), E(5) → G(7), then I(9)
Position 2: E(5), G(7), I(9) → K(11), then M(13)
Position 3: Y(25), W(23), U(21) → S(19), then Q(17)
Position 4: T(20), R(18), P(16) → N(14), then L(12)

Every column lands cleanly on the given fifth term IMQL, so the missing term is GKSN — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  GKTN — Position 3 is wrong. Option (a) puts T(20) third, but that column runs Y, W, U downward by two and must give S(19), which then continues to Q in the final term IMQL.
• (c)
  GLTN — Positions 2 and 3 both fail. Option (c) offers L(12) where the rising column needs K(11), and T(20) where the falling column needs S(19).
• (d)
  GLSN — Position 2 is off by one. Option (d) gets the third and fourth letters right but places L(12) second, where E, G, I stepping up by two demands K(11).

A four-letter cluster series is four independent one-letter series stacked in a column. Write the numeric position of each letter (A = 1 to Z = 26) before looking for anything else.

Once the numbers are down, the rule is usually a constant step per column — and the columns need not step in the same direction. Here two rise by 2 and two fall by 2.

The term printed after the blank is free verification. If a candidate does not continue cleanly into it, the rule is wrong, not the paper.

Key facts

• A = 1 through Z = 26 is the position table every letter-series item assumes.
• Across AEYT, CGWR, EIUP, GKSN, IMQL the first two columns step +2 and the last two step −2.
• The fifth term IMQL is given, so any candidate can be verified backwards as well as forwards.

Common traps

• Reading all four columns as moving in the same direction, and picking a term with T or U in position 3.
• Counting alphabet gaps by eye instead of writing the position numbers down.
• Stopping once the first letter matches, when every option here begins with G.

No directly related past PYQ was found.