Abstract Reasoning Test Practice

What the real test usually looks like

Abstract reasoning tests go by several names: abstract, non-verbal, inductive or pattern reasoning. They appear on their own and inside larger batteries. Some examples from publishers' own pages:

• Raven's Adaptive (TalentLens). A non-verbal test "assessing non-verbal abstract reasoning skills", set at a fixed 15 items, taking about 12 minutes, untimed and unsupervised, and adaptive, so the difficulty follows your answers (TalentLens).
• DAT Next Generation (TalentLens). Its Abstract Reasoning subtest "looks at the ability to see sequences in shapes and patterns", with 15 adaptive items (TalentLens).
• SHL Verify Interactive Inductive Reasoning. Up to 15 questions in 18 minutes, adaptive, presenting information "as shapes and alphanumeric sequences" (SHL factsheet).
• Saville Assessment describes abstract reasoning as "how quickly someone finds the pattern in something unfamiliar" (Saville Assessment).
• Mixed tests. The CCAT's spatial reasoning questions include recognizing patterns and spotting outliers (Criteria).

Common formats:

• Sequences: a row of figures changes step by step; choose what comes next.
• Odd one out: several figures share a rule; find the one that breaks it.
• Grids (matrices): rows and columns each follow a rule; find the missing cell.
• Set membership: decide which of two groups a new figure belongs to.

Tests are taken online and are multiple choice. Note the split: some, like Raven's Adaptive, are untimed, so accuracy matters most; others, like SHL's, run against a clock.

Question types with worked examples

Each example below describes the figures in words, then shows the method and the trap.

1. Rotation. An arrow points up, then 45 degrees clockwise, then 90 degrees clockwise. What comes next? The arrow turns 45 degrees clockwise each step, so it points 135 degrees clockwise from up: down and to the right. Trap: the option rotated 135 degrees the other way, down and to the left.

2. Counting. A triangle, a square, a pentagon, then a gap. The number of sides rises by one, so the next figure is a hexagon. Counting rules also apply to dots, lines and inner shapes. Trap: choosing a figure that "looks next" without counting.

3. Two rules at once. A small circle sits in the top left corner of a box, then the top right, then the bottom right. It is black, then white, then black. Next: the circle moves clockwise to the bottom left, and the color alternates to white. Method: solve position and color separately, then find the one option with both. Trap: an option with the right position and the wrong color.

4. Odd one out. A triangle, a pentagon, a heptagon and a square. Three have an odd number of sides; the square, with four, is the odd one out. Trap: picking the figure that looks most different, rather than the one that breaks a rule you can name.

5. Grids. In a 3 x 3 grid, each row has a circle, a square and a triangle, and each column has one black, one grey and one white figure. The missing cell is in a row that already has a circle and a square, and a column that already has black and grey. So the answer is a white triangle. Method: fill gaps by elimination, row first, then column.

6. Set membership. In Set A, every figure has more black shapes than white. In Set B, every figure has more white than black. A new figure has three black and two white shapes, so it belongs in Set A. Trap: the shapes themselves (circles, stars) vary across both sets to distract you; the rule is the count.

7. Rules that link two features. In each box, the number of lines inside equals the number of sides of the outer shape: a triangle holds three lines, a square four. A box with a pentagon must hold five lines. Trap: treating inside and outside as unrelated.

How to prepare

1. Name the rule in words before choosing: "it turns 45 degrees clockwise and alternates black and white". If you cannot say it, you have not found it yet.
2. Work out the answer before looking at the options. Distractors are built to match half a rule.
3. Learn the usual changes. Rotation, reflection, counting (sides, dots, lines), shading, position, size and adding or removing parts. Most questions use one or two of these.
4. Check every step, not just the last two. A rule must explain the whole sequence.
5. Know your pace. SHL's inductive test allows 18 minutes for up to 15 questions, about 72 seconds each (SHL). Raven's Adaptive is untimed, with TalentLens giving about 12 minutes for 15 items as a guide, so there you can slow down and check (TalentLens).
6. Move on after about a minute on a timed test. A fresh look later often finds the rule at once.
7. Use scrap paper. Jot "R45 clockwise, alt B/W" next to each step. Writing it down stops you mixing up rules.
8. Practice in short daily sessions. Pattern spotting improves quickly with familiarity, and 15 minutes a day beats one long session.

How scoring usually works

Raw score. The number of questions you got right.

Percentile and norm group. Most abstract reasoning tests compare your result with a norm group, such as graduates or managers, and report a percentile. TalentLens says Raven's Adaptive reports results as a "percentile rank and several other norm-referenced scores" (TalentLens).

Adaptive scores. On adaptive tests, the questions get harder as you answer correctly, so the result reflects the difficulty you reached, not just a count. TalentLens notes that on DAT Next Generation a candidate who answers fewer than 15 items in a subtest receives no score, so answer every item (TalentLens).

There is no universal pass mark; employers choose the norm group and set their own target for each role.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you got right, with a section breakdown. It is not a score from any real test and does not predict a percentile.

Common mistakes on abstract reasoning tests

• Mixing up clockwise and counterclockwise. Trace the turn with your finger if it helps.
• Confusing rotation with reflection. A rotated figure can be turned back to match; a mirrored one cannot.
• Finding one rule and stopping. Many questions combine two rules. If two options fit, you have missed one.
• Counting the wrong thing. Sides, corners, lines, dots and enclosed spaces can each be the rule. Count all of them on the first two figures.
• Leaving items blank on an adaptive test. Some adaptive tests give no score at all if you do not answer every item.
• Overthinking easy items. The first questions are often simple; do not look for a hidden twist that is not there.

A one-week abstract reasoning study plan

• Day 1: Take the free sample above. For each miss, note which change you overlooked: rotation, count, shading or position.
• Day 2: Sequences only. Name the rule in words for every one before answering.
• Day 3: Grids and odd one out. Practice row first, then column.
• Day 4: Mixed series with the logical reasoning test and the number series guide, which use the same rule-finding habit.
• Day 5: A full timed mock. The 30-Day Pass includes full abstract reasoning mocks, each with explanations.
• Day 6: Review by question type, then a second mock.
• Day 7: Light practice only. Check your device and find a quiet room for test day.

How this practice compares with the real test

Where it matches. Our figures use the same building blocks as the common tests: rotation, counting, shading, position and two-rule combinations, in sequences, grids and odd one out. The timer is set so you practice at a working pace, not a relaxed one.

Where it cannot match. Publishers' items are their own, and adaptive tests such as Raven's Adaptive pick each next item from a bank based on your answers. We do not imitate that, and we do not have any publisher's norm groups, so our score cannot be read as a percentile. Real tests may also use color, finer detail or interactive answers that our simple line figures do not.

Why it still helps. Most of the time lost on a real abstract test goes on not knowing which kinds of change to look for. Learning the short list of usual rules, and checking them in the same order every time, is what carries over.