EPSO Abstract Reasoning case studies
EPSO Abstract Reasoning · Put your knowledge to work in context.
EPSO abstract reasoning is the non-verbal component of the reasoning battery used in European Personnel Selection Office competitions for EU institutions. Candidates see sequences of diagrams - shapes, lines, dots, arrows, shading - and must infer the rule that governs how each figure changes into the next, then pick the option that continues the pattern correctly. No subject knowledge is required: the test measures fluid reasoning, speed of rule detection and the ability to hold several simultaneous transformations in mind. It suits graduates applying for administrator, assistant or specialist profiles where the competition notice includes reasoning tests. The EPSO Abstract Reasoning case studies are 5 cases and about 2,191 words.
1Interleaved Dot and Triangle Under Time Pressure
On a timed EPSO-style set you have 40 seconds left for one item. The sequence has eight frames in a row.
451 words, about 2 min2Matrix With a Row Rule That Fits Only One Row
On a practice matrix item you have 90 seconds. The 3×3 grid has eight cells shown; the bottom-right is missing.
496 words, about 2 min3Odd One Out: Orientation Versus Where the Dot Sits
In an odd-one-out item you have 50 seconds. Six figures each show an L-shaped bracket made of three equal squares, with one small black dot inside one square.
397 words, about 2 min4Analogy Completion With a Chiral Turn
On an analogy item you have 35 seconds. Figure A is a square with a dot at the top-left corner and a short line attached to the middle of the right side, pointing right.
443 words, about 2 min5Three-Layer Cancellation With a Triple Overlap
On a superposition item you have 75 seconds. Three transparent square layers are placed exactly on top of one another; the square has four outer edges (top, right, bottom, left) and two diagonals (top-left to bottom-right, and top-right to bottom-left).
404 words, about 2 min