EPSO Abstract Reasoning study guide
EPSO Abstract Reasoning · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
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. The EPSO Abstract Reasoning study guide has 8 sections and about 3,305 words.
01Series: progression of one or more figural elements across a sequence
Series items give you four or five frames and ask which figure continues the sequence. The examiners are testing whether you can isolate each figural element, state the rule that governs it, and extrapolate exactly one step.
416 words, about 2 min02Series: transformations of shape, size, orientation, and position
Here the frames are linked by explicit geometric transformations rather than by counting. You must name the transformation, fix its parameter (angle, direction, axis, factor), and apply it to the next frame.
416 words, about 2 min03Matrix and grid completion (2x2, 3x3) with rule inference across rows and columns
A grid of figures with one cell empty. You must find the rule that generates the grid and select the figure that completes it.
436 words, about 2 min04Odd-one-out / classification of figures by shared or distinguishing attributes
You see five figures and must identify the one that does not belong with the other four. The shared property is never stated, so the task is hypothesis generation plus verification: propose a property, check it against all five, and reject it unless it holds for exactly four.
372 words, about 2 min05Analogy completion between figure pairs (A is to B as C is to ?)
The item states a relation between figure A and figure B, then gives figure C and asks for the figure that stands to C as B stands to A. The test is precision: identifying the exact transformation, including its direction and magnitude, and applying it to the correct starting figure.
432 words, about 2 min06Superposition and cancellation of overlaid figures
Two or more figures are combined by a logical rule to produce a third. Your job is to identify the operation and compute the result, usually across a row of a grid or along a series.
438 words, about 2 min07Rotation, reflection, and symmetry rules
Items built on symmetry ask you to compare, complete, or count symmetric properties: axes of symmetry, order of rotational symmetry, and the effect of reflecting a figure in a stated line. The exam expects exact counts, not approximate visual judgements.
387 words, about 2 min08Counting and numerical attributes of figures
Many items hide an arithmetic progression in a visual attribute. You must count reliably and then look for the sequence.
408 words, about 2 min