ESPA Concours flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Veto power

The right of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) to block any substantive resolution, whatever the majority.

Recession definition

A sustained contraction of economic activity, commonly identified as two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, though dating bodies weigh output, income and employment together.

Paris Agreement target

The 2015 treaty commits signatories to hold global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees.

Dependency ratio

The number of people outside working age (children and retirees) relative to the working-age population, expressed as a percentage; a rising ratio pressures pension and health systems.

Entailment versus suggestion

A valid comprehension answer must be stated or strictly implied by the passage; an option that is merely plausible in real life but absent from the text is incorrect.

Quantifier trap

An answer choice that changes the passage's strength, for example turning 'some' into 'all' or 'often' into 'always', is false even when the topic matches.

Assumption in arguments

An unstated premise the argument needs in order for its evidence to support its conclusion; negating it should make the reasoning collapse.

Passage question order

Read the question stem before the passage, then locate the decisive sentence; this shortens reading time and prevents answering from memory or general knowledge.

Successive percentage change

Two changes applied in sequence multiply rather than add: +10% then -10% gives 1.10 x 0.90 = 0.99, a net decrease of 1%.

Percentage points

The arithmetic difference between two percentages. A rate rising from 20% to 25% gains 5 percentage points but rises 25% in relative terms.

Combined mean formula

For groups of sizes n1 and n2 with means m1 and m2, the overall mean is (n1m1 + n2m2) divided by (n1 + n2).

Average speed equal distances

When two equal distances are covered at speeds v1 and v2, the average speed is 2v1v2/(v1+v2), the harmonic mean, not the arithmetic average.

Rule of 72

At a compound growth rate of r percent per period, an amount roughly doubles in 72/r periods; at 6% it doubles in about 12 years.

Ratio sharing

To split a total T in the ratio a:b:c, add the parts to get a+b+c, then allocate T x a/(a+b+c), T x b/(a+b+c) and so on.

Syllogism validity rule

From 'All A are B' and 'All B are C' follows 'All A are C'. A particular premise ('some') in one statement yields no universal conclusion about the other term.

Affirming the consequent

The invalid inference 'if A then B; B is true; therefore A'. Only the contrapositive, 'not B therefore not A', is valid.

Necessary versus sufficient

A is sufficient for B when A guarantees B; A is necessary for B when B cannot occur without A. Confusing the two is a standard reasoning flaw.

Letter position shift

Convert letters to numbers 1-26 and compute differences between consecutive terms; a growing difference (+1, +2, +3) signals an accelerating series.

Matrix rule scanning

In abstract matrices, test one rule per line: rotation angle, reflection, shading inversion, element count and position. The rule must hold on every complete line.

Past participle with avoir

With the auxiliary avoir, the past participle agrees only with a direct object placed before the verb, as in 'les lettres que j'ai ecrites'.

French subjunctive triggers

Constructions such as il faut que, bien que, avant que, pour que and je doute que require the subjunctive; parce que, pendant que and apres que take the indicative.

Concordance des temps

After a main clause in the past, a later event is expressed with the conditional: 'il a annonce qu'il viendrait', not the future tense.

Logical connectors

Cependant and toutefois mark contrast, donc and par consequent mark consequence, en outre adds information, or introduces an objection, car gives a cause.

Cense versus sense

'Cense' means supposed or expected to; 'sense' means sensible or having good judgement. They are homophones but not interchangeable in formal writing.

Escalation rule

A safety risk, suspected offence or conflict of interest must be reported in writing to the hierarchy; informal handling is never an acceptable situational-judgement answer.

Need-to-know principle

Confidential or personal data is shared only with those who require it to perform their duties; a colleague's curiosity is not a lawful basis for disclosure.

Deadline conflict response

When deadlines clash, warn the manager early and propose a reprioritisation; silently missing a deadline is always among the worst-rated options.

Public-service ranking

Situational-judgement options are ranked by legality and public interest first, then service quality, then team cohesion, then personal convenience.

STAR method

An interview answer structure: Situation, Task, Action, Result. The action is described in the first person and the result is quantified whenever possible.

90-second pitch

A self-presentation covering training, one relevant experience, one competence and the reason for applying, delivered without reciting the CV chronologically.

Motivation answer order

State the role, then the employer's mission and current challenges, then the fit between them; this order shows you researched the organisation rather than yourself.

Weakness answer

Name a genuine weakness, give a concrete example of its consequence, and describe the corrective measure already used; unexplained 'perfectionism' reads as evasion.