ESPA Concours study plan
ESPA Concours · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
General knowledge and current affairs & Verbal reasoning and comprehension
Set up a daily current-affairs routine: subscribe to two quality outlets and skim headlines for 15 minutes per day.
Build a one-page timeline of major French and EU political, economic, and social events from the past 12 months.
Identify the four most common verbal-reasoning item types (analogy, odd-one-out, sentence completion, reading comprehension) and write a one-line strategy for each.
Complete two timed verbal-reasoning mini-sets of 15 questions and log your accuracy and average time per question.
Your checkpoint
A dated current-affairs timeline (at least 20 events) plus a verbal-reasoning error log with two timed set scores.
General knowledge and current affairs & Numerical reasoning and quantitative aptitude
Summarise one current-affairs article per day in three bullet points, naming the actors, the stakes, and the likely consequence.
Refresh core numerical skills: percentages, ratios, averages, and unit conversions, using 10 drill questions per topic.
Learn to solve percentage-change and reverse-percentage problems without a calculator, and record the method steps.
Complete one 20-question numerical reasoning set under timed conditions and classify every error by cause.
Your checkpoint
A formula and method sheet for percentages, ratios, and averages, plus a timed numerical set score with an error-cause table.
Numerical reasoning and quantitative aptitude & Logical reasoning and abstract reasoning
Master data-interpretation questions: read tables, bar charts, and line graphs, and extract the two or three figures needed before calculating.
Practise estimation and approximation to answer numerical items faster, and log where exact calculation is truly required.
Learn the standard abstract-reasoning families: series, matrices, rotations, and shape transformations, and describe the rule for each.
Complete two timed logical-reasoning sets of 15 items and record accuracy and time per item.
Your checkpoint
A one-page data-interpretation checklist and a timed logical-reasoning scorecard showing accuracy and pace for two sets.
Logical reasoning and abstract reasoning & Written expression and language proficiency
Drill deductive and syllogistic reasoning: translate statements into simple diagrams and test conclusions for necessity versus possibility.
Write two short essays of 250–300 words on current-affairs topics under a 30-minute limit, then self-correct grammar, spelling, and structure.
Build a personal list of 30 formal connectives and transition phrases and use at least 10 in each essay.
Review the previous three weeks' error logs and rewrite the five most frequent mistakes as corrective rules.
Your checkpoint
Two timed essays with a self-correction sheet, plus a consolidated error-rule sheet covering weeks 1–3.
Written expression and language proficiency & Professional motivation and situational judgement
Practise summarising a 400-word text into 80 words while preserving the main argument and all key figures.
Study the structure of situational-judgement items: identify the stakeholder, the constraint, and the consequence of each option before choosing.
Draft a personal motivation narrative in 200 words that links your background, skills, and reasons for the role.
Complete one timed written-expression paper and one situational-judgement set, then score both against explicit criteria.
Your checkpoint
A scored written-expression paper and a situational-judgement set with a written rationale for each answer chosen.
Professional motivation and situational judgement & Interview / oral assessment
Map 12 likely situational scenarios (conflict with a colleague, competing deadlines, ethical pressure) and write a three-step response for each.
Rehearse the 90-second self-introduction aloud five times and record it to check pace, clarity, and structure.
Prepare six STAR-format stories from your experience and practise delivering each in under two minutes.
Run one mock oral interview with a peer or recorded self-review and note three concrete improvements.
Your checkpoint
A scenario-response bank of 12 situations, six STAR stories, and a recorded mock interview with three improvement notes.
General knowledge and current affairs & Verbal reasoning and comprehension & Numerical reasoning and quantitative aptitude & Logical reasoning and abstract reasoning
Take two full-length timed mock tests covering domains 1–4 and record section-by-section scores.
Analyse every wrong answer to identify whether the cause was knowledge, method, or time pressure.
Re-drill the two weakest question types with 20 targeted questions each.
Review the current-affairs timeline and update it with events from the past two months.
Your checkpoint
Two full mock-test score reports with an error analysis and a targeted re-drill log for the two weakest types.
Written expression and language proficiency & Professional motivation and situational judgement & Interview / oral assessment
Write one final timed essay and one final timed summary, then compare them against your week-4 and week-5 versions.
Run two full mock oral interviews, including a stress question, and review the recordings against a fixed rubric.
Rehearse your motivation narrative and STAR stories until each fits its time limit without notes.
Consolidate all error logs into a one-page pre-exam checklist and read it aloud once per day.
Your checkpoint
A final portfolio containing the last essay, the last summary, two mock-interview rubric scores, and the one-page pre-exam checklist.
Milestones
Week 2: You can summarise any current-affairs article in three structured bullets within 10 minutes, and your numerical drill accuracy is at least 70%.
Week 4: Your timed logical-reasoning accuracy is at least 70%, and both timed essays meet the word limit with no more than five language errors each.
Week 6: You can deliver the 90-second self-introduction and all six STAR stories from memory, and your scenario-response bank covers 12 situations.
Week 8: Full mock-test scores in domains 1–4 are stable or improving, and the final mock oral interview scores at least 70% against your rubric.