Postal Exam 955 cheat sheet

Signal words change the job: because, since, and thus introduce premises or conclusions, while but, however, and although introduce a contrast that usually reverses the expected answer.

Negation test for assumptions: negate a candidate statement; if the argument's conclusion collapses, that statement is a necessary assumption.

Quantity words are not interchangeable: some = at least one (possibly all), most = more than half, none = zero, and few = a small number but not zero.

Valid universal chain: All A are B plus All B are C yields All A are C. Mixing in a particular premise yields a particular conclusion, never a universal one.

Invalid conversion: All A are B does not license All B are A; Some A are B does not license Some B are not A.

Causal claims are weakened by an alternate cause, a reversed cause-and-effect direction, mere correlation, or an effect that appeared without the supposed cause.

Main-idea questions require the choice broad enough to cover every paragraph; a choice supported by only one sentence is a detail, not the main idea.

For synonym items, insert each option into the original sentence and keep it only if the sentence's meaning and tone stay intact.

Percent change = (new value − old value) ÷ old value × 100. The original value is always the divisor, so a rise from 40 to 50 is a 25% increase, not 20%.

Part = whole × rate; whole = part ÷ rate. If 18 is 30% of a number, the number is 18 ÷ 0.30 = 60.

Average = sum ÷ count, so sum = average × count. Use the rearranged form when the total, not the average, is requested.

Rate problems use distance = rate × time. Combined work adds rates, not times: two workers at 1/a and 1/b jobs per hour finish one job in ab ÷ (a + b) hours.

Proportions solve by cross-multiplication: a/b = c/d gives ad = bc. Keep the same units in the numerators on both sides.

Per-unit price is the comparison tool for value questions: divide total cost by quantity and compare like units (per ounce, per pound, per piece).

Estimate first to eliminate choices, then compute exactly; rounding both operands often isolates a single answerable option.

Sequence items are tested in order: constant difference, constant ratio, alternating or interleaved patterns, then squares or cumulative sums.

Compare long strings in chunks of two to four characters instead of reading whole; transpositions such as 4821 versus 4812 survive whole-string reading.

Two entries match only when every field matches exactly; capitalization, spacing, punctuation, and abbreviation differences are mismatches, not minor variations.

Address field order: street number, directional prefix (N, S, E, W, NE, SW), street name, suffix (St, Ave, Blvd, Rd, Ln, Dr, Ct, Pl), unit, city, state, ZIP.

A single altered element makes the whole entry different - a changed directional prefix, a different suffix, a transposed digit in the house number, or a dropped apartment letter.

ZIP+4 is five digits, a hyphen, then four digits. A five-digit ZIP where nine digits are recorded is a mismatch, not a formatting preference.

Numbers sort by value, not by digit string: 9 precedes 10, and 100 precedes 205, which is the reverse of alphabetical order.

Alphabetical filing is letter by letter, ignoring spaces and punctuation, so Stanford precedes St. Paul because a comes before p.

Scan a list in one consistent direction and do not skip back; skipping back is how a missed mismatch in an earlier row goes undetected.

Priority order when duties collide: personal and public safety first, then legal or regulatory requirements, then service commitments, then productivity, then convenience.

Stop-and-report rule: a hazard, injury, or damaged piece of equipment is reported to the supervisor before the task continues; untrained repairs are not attempted.

Published procedure outranks a coworker's shortcut, and any deviation is recorded with its reason so the record matches what actually happened.

Conflicting instructions are resolved by asking the supervisor who assigns that work; if action cannot wait, choose the safer and more reversible option.

Confidentiality covers customer names and addresses, mail contents, and employee records; information is shared only with someone who needs it to do the job.

A delay is reported as soon as the deadline looks at risk, with a revised estimate and options, because an early warning is recoverable and a surprise is not.

A coworker's error is corrected if it falls within your role and is safe to fix; otherwise it goes to the coworker or supervisor rather than being ignored.

Complaint handling sequence: acknowledge the problem, state the specific action and timeframe, then follow up on it - without arguing or assigning blame.