To pass an inductive reasoning test, learn the short list of rules the questions are built from, then use the same method on every question: track one element at a time, predict the answer before you look at the options, and rule out any option that breaks a rule you found. Practise under timed conditions so that the method becomes quick, and review every mistake to find the rule you missed.
The best way to start is to sit a free inductive reasoning test against the clock. It shows you the format and tells you which kinds of rule slow you down.
What an inductive reasoning test measures
An inductive reasoning test shows you a series of shapes or patterns and asks you to work out the rule behind them. There are no words or numbers to lean on. You infer the rule from a few examples and pick the option that follows it. Employers use the format because inferring a rule from limited evidence is close to what people do when they meet an unfamiliar problem at work.
You may meet the same style of question under other names, such as abstract, diagrammatic, figural or logical reasoning. The task changes very little between them. The difficulty usually comes from several rules running at once, not from any single rule being hard. If you want the background first, read what inductive reasoning is.
Know the format before the day
Read your invitation and any practice material the employer sends. Find out how long the test lasts, how many questions it has and how many options each question offers.
Dividing the time by the number of questions gives you a time budget for each question. For example, if a test gives you 25 minutes for 20 questions, you have 25 × 60 ÷ 20 = 75 seconds per question. Knowing that number stops you sinking three minutes into one puzzle.
Check two more things if you can. First, whether you can skip a question and come back to it. Second, whether the test adapts its difficulty to your answers, because adaptive tests often do not let you go back. Both change how you should spend your time.
Learn the rules the questions are built from
Almost every question uses rules from a short list:
- Rotation by a fixed angle, clockwise or anticlockwise.
- Reflection, which produces a mirror image that rotation cannot.
- Movement of an element around the frame on a fixed path.
- Counting, where sides, dots or lines rise or fall by a fixed amount.
- Alternation of shading, colour or direction on a regular cycle.
- Size change, and elements being added or removed.
Learn the list until you can run through it without thinking. Then, on every question, check each element against it in the same order, for example position, rotation, count, shading, size, then anything added or removed. A fixed order means you stop reinventing your method on each question, which is where most lost seconds go.
Use the same method on every question
- Pick one element and follow only it across every figure.
- Name its rule, such as “moves one corner clockwise” or “gains one line”.
- Repeat for each element until you have accounted for everything that changes.
- Note what stays fixed, because it still rules options out.
- Predict the answer before you look at the options.
- Find your prediction among the options and check it against every rule.
Predicting first is the most important habit. If you look at the options too early, a near miss can talk you into the wrong answer.
A worked example
A square frame contains a black dot and a set of short lines.
- Frame 1: dot in the top-left corner, 1 line.
- Frame 2: dot in the top-right corner, 2 lines.
- Frame 3: dot in the bottom-right corner, 3 lines.
- Frame 4: dot in the bottom-left corner, 4 lines.
Which option is frame 5?
- A: dot top-left, 4 lines
- B: dot top-right, 5 lines
- C: dot top-left, 5 lines
- D: dot bottom-left, 5 lines
Step 1. Follow the dot. It moves one corner clockwise each time, so after bottom-left it returns to top-left.
Step 2. Follow the lines. The count rises by one each time, so frame 5 has 5 lines.
Step 3. Predict: dot top-left, 5 lines. That is option C.
Look at how the wrong answers were built. A has the right position but the count has not moved on. B has the right count but the dot has moved one corner too far. D has the right count but the dot has not moved. Each satisfies one rule and breaks the other, which is typical of real tests. For more questions like this, see these worked inductive reasoning examples.
Spot the distractors
Expect at least one option in every question to sit very close to the right answer. Wrong options are usually made by taking the correct figure and changing one thing. Look specifically for:
- mirror images where a rotation was needed,
- rotation in the wrong direction,
- counts that are one too many or one too few,
- shading that is one step out of its cycle.
When the right answer will not come, switch to elimination. Take one feature, such as the count, and strike out every option that gets it wrong. Then take the next feature. Two or three passes usually leave one option. If four options look like variations on one figure, that figure is often the answer.
Manage your time
- Do not dwell. If you have passed your time budget on a question, choose your best remaining option, flag it if you can, and move on.
- Answer every question unless the instructions say wrong answers lose marks. A guess from two remaining options is far better than a blank.
- Expect the hard ones. Tests often get harder as they go, so a run of difficult questions is normal and not a sign that you are failing.
- Read the instructions every time, even if you have sat a similar test before. Formats and answer rules vary.
Practise in the right way
Practice only helps if it is timed and reviewed. Sit a full set against the clock, then go back over every question you got wrong or guessed. For each one, name the rule you missed. Keep a short list of those rules. After a few sessions you will usually find the same two or three, such as reflections or rules on different cycles, and you can focus on them.
It also helps to understand why these questions have a best answer rather than a proven one. An inductive answer is the rule that best fits all the evidence, which is different from the certainty of a deductive question. Inductive vs deductive reasoning explains the difference.
On the day
Sit the test somewhere quiet, with a stable connection and nothing to interrupt you. Have rough paper ready if you are allowed it, so you can note each rule as you find it. A rule you have written down cannot slip your mind halfway through the options. Stay calm when a question defeats you, because one question is a small part of your score.
When you are ready, take a timed inductive reasoning practice test and use the method above on every question, including the easy ones.
