How the Sova logical test works
Sova describes the test as pattern recognition and abstract thinking using shapes and sequences. Each question shows a row of frames that change according to a rule, and you pick the next frame from the options, reported as four. Some prep sites also report odd-one-out and missing-shape items.
The test adapts in sets: get a run right and you move to harder sequences, get them wrong and you move to easier ones. No clock is reported, but the time you take is recorded and scored with your accuracy.
In Sova’s Early Careers assessment, logical reasoning is optional, so not every Sova sitting includes it. Bain’s Sova test is reported to include a logical reasoning section.
How to solve a shape sequence
Take the frame apart rather than looking at it as a picture:
- Pick one feature and track it across every frame: the number of shapes, their position, colour, size or rotation.
- Say the change in words, such as “turns a quarter clockwise each time”.
- Check the next feature the same way. Harder items run two rules at once.
- Predict the next frame before you look at the options.
- Rule out options that break either rule, then choose from what is left.
Worked example
Four frames each hold an arrow and some dots. Frame 1: arrow pointing up, one dot. Frame 2: arrow pointing right, two dots. Frame 3: arrow pointing down, three dots. Frame 4: arrow pointing left, four dots.
Two rules are at work: the arrow turns a quarter clockwise each frame, and one dot is added each time. The next frame has the arrow pointing up again with five dots. An option with the arrow up and four dots follows only the first rule, and one with five dots and the arrow right follows only the second.
Tips for the real Sova logical test
- Give the first questions your full attention. They decide which level of difficulty you spend the test in.
- Cap your time on any one sequence. A stalled item costs you in recorded time even if you get it right.
- If two options still fit, look for a second rule, such as shading or position, that only one of them follows.
- Use the practice question before the section to see how frames and options are laid out.
- Practise several rule types, not just one. Sequences can turn on count, rotation, position, colour or size.
Practise Sova Logical Reasoning on CogniPrep
Ours gives you 20 sequences drawn from a bank of 48. Each shows four frames and four options for the next one. There is no clock on screen and your time is recorded. Items come in blocks of four, starting at medium difficulty, and the level moves with your results in each block. There is no Back and no skip. You finish with a score out of 100 built from accuracy, speed on correct answers, the level you reached and pacing, a percentile against CogniPrep players, and a split between one-rule and two-rule items. The count of 20 is ours, because Sova does not publish one.