How the Abstract Reasoning test works
Every question looks the same: a row of four framed panels and a fifth holding a question mark, with five answer panels lettered A to E underneath. The instruction is always “Select the option that best matches the pattern.” The figures are simple line drawings, with no words or numbers to read.
It is a speeded test. TestGorilla says very few candidates are expected to finish, and that a top performer might get 25 of the 50 right: a raw score of 50% that could still be around the 85th percentile. The raw percentage means little here; the percentile is what the employer sees by default.
Before the scored test you can take an unscored practice run of 25 questions in 5 minutes.
How to find the rule fast
At 12 seconds a question, you need a fixed scanning order:
- Check one feature at a time across the four panels: position, rotation, shading, number of parts, size.
- Many sequences combine two rules, such as a mark moving round the frame while a shape turns. Find one rule, use it to cross out options, then look for the second among the survivors.
- Common rules are a mark stepping one corner round each time, a figure turning by a fixed angle, shading cycling through a few tones, and two states taking turns.
- If no rule shows itself within about 15 seconds, guess and keep your speed.
Worked example
Four panels each hold a black dot in one corner and an arrow in the centre. The dot sits top left, top right, bottom right, bottom left. The arrow points up, up-right, right, down-right.
Rule one: the dot moves one corner clockwise each step, so in panel five it is back at top left. That crosses out every option with the dot anywhere else. Rule two: the arrow turns 45 degrees clockwise each step, so next it points straight down. Of the options with the dot top left, the answer is the one with the arrow pointing down. The wrong options usually break exactly one of the two rules.
Tips for the real Abstract Reasoning test
- Take the 25-question practice run. It is unscored and gives you TestGorilla’s real pace before it counts.
- Expect not to finish. Steady accuracy at about 12 seconds a question beats racing ahead and guessing wildly.
- Do not stall. There is no going back, but there is no penalty for a wrong answer either, so a quick guess beats a long stare.
- Select and press Next in one smooth movement. At this pace the clicks themselves take a real share of the time.
- In the last few seconds, submit whatever is selected. A selected answer still on screen when time runs out is not saved.
Practise Abstract Reasoning on CogniPrep
Ours has 50 sequences on one 10-minute clock with five options lettered A to E, generated fresh every sitting. One question per screen, no going back and no penalty for a wrong answer. At the end you get a raw percentage and a percentile against CogniPrep players, with harder sequences weighted more, so you can judge your speed and accuracy the way TestGorilla’s report would.