Deductive Reasoning Test Practice
Here the rules are stated up front. Your job is to find what has to follow from them, which is not always what seems likely.
One of the logical reasoning formats, alongside inductive reasoning, abstract reasoning and diagrammatic reasoning.
Deductive Reasoning Practice Tests
Deductive Reasoning
Given a set of premises, judge whether each conclusion definitely follows, possibly follows, or does not follow. Mirrors the SHL Verify Deductive Reasoning test.
gapChallenge (Deductive Reasoning)
Work out which shape belongs in the "?" square of a grid where every row and column holds each shape exactly once. Six open-ended minutes, with grids that get harder each time you answer correctly. Mirrors Aon's gapChallenge.
switchChallenge (Deductive Logic)
A row of symbols is rearranged into a new order by hidden operator "codes". Work out the missing code that produces the output. Six minutes of gamified deductive logic. Mirrors the Aon smartPredict switchChallenge (scales sx).
ACT Deductive Reasoning
Two statements compare three people or things. Press Next, the statements vanish, and answer a question about them from memory. The one section descended directly from the old BARB.
GIA Reasoning
Read a comparison statement, click to hide it, then answer a question about it from memory against two options. The hidden statement is what makes this a working-memory task rather than a reading one.
Logic Word Problems
Fifteen long word problems on ordering, scheduling, rules and tables, each with five options and exactly one forced answer. One 20-minute clock, no going back, and an unanswered question counts against you.
Occupational Reasoning
The reasoning part of the USA Hire battery: statements you mark True, False or Insufficient Information, scheduling puzzles and short arguments. Each question has its own five-minute clock and gets harder while you keep answering correctly.
EEI Reasoning from Rules
Reasoning from Rules from TECH, the technician battery: short sets of routing rules and cases to apply them to, four options each. EEI publishes no length or clock, so 15 questions in 15 minutes is our practice clock.
TestGorilla Problem Solving
Scheduling and rate problems, six-slot ordering puzzles with rules, and tables to filter against a customer's requirements. 12 questions in 9 minutes, the shortest clock in TestGorilla's cognitive library, with the ordering puzzles generated fresh each sitting.
What Deductive Reasoning Measures
Following the rules exactly
A conclusion is correct only if it must be true given the premises. What is likely, or true in real life, does not count, and the plausible wrong answers are written to catch people who reason from experience.
Keeping track of relationships
Ordering, scheduling and comparison items ask you to hold several relationships at once. The British Army ACT and the Thomas GIA hide the statements before you answer, so they test memory as well.
Seeing what cannot be decided
Many deductive tests offer an answer such as cannot say or insufficient information. Recognising when the premises do not settle a question is a skill of its own, not a fallback.
Question Formats
Syllogisms and conclusions
Two or more premises and a conclusion to judge. SHL Deductive Reasoning asks whether a conclusion definitely follows, possibly follows or does not follow. The Watson Glaser Deduction section asks only whether it follows or not.
Ordering and scheduling puzzles
A handful of constraints about who goes where or when, and a question about what must be true. The USA Hire reasoning items, the FAA ATSA Logic Word Problems and TestGorilla Problem Solving all use them.
Shape grids with one rule per row
Aon gapChallenge shows a grid where each shape appears once in every row and column, and asks which shape fills the gap. Aon says it measures the ability to apply given rules to logical problems.
Comparisons answered from memory
Statements such as "Tom is taller than Sam" disappear before the question. This is the British Army ACT Deductive Reasoning section, the one part descended from the old BARB test, and the Thomas GIA Reasoning task.
Rules applied to cases
A set of routing or decision rules and cases to apply them to. EEI Reasoning from Rules, set for technician roles, asks candidates to read and apply rules to make decisions and troubleshoot a logic network.
How to Prepare
Draw the order on paper
For ordering and scheduling items, sketch the slots and fill them in as each rule allows. OPM recommends scratch paper for the USA Hire reasoning items, which give each question five minutes.
Leave real-world knowledge outside
If the premises say all managers are left-handed, they are. Judge only whether the conclusion follows, however odd the premises sound.
Treat cannot say as a real answer
When a conclusion is possible but not forced, the undecided option is correct. Ask whether you can build one case where every premise holds and the conclusion fails.
Turn comparisons into a line
For taller-than or heavier-than statements, picture the items in a line as you read. On the ACT and GIA tasks the statements vanish before the question, so the line in your head is all you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a deductive reasoning test?
A test that gives you premises or rules and asks which conclusions must follow from them. Items range from classic syllogisms to ordering puzzles and shape grids. Unlike an inductive test, nothing is left to infer: everything you need is on the screen.
What is the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning tests?
Inductive tests give you examples and ask you to infer the general rule, so you reason from specific cases to a pattern. Deductive tests give you the rules and ask you to apply them to reach a conclusion that must follow. Inductive tests are usually shapes; deductive tests are more often words, grids or puzzles.
Is Aon gapChallenge a deductive test?
Yes. Aon describes it as measuring the ability to apply given rules to logical problems, which is deduction. It runs for six minutes with no set number of items, and the grids get harder as you answer correctly.
Do I need to know formal logic?
No. Terms such as syllogism and transitive inference are useful for searching, but the tests explain each item type and need only careful reading. Familiarity with the item types helps far more than theory.
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