Logical, inductive, deductive: how employers name rule-spotting tests, and how to train for them

When an employer says logical reasoning, it may mean any of three things. Inductive questions give you a pattern, in numbers or shapes, and ask what comes next. Deductive questions give you rules or statements and ask what must be true. Abstract questions mix both with symbols. PwC names inductive and deductive reasoning on its cognitive test. BDO says its puzzle-like tasks rest on quantitative and inductive reasoning. Schroders names a deductive-logical thinking test among its UK Aon assessments.

Others give less. KPMG says its cognitive test covers numerical and logical reasoning. Arup says timed numerical and logical reasoning. Vodafone names a logical reasoning test. They do not say which kind, so a general rule-spotting practice is the right response.

Logic questions have no method you can apply mechanically. You look, you form a guess about the rule, you test it, and you either confirm or abandon it. Under time, people stop abandoning. They keep testing one rule long after it has failed.

The cure is a fixed budget. Give yourself about 40 seconds on a pattern question. If no rule appears, pick your best guess and move on. Employers like KPMG and Arup time their logic sections, so a stuck candidate loses more than a wrong guess would cost.

Check the differences between terms first. If they are constant, you have the rule. If not, check whether the differences themselves follow a pattern. Then check ratios, then alternating patterns where odd and even terms follow different rules.

Most number series in tests resolve at one of those four steps. Our CCAT sample questions page works through each type, and the free CCAT practice test gives you fifty questions at test speed.

Shape questions ask what changes from frame to frame: rotation, reflection, number of sides, shading, position. List the changes before you look at the answer options, because the options are built to tempt you.

Some employers use games for the same skills. Capgemini candidates report short games described as deductive logic, inductive logic, a grid challenge and a motion challenge. Capgemini's own India page names logical reasoning as one of the aptitude skills, but the game details come from candidates, so treat them as reported. See our game-based assessments guide for the wider picture.

Ten minutes a day for a week is enough to improve most people's rule-spotting. Do five minutes of number series and five of shape or deduction questions. After each set, write down the rule you missed, in a sentence. Rules repeat, and naming them makes them easier to spot next time.

The CCAT practice test is free. If you want more volume, the CCAT Pass Pack is £29 (US$39) for this exam or £49 (US$59) for all five exams we cover, with timed mocks, topic drills, a score predictor and a study plan, for one payment and no subscription.