Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests: Overview, Free Sample Questions & Tips
This article will provide a comprehensive introduction to this test type, free sample questions & answer guide, and tips to ace this tricky aptitude test.
What are diagrammatic reasoning tests?
Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests are aptitude tests used to assess your problem-solving skills and abstract reasoning ability. Specifically, you have to work with diagrams and flowcharts to find the rules governing given operations and apply them to deduce a logical output. The most common question type you may encounter in this assessment can be finding the input/output of a diagram based on defined rules of operators. Sometimes, it can progress to a higher level in which you have to recognize the underlying effects of the operators and then apply them to solve the required diagram.
Considering skills required, accumulated industry knowledge is not the optimal tool in this assessment; instead, your natural cognitive abilities will help you immensely in mastering this type of test. Through the test, hiring companies want to measure your intelligence and logical thinking, which are useful competencies across all industries. That’s why Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests are often standardized regardless of the position you apply for or companies that use them, rather than customized for specific roles like numerical or verbal reasoning tests.
Diagrammatic reasoning test vs. Abstract reasoning test
Although closely related and assessing the same skills, Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests and Abstract Reasoning Tests are slightly different based on the format of the questions. Below is a table comparing between these 2 types of aptitude tests:

What to expect in diagrammatic reasoning tests
Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests vary in difficulty levels, including 2 main question types: Simple and Advanced. They are all about processing an abstract operation, yet differing from each other by whether the effects are defined. Let’s look closer into these 2 levels:
Simple diagrammatic reasoning
In the simple diagrammatic reasoning questions, you are presented with a diagram followed by a set of effects for the operators. Your job is to conduct the operations following the rules, generating a correct outcome. Given the function of the operators, you may have to identify either the input or output. Here are some examples of how this question will be:
Question 1:


Source: “How to Pass Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests” by Mike Bryon
Answer: A
Explanation:

Question 2:


Source: “How to Pass Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests” by Mike Bryon
Answer: A
Explanation:
The down arrow – Swap “CU” with “OO”: OOCKCU
The star – Add an A between the K and the second C: OOCKACU
The triangle and circle -Remove the second O and the K : OCACU
So, the correct answer is A.
Advanced diagrammatic reasoning
Questions at Advanced Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests also require you to find the input/output of a diagram based on a given process. However, unlike simple diagrammatic reasoning questions, the function of each operator is not defined for you. Your task is to determine the effects of operators and apply them to the required diagram to arrive at a logical answer.
Question 3:

Replace the question mark with a correct code:
A. 456XN
B. A465X
C. 465XN
D. A65XU
Answer: C
Explanation:
Through the given diagram, we can infer the effect of the 3 operations as follow:

Therefore, the question mark can be generated by the following steps:


Question 4:

Answer: A
Explanation:
Follow the tips provided above, we can identify the effect of the 4 operators:

The missing shape is a shaded pentagon with a small hole in the center.

Test providers that use diagrammatic reasoning tests
Two of the best-known test publishers that have diagrammatic reasoning tests are Aon and Saville – the producers of various assessment tests for reputed companies. Requiring the same skills from candidates, they are different in the format, numbers of questions or test duration. Let’s look at some example below to get an overview of the questions from these test providers:
Aon
Aon-style diagrammatic reasoning questions are in the format of Aon Switch Challenge, requiring you to identify the operator that altered the order of given shapes. There are 6 minutes for you to answer as many questions as possible in this test. Below is the sample interface of this test:

Source: AON
Answer: 4123
Explanation:
Saville
Saville Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests ask you to find the missing input, operator, or output of a given process. This type is similar to simple diagrammatic reasoning questions we have mentioned above, as the effect of all operators are fully defined. The test includes 23 questions within a time limit of 24 minutes, exemplifying as the picture below:

Source: Saville
Answer: D
Explanation:
The effect of “T” is changing the shading of all figures, so the color of the input has been altered but the sequence order remains the same.
Therefore, the input must be in light color.
Tips to ace diagrammatic reasoning tests
Needless to say, Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests are among the most challenging assessments since they focus on your fluid intelligence and abstract reasoning skills. Uncommon concepts can appear despite beforehand practice. However, along with the helpful key takeaway to solve advanced questions as above, we’re ready to provide you with practical guidelines when handling this taxing exam:
Free Inductive Reasoning Test
This free mock test includes 12 questions in a time limit of 10 minutes.
Let's check how many scores you can get.
Read next
Aptitude tests are usually compulsory in the application process. So how much time should you spend on learning to get a high score?