9/24/2018 Verbal And Numerical Reasoning Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy | EU Training

Verbal And Numerical Reasoning Is Your

Friend, Not Your Enemy
TIPS AND TRICKS (/RESOURCES/TIPS-AND-TRICKS) 15 MAR 2010

Preparation tools (/taxonomy/term/258) numerical reasoning (/tags/numerical-reasoning)

verbal reasoning (/tags/verbal-reasoning)

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9/24/2018 Verbal And Numerical Reasoning Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy | EU Training

Are you also terrified by the thought of taking the verbal/numerical reasoning test?

Most EPSO-test candidates feel the same way, though it can be your best friend, as
long as you know how to handle them. Why? Because these questions don't require
any specific knowledge but rather a skill that you can practice and master in the
course of your preparation. Being familiar with all these little tricks will help you pass
this test with ease.

Let's see some tips about the verbal reasoning first:

1. Many people apply a special technique to save time: they read the four answer
options first and then turn to read the main text. This way you can avoid reading the
same text twice so you can save precious time.

2. In most cases, there is no specific question asked, you just have to mark the
answer that is "most true" or most relevant. Nevertheless, you may still have tricky
questions such as "What does the word 'irreproachable' mean in the above context?'

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or 'Based on the text, we may suppose that...'. Should this be the case, spend five
extra seconds interpreting the question to make sure you fully understand what you
need to provide an answer for.

3. Careful with logical relations and links - when the text mentions 'may', 'might',
'probably', 'could have been' and other words, don't fall in the trap the examiners set
for you. If 'Mr. X was eligible to become vice-chairman', it doesn't mean he was
actually elected; when 'The janitor thought that the house was likely to collapse
soon' does not mean that the house was about to collapse.

4. Never consider facts that are true in the "real world" but were not mentioned in
the text. If the text talks about Segolene Royal, the runner-up at the French elections
of 2007, one of the answers may state that "Nicolas Sarkozy is a talented politician"
without his name being mentioned in the text whatsoever - within the context of the
text, this will not be a correct answer!

As for numerical reasoning, consider the following:

1. You will in most cases be presented with a table containing lots of columns and
rows that may seem confusing and discouraging at first glance. Yet all you will
actually use is shown in a single cell or two.

2. Try not to count: efficient candidates look for proportions without actually
calculating the exact amount. If you face a riddle that has answer options like 0.15,
1.8, 9 and 14.3, you can certainly identify the scale of the result and avoid wasting
time in calculating the precise amount.

3. Read the table's title very carefully. If the table is entitled 'Infant mortality in
Spain in 2005 (thousands)', you already have several pieces of valuable information
that you must bear in mind. You know that the question can only refer to Spain and
not e.g. Portugal; you also know that the reference year is 2005 so if the question

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mentions '2007', you must adapt your calculations accordingly. Lastly, you know that
all figures are expressed in 'thousands', so if the question refers to 'millions', be
careful with the number of zeros after a given figure.

4. Be very familiar with the different units of measurement, know how much a
'liter', 'hectoliter' is in 'm3', how to multiply m2*m2, how much a 'ton' weighs, and so
on. In EPSO exams, you will most likely find questions formulated using the metric
system (litres, km, kg) but for safety's sake, be aware of how many metres a mile is,
and so on.

5. Last but not least, practice calculations in every field of life: when you go
shopping, at work, when paying the restaurant bill - avoid using a calculator or your
phone to count whenever possible. You'll be surprised how much your mathematical
skills will improve in only a few weeks!

3 Steps To Get E-tray Ready (/content/3-steps-get-e-tray-ready)

The results of the Pre-Selection Exams for the 2018 EPSO AD5 Generalist competition are out.
With only 3 weeks till the E-tray Exams kick-off there isn't too much time to prepare, so it's
important to hit the ground running fast. The good news is we can help you get E-tray ready in
record speed.

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 20 SEP 2018

IT'S OUT! 2018 EPSO AD5 Pre-Selection Exam Results (/content/its-

out-2018-epso-ad5-pre-selection-exam-results)

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9/24/2018 Verbal And Numerical Reasoning Is Your Friend, Not Your Enemy | EU Training

EPSO released the greatly anticipated Pre-Selection exam results for the 2018 EPSO AD5
competition. Congratulations to those that made it through to the E-tray round of the
competition! 

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 19 SEP 2018

NEW EPSO E-Tray Simulations Added (/content/new-epso-e-tray-

simulations-added)
Not only has EU Training fully reviewed and updated its existing E-tray Exercise simulations to
match the changes imposed by EPSO last year, but 7 NEW practice E-tray Exercises have also
been added to the database! Of these 3 have been translated into French as well.

NEWS (/RESOURCES/NEWS) 18 SEP 2018

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