What Section 1 involves
Section 1 of HPAT-Ireland, Logical Reasoning and Problem Solving, presents short passages of text or information shown graphically, such as tables, charts and diagrams. Each question asks you to reason from that information: to see what it actually supports, what it assumes, or how to work through the problem it sets out.
No specialist knowledge is needed. Everything you need is in front of you; the skill is in reading it precisely and not bringing in assumptions of your own.
Section 1 has 42 questions in 60 minutes, which is about 86 seconds per question, and it makes up 40% of your overall score.
Common question styles
- Drawing conclusions: which statement must be true, or is best supported, given the information.
- Assumptions: what an argument takes for granted without saying so.
- Interpreting data: reading a table or chart accurately and comparing values.
- Problem solving: applying a set of rules or conditions to reach an answer.
How to prepare
- Read for what is said, not what is likely. Many wrong options are reasonable in real life but are not supported by the passage. Ask “does the information prove this?”
- Watch the qualifiers. Words such as all, some, most and only often decide the answer.
- Get fast with data. Practise reading tables and charts quickly, and doing simple arithmetic without a calculator, which is not allowed.
- Eliminate. With 4 or 5 options and no negative marking, ruling out two clear wrong answers is often enough to choose well under time pressure.
- Review every mistake. After each practice set, decide whether you misread, assumed something, or ran out of time, and fix that specifically.
Facts on this page are taken from the official HPAT-Ireland website and the ACER Test Taker Information Booklet for the 2026 test, checked in October 2026. Always confirm dates and rules at hpat-ireland.acer.org before you register.