The features that change: a sweep for every attribute
The Short Answer
Almost every non-verbal reasoning question is asking about one of a small number of features: shading, line type, size, direction, position, number and shape. The skill that underlies the whole paper is sweeping a figure once for each feature in a fixed order, rather than trying to take the whole picture in at once — which is what makes these questions feel hard when they are not.
One skill under most of the paper
Odd one out, series, matrices, analogies, codes. They look like five different question types, and at the level of what you actually do, they are one.
Every one of them asks: which feature is doing something?
So the skill worth building first is not any of those question types. It is the sweep.
The seven features
Shape — what it is, how many sides, straight or curved. Number — how many dots, lines, small shapes. Position — where things sit, and how they move. Size — bigger, smaller, by how much. Shading — white, black, grey, striped; and if striped, which way the stripes run. Line type — solid, dashed, thick, thin. Direction — which way something points, and which way it turns.
That is the whole list. It is short enough to memorise, and memorising it is worth more than any individual technique on the paper.
Sweep once for each, in the same order
Do not look at the whole figure. Working memory holds a handful of things, and a busy figure has more than a handful — so looking at all of it means seeing whatever is loudest, which is exactly what was arranged.
Instead, look at it seven times, asking one question each time.
How many sides? Then forget the sides. How many dots? Then forget the dots. What is shaded?
Seven small easy questions instead of one impossible one.
What turning does and does not change
Worth stating plainly, because it underlies half the traps on the paper:
Turning a figure never changes anything you can count. A pentagon lying on its side still has five sides. Six dots turned round are still six dots.
So a figure that looks wrong because it is tilted is not necessarily the odd one, the wrong option, or anything at all. Tilt is not a feature. It is a way of drawing.
Flipping is different. A mirror image keeps every count the same and reverses the order things come in — which is why the countable checks pass it and only a specific test catches it.
Where do pupils lose marks?
Looking at everything at once, and seeing whatever was drawn to be seen.
Stopping at the first feature that does something, when a second one is doing something too.
Judging by appearance when a count was available.
Treating tilt or size as the rule, when they are usually there to catch the eye.
How can we practise this at home?
Describe things. Genuinely — pick any picture, sign or logo and take turns naming one feature at a time: how many sides, what colour, which way it points, solid or dotted.
It sounds nothing like an 11+ question and it is the exact skill. Children who can describe a figure systematically can solve non-verbal reasoning questions; children who can only say what a figure looks like cannot, and no amount of practice papers fixes that directly.
Free: a Non-Verbal Reasoning workbook
Questions across the Non-Verbal Reasoning question types, with the method printed at the top and full answers at the back. One workbook for the whole strand, not a sheet per question type.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is a fixed order of checks better than just looking?
Because working memory holds a few things at a time, and a busy figure has more than a few. Looking at everything at once means seeing whatever is most visually loud, which is exactly what the examiner has arranged. Sweeping for one feature at a time turns an overwhelming picture into seven small, easy questions.
Which features come up?
Seven, and they cover almost everything. Shape — what it is, how many sides. Number — how many of something. Position — where things sit and how they move. Size — bigger, smaller, by how much. Shading — white, black, grey, striped, and which way the stripes run. Line type — solid, dashed, thick. Direction — which way something points or turns.
Which should be checked first?
The countable ones. Sides, dots, shapes inside — counting is fast, reliable and produces a number you can compare rather than a feeling. Shading, symmetry and direction take longer to judge, so they get a turn only when counting has found nothing.
Does this help with more than one question type?
It is the skill underneath most of them. Odd one out, series, matrices, analogies and codes are all asking which feature is doing something. A child who sweeps systematically has one method for five question types; a child who looks and hopes has none, and finds each type hard separately.
Sources
- GL Assessment — 11+ familiarisation materials and question type descriptions Published 2025.
- Clever Clogs Academy — our own Year 4 and Year 5 lesson records, Winslow Published September 2025 to July 2026.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to GL Assessment or Buckinghamshire Council. Test arrangements change; always check the council's own pages for the current year's dates.
We Teach This Method Every Week in Winslow
Groups of no more than six pupils with two qualified teachers, in person or online. Come and see a session before you decide.