CogAT Verbal cheat sheet

Verbal Classification: all three stem words share one attribute (category, function, or part-whole relation); the answer must share that same attribute, not merely be associated with one stem word.

Verbal Analogy: read as A is to B as C is to ___, and fix the relation's direction first (whole→part, cause→effect, worker→tool); a reversed relation is the most common trap.

Analogy bridge types to test in order: synonym/antonym, category member, part-to-whole, function/use, degree (warm:hot), and characteristic property.

Sentence Completion: predict a word for the blank before reading options, then eliminate options that clash in connotation (positive vs. negative) or in degree.

Two-blank sentence items: the correct pair must fit both blanks; an option that fits only one blank is wrong even if it reads smoothly.

Verbal Classification distractors often belong to the same broad topic as the stems but differ on the defining feature (e.g., all animals, but only three are mammals).

Antonym items: choose the option opposite in core meaning, not the one that is merely unrelated; unrelated words are the standard distractor.

Number Series: compute consecutive differences first; if differences are constant it is arithmetic, if ratios are constant it is geometric, and if differences grow it is often a second-order (difference-of-differences) pattern.

Alternating series: when one rule fails, split odd-position and even-position terms into two separate sequences and solve each independently.

Number Analogy: the same operation must map the first pair onto the second pair; test simple operations (×2, +3, square, halve) before complex ones.

Number Puzzle (grid/matrix): look for row-wise or column-wise rules such as sum, product, or outer-minus-inner before assuming a diagonal rule.

Quantitative Comparison: compare the two quantities directly and avoid computing exact values when an estimate or a single counterexample settles the comparison.

Average = sum ÷ count; to find a missing value from a known average, multiply the average by the count and subtract the known values.

Percent change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100; a 20% increase followed by a 20% decrease returns to 96% of the original, not 100%.

Ratio problems: convert to parts, find the value of one part by dividing the total by the total number of parts, then scale to the requested share.

Figure Classification: identify the single invariant property shared by all stem figures (number of sides, symmetry, open vs. closed, shading, or number of enclosed regions) and require it in the answer.

Figure Analogy: state the transformation in words (rotate 90° clockwise, add one dot, invert shading) and apply exactly that transformation to the third figure.

Figure Analysis (paper folding): unfold in reverse order; each fold doubles the number of holes, and holes are mirrored across the fold line.

Paper-folding mirror rule: a hole punched through a fold crease produces one merged hole on the crease, not two separate holes.

Rotation vs. reflection: a rotated figure preserves clockwise ordering of features, while a reflected figure reverses it; check one landmark feature to tell them apart.

Counting rules: track sides, vertices, enclosed regions, line intersections, and shaded-vs-unshaded counts as separate attributes; the rule usually involves exactly one of them.

Series of figures: verify that the change repeats consistently across every consecutive pair before choosing the option that continues the pattern.