Reasoning by Analogy
What Reasoning by Analogy asks
Each item gives a pair, A : B, and a third figure C. You must find the option D that makes C : D follow the same relation as A : B. At Level G the relation is often compound and may involve rotation, reflection, fill reversal, size change, element addition, or movement around the frame.
Reading the relation
State the relation as a short verb chain before looking at the options: “reflect across the horizontal axis, then reverse fill, then enlarge.” Test each feature separately - shape, number, orientation, shading, position, and nesting. Decide whether a transformation is absolute (for example, 90° clockwise on the page) or relative (the arrow turns to point at the centre). Direction matters: if A to B is a reflection, C to D must use the same axis, not the inverse.
Worked example
A is a small black triangle above a horizontal line. B is a large white triangle below the same line. The relation is: reflect across the line, reverse fill, and double the size. C is a small black square above the line. The answer must be a large white square below the line. A large black square below the line has the right reflection and size but misses the fill reversal; a small white square below has the right reflection and fill but misses the enlargement; a large white square above has the right size and fill but was not reflected.
Traps
The main trap is choosing an option that looks like B rather than one that relates correctly to C. A second is applying only the most visible part of a compound rule. A third is treating a reflection as a rotation: reflections reverse handedness, so an asymmetric detail such as a notch or a flag will point the wrong way if you rotate instead.