NNAT3 cheat sheet

Pattern Completion items present a large design with a missing region and four candidate patches; exactly one patch restores the design's internal logic.

Decision rule: match the patch to the surrounding pattern at every edge of the missing region - lines, colors, and shapes must continue across the boundary without offset or flip.

Continuity test: a diagonal line entering the hole at a given angle must exit at the same angle; a color block touching the hole must continue with the same color.

Symmetry check: many designs are symmetric about a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal axis; reflect the visible half into the missing region before comparing options.

Counting check: when the design repeats a unit (stripes, dots, nested shapes), count spacing and size of units adjacent to the hole and require the patch to preserve that spacing.

Distractor rules: wrong patches typically mirror the correct one, shift it by one unit, swap two colors, or omit one line; scan options for these specific defects.

Rotation is rarely the answer in this domain - patches are normally in the same orientation as the surrounding design, so a rotated option is usually a trap.

Overlap rule: where two pattern elements cross inside the hole, the patch must show the crossing point at the same location as the visible continuation of both elements.

Analogy items are stated as A is to B as C is to ?, with the answer chosen from four options; the relation between A and B must be applied identically to C.

Core rule: name the transformation in words (add a side, rotate 90 degrees, invert colors, halve the size, move the dot to the opposite corner) before looking at the options.

Direction rule: the transformation runs from A to B, so it must be applied to C in the same direction; an option that applies the inverse relation is a distractor.

One-change rule: the A-to-B relation changes exactly one or two attributes; options that change extra attributes such as color or count are incorrect even if the main change is right.

Attribute inventory to compare: shape identity, number of elements, size, orientation, fill color, outline versus filled, and position within the frame.

If A and B differ by a combination (for example, rotate and change color), the correct answer must show both changes applied to C - partial matches are distractors.

Negative relations count: if A loses an element to become B, then C must lose the same element; adding an element instead is wrong.

Verification step: after selecting an answer, re-read the item as A is to B as C is to the chosen option and confirm both pairs obey the same stated relation.

Serial Reasoning items show a 2x2 or 3x3 matrix with one empty cell; the rule is a progression across rows, down columns, or both.

Row-and-column rule: in most matrices the same transformation repeats across each row and down each column, so the missing cell must satisfy both readings simultaneously.

Progression types to test in order: constant addition or subtraction of elements, rotation by a fixed step (45 or 90 degrees), size growth or shrinkage, color alternation, and position shift by one cell.

Counting progressions: if row 1 shows 1, 2, 3 elements and row 2 shows 2, 3, 4, the missing cell in row 3 continues the arithmetic sequence rather than repeating a prior value.

Diagonal check: many matrices are symmetric about a diagonal, so the missing cell can be predicted by reflecting the cell opposite it across that diagonal.

Distractor rules: wrong options repeat a cell already in the matrix, apply the row rule but break the column rule, or continue the sequence by the wrong step size.

Exclusion method: eliminate any option that would make two cells in the same row identical when no other row contains duplicates.

Direction consistency: if shapes rotate clockwise across a row, they rotate clockwise down the column too unless the item establishes separate row and column rules.

Spatial Visualization items require mental folding, rotating, reflecting, or combining shapes; the answer is the option that matches the result of the stated operation.

Folding rule: when a shape is folded along a line, the folded half lands as a mirror image across that fold line; the crease stays fixed and the moving half reverses.

Rotation versus reflection: a 90-degree rotation moves a top-left feature to top-right, while a horizontal reflection moves it to top-right only if the figure is also flipped vertically - track one landmark feature to distinguish them.

Landmark tracking: pick a single distinctive feature (a dot, a notch, an asymmetric protrusion) and follow only that feature through the operation, then check which options place it correctly.

Paper-folding and punch items: unfold step by step in reverse order, reflecting the hole across each fold line in turn; the number of holes doubles with each unfold unless holes coincide on the crease.

Combining shapes: when two pieces are joined, matching edges must be equal in length and the pieces must not overlap; options showing overlap or mismatched edges are wrong.

Cube and net items: opposite faces of a cube never appear adjacent, so eliminate any option showing two faces that are opposite in the net.

Mirror-image trap: the most common distractor is the correct figure reflected rather than rotated; check chirality by confirming a clockwise sequence of features stays clockwise.