OLSAT Level A cheat sheet

A synonym question asks for the answer choice closest in meaning; the correct choice stays the same part of speech as the stem word.

An antonym question asks for the opposite; a word with no true opposite (for example, a concrete noun) is a poor stem, so expect the stem to be a graded adjective or verb.

In a sentence-completion item, the blank's part of speech is fixed by the words around it: after 'a' or 'an' comes a noun, after 'very' comes an adjective.

Context clues decide the answer when several choices fit grammatically: the rest of the sentence must stay true with the chosen word inserted.

A word-association item groups words by category, function, or setting; the answer belongs to the same category as the other three.

Analogy format 'A is to B as C is to ___' is solved by naming the relationship in a sentence, then applying the same sentence to C.

Common analogy relationships at this level: whole-to-part, function (tool to its use), category membership, and opposite.

A classification item asks which word does not belong; the three that remain must share one stated category, not just a loose theme.

In a logic item with 'all' and 'some', only the stated facts are used; outside knowledge about the real world is ignored.

'All A are B' does not reverse: it does not follow that all B are A. 'Some A are B' does reverse to 'some B are A'.

A deduction item is valid only if the conclusion must be true; a conclusion that is merely likely is not the answer.

Ordering items: translate each clue into a position rule (before, after, next to), then test choices against every rule.

Inference items ask what must follow from the passage; an answer that adds new information not in the passage is wrong.

Cause-and-effect items: a cause must come before the effect and must be enough to produce it; a coincidence in the passage is not a cause.

Direction and position puzzles use the reader's fixed frame: left and right are the viewer's left and right unless the text says otherwise.

For 'which must be true' versus 'which could be true', must-be-true answers hold in every arrangement; could-be-true answers hold in at least one.

Picture analogy: describe the change from the first picture to the second (added part, removed part, color change, size change), then apply the same change to the third picture.

Picture classification: three pictures share a property such as number of parts, living versus nonliving, or use; the fourth lacks it.

Picture-series items change one attribute at a time; identify which attribute changes (count, position, color) and its step size.

In picture-logic items with 'all' or 'none', the rule is read from the given examples only, not from what the objects usually do.

Object-function items pair an object with its use or user (for example, a tool with the worker who uses it); the pairing, not visual similarity, decides.

A picture can stand for a category (a picture of a dog stands for all dogs), so a choice showing a different breed may still be correct.

When two choices both fit the visible pattern, prefer the one that changes exactly one attribute, matching the stated rule.

Counting attributes (legs, wheels, windows) is a reliable tiebreaker because these counts are fixed and checkable.

Figural analogy uses abstract shapes: track rotation, reflection, size, shading, and number of sides separately.

A reflection flips the figure left-to-right or top-to-bottom; a rotation turns it while keeping the same face up. A mirrored shape is not the same as a rotated one.

Series items: check the rotation step (for example, 90 degrees clockwise each time), the shading alternation, and the count of elements as three independent rules.

Figural classification: the shared property is often symmetry, number of enclosed regions, straight versus curved lines, or open versus closed figures.

A figure with one line of symmetry matches its mirror image across that line; a figure with none does not.

Matrix items (3x3) apply one rule across rows and another down columns; a missing cell must satisfy both.

Shading rules alternate or accumulate: filled, empty, filled, empty, or one more filled region at each step.

Number of enclosed regions is counted, not estimated: a shape inside a shape adds one region.