OLSAT Level F cheat sheet

Antonym items: negate the stem word's core meaning, not its emotional tone; a word and its antonym share the same part of speech and usually the same register.

Analogy bridge types, in order of frequency: function (pen:write), category-to-member (fruit:apple), part-to-whole (wheel:car), degree (warm:hot), cause-effect (rain:flood).

Analogies are read A : B :: C : ? - the relation must hold in the same direction and the same grammatical order on both sides.

Context-vocabulary items: substitute each option into the sentence; the correct choice preserves both the sentence's logic and its connotation (positive/negative/neutral).

Sentence-completion items with two blanks require both words to fit; a pair where one word fits and the other does not is always wrong.

Classification (odd-one-out) items: name the shared property of the majority first, then test each option against that property.

Passage questions: main-idea answers must cover the whole passage, not one supporting detail; detail answers must be traceable to a single stated line.

Inference items ask what must be true, not what could be true; an option that requires outside knowledge is incorrect.

Ordering/sequencing logic: convert each clue into a symbol (=, <, >, immediately-before) and chain the symbols before testing options.

If-then rules: the valid inference is contrapositive (not B therefore not A); affirming the consequent (B therefore A) is invalid.

Only-if vs if: 'A only if B' means A implies B; 'A if B' means B implies A - the two are not interchangeable.

Syllogism items: draw the two premises as nested sets; a conclusion is valid only if the set diagram forces it in every arrangement.

Assumption items: the needed assumption is the unstated premise without which the conclusion collapses - test by negating it.

Weakening/strengthening items: the strongest option attacks or supports the link between evidence and conclusion, not the evidence itself.

Seating/arrangement puzzles: place the most constrained item first, then fill remaining slots; re-check each clue once the grid is complete.

Either/or clue ('A or B, but not both') eliminates any arrangement where both or neither hold - mark it as an exclusive pair.

Picture analogies use the same bridge logic as word analogies: identify the transformation in the first pair, then apply it to the third picture.

Common picture transformations: add/remove a part, change size, change orientation, change color/shading, change quantity, change position.

Picture classification: the odd picture differs in exactly one attribute (shape, count, symmetry, shading); all others share it.

Picture series: check attributes independently and in a fixed order - number, then shape, then orientation, then shading - to avoid double-counting a change.

Counting items: recount using a systematic path (left to right, top to bottom) so no object is counted twice or skipped.

Mirror vs rotation: a mirrored picture cannot be produced by turning the original; check a distinguishing asymmetric feature.

Nested/hidden-figure items: look for the target shape's outline continuing through overlapping lines; partial matches are distractors.

Figural series: track rotation per step (often 45° or 90° clockwise), number of elements added/removed, and alternation of two interleaved patterns.

Matrix (3x3) items: the rule holds across each row and down each column; a valid answer satisfies both directions.

Symmetry rules: count axes of symmetry and check whether the figure's symmetry type (vertical, horizontal, diagonal) changes across the series.

Superposition rules: overlay the first two figures - elements may add (union), cancel (XOR), or persist only where common (intersection).

Shading/hatching rules: check whether filled regions invert, alternate, or move one position per step independently of shape movement.

Figural classification: compare number of sides, closed vs open regions, and line intersections - the odd figure differs on one of these counts.

Paper-folding/punch items: unfold step by step, reflecting the hole across each fold line; the number of holes doubles with each fold that does not lie on the hole.