What to expect
You get a grid, usually three by three, with the last cell blank, and a row of answer options. The grid is built on a rule that runs one way along the rows or the columns. Find the rule and the blank is obvious; miss it and every option looks possible.
How the rules work
Matrix rules repeat, and they are few: a shape moving one step per cell, a count going up or down, a colour or fill flipping, a rotation of a fixed angle, or a shape added and removed. The rule holds in one direction, so read across a row or down a column and name what changes from cell to cell.
Name the change out loud, in words: "the dot moves one corner clockwise." A rule you can say is a rule you can trust; a feeling is not.
A fixed order
- Look at the whole grid first and notice what moves, not what the shapes are.
- Track one element across a row, then the next element, one at a time.
- Test the rule you found against a second row before you answer.
- If two options fit, the rule is not finished; look for a second rule underneath.
How to practice
Take one grid at a time and write the rule down before you choose. Speed comes from naming rules fast, so practise the naming, not the guessing. A set of ten grids, solved and checked, does more than a hundred rushed.
MSc Psychology, 7 years of test taking.
Last updated: Oct 27, 2026