Odd one out: 11+ non-verbal reasoning
Five figures, and four of them have something in common. The odd one out is the figure that doesn’t share it.
What the questions look like
A row of five figures labelled A to E. Each might differ in its shape, its shading, its size, small marks around it, or which way it points. Most of those differences are there to distract: only one feature is shared by four figures and missing from the fifth.
Harder questions hide the rule in a detail (the number of sides rather than the shape), or make two features part of it, such as black and with two dots.
One feature at a time
Say each feature out loud: shape, sides, shading, size, marks, direction.
Set aside what always changes
If every figure is different in a feature, that feature isn’t the rule.
Look for four the same
The rule is a feature four figures share exactly. The fifth figure is the answer.
A worked example
Which is the odd one out?
- ABCDE
The shapes are a triangle, a square, a circle, a hexagon and a star: all different, so the shape can’t be what four of them share.
- ABCDE
The shading: all five are black. Every figure has it, so it doesn’t pick one out either.
- ABCDE
The size changes from figure to figure, so set it aside.
- ABCDE
The dots under them: A, B, C and E each have two. D has three. D is the odd one out.
Try 8 questions
New questions every time, in the style of GL Assessment’s papers, and marked when you finish.
The usual mistakes
Stopping at the first difference
D is the only hexagon, but C is the only circle too. A feature that makes every figure different isn’t a rule.
Checking one feature only
When the rule is in a small detail, such as the number of marks, a child who only compares the shapes finds nothing, or guesses.
Picking the one that looks most different
The biggest or darkest figure stands out, but standing out isn’t the rule. Four must share what the fifth lacks.
The other kinds of question
Each has its own page with a worked example and questions to try. What non-verbal reasoning is, and who tests it.
With Exam Prep, Thena sets practice papers in your child’s test’s style and goes over every mistake with them on her board: £49 a month with the Solo plan.
Questions about odd one out
How do you find the odd one out quickly?
Go through the features one at a time and say each one out loud: shape, number of sides, shading, size, the small marks, which way it points. Stop at the first feature four figures share and the fifth doesn’t. A feature that changes in every figure can be set aside.
What if two figures both look odd?
Then the rule hasn’t been found yet. In a well-made question only one figure breaks something the other four have in common, so look for a feature the other four share exactly, not just one figure that looks different.
Thena goes over every question your child gets wrong
She draws it on her board, finds where it went wrong and works it through with them, then gives them one like it to do alone.
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