What is non-verbal reasoning, and how do you solve a question?
Non-verbal reasoning questions use shapes instead of words or numbers: the child finds the rule that turns one figure into the next and applies it again. In the example below the shape gains a side and darkens one step each time, so the missing figure comes from applying both changes once more.
This is a short, drawn example, not a question from any paper. We made it with the same figure generator that draws our practice questions. Our guide for parents covers the common question types; this one shows a single question being solved.
The question
The question: which figure comes next?
The choices
A
B
C
D
How do you solve it?
- Say what changes. From the first figure to the second, the triangle becomes a square, so it gains a side, and it goes from white to grey.
- Check the change repeats. From the second to the third, the square becomes a pentagon (one more side) and the grey becomes black (one step darker). The same two changes happen each time.
- Apply both changes once more. The pentagon gains a side and becomes a hexagon. The shading goes one step along the repeating order white, grey, black, so after black it is white again.
- Check every option against both changes. The answer is a white hexagon, option C.
Why are the other options there?
- A, the white pentagon, gets the shading right but not the sides.
- B, the black hexagon, gets the sides right but forgets that shading starts the order again.
- D, the white square, matches only the shading, and goes back a shape.
That is the pattern behind many wrong options: each is built to match one part of the rule and miss another. Checking every option against every change is the habit that catches them.
Where does this appear?
Dubai College lists non-verbal reasoning as one of the three areas in its Year 7 entrance assessment, with English and mathematics (source: the school’s Year 7 frequently asked questions, read 16 October 2026). The school does not publish its question types, so this example shows a way of thinking, not the school’s questions.
How do we make our questions?
Every non-verbal figure on Mockplan is drawn by code from a rule, so the correct answer follows from the rule by construction. Each question is then checked for any second reading that could make another answer defensible, and solved independently a second time before it goes live.
Questions parents ask
- What is non-verbal reasoning?
- Reasoning with shapes and diagrams rather than words or numbers. The child spots a rule and applies it.
- What is the first thing to do with a figure sequence?
- Say aloud what changes from one figure to the next: the shape, the shading, the position or the size. Then check whether each change repeats in the same way.
- Why do wrong answers look so convincing?
- Wrong options are often built to match one part of the rule and miss another, so checking every option against every change is safer than choosing the first that fits.
- Do children need to learn tricks?
- Our view is no. Naming what changes, and checking each option against every change, is a method rather than a trick, and it works across question types.
- Is non-verbal reasoning in the Dubai College assessment?
- Yes. Dubai College lists non-verbal reasoning as one of the three areas in its Year 7 entrance assessment, with English and mathematics.
- How are Mockplan’s non-verbal figures made?
- Each figure is drawn by code from a rule, so the correct answer follows from the rule, and each question is checked for any second reading and solved independently a second time before it goes live.
Sources
Facts last checked on 17 October 2026. Everything else on this page is our own view.
- Dubai College: Year 7 frequently asked questions(opens in a new tab)read 17 October 2026
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Mockplan is independent practice. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any school or test publisher named on this page, and the names are used only to say what the practice is for.