Figure completion is one of the standard non-verbal reasoning patterns in GL-style 11+ papers: you are shown an incomplete figure and must choose the option that finishes it correctly. It sits within the wider NVR family alongside matrices, series, rotations, reflections and codes, and it rewards method over talent more than almost any other 11+ skill. Children who learn to interrogate a shape property by property routinely overtake "naturally spatial" peers who rely on a first-glance guess. This guide gives you a repeatable method, the exact traps GL builds in, and free ways to drill the type at exam pace.
What figure completion actually asks
You are given a figure that has a piece missing — often a quarter, a half, or a single cell of a patterned grid — and five answer options labelled A to E. Your job is to pick the option that, when slotted in, keeps every rule of the original figure intact: its outline, its internal lines, its shading, its symmetry and any repeating motif. Because GL papers are multiple-choice and marked on a separate answer sheet, you never have to draw anything; you only have to eliminate the four wrong options. That reframing matters, because elimination is faster and more reliable than trying to imagine the perfect answer from scratch.
Expect several figure-completion questions in a typical NVR paper. In reasoning-heavy regions — for example, some Lincolnshire and Bucks-style arrangements — non-verbal reasoning can carry a large share of the total marks, so a few extra marks here move the standardised score meaningfully.
The five-step method
Teach your child to run the same checklist on every question rather than "looking until something feels right":
- Read the outer shape first. Is the frame a square, circle, hexagon? The correct answer must complete that outline exactly — no protruding corners, no gaps.
- Find the line of symmetry or the repeat. Most figure-completion items are governed by a mirror line (horizontal, vertical or diagonal) or by rotational symmetry. Identify it, then project the existing half or quarter across it, point by point.
- Trace the internal detail. Where do interior lines start and stop? A common answer looks right on the outside but drops a small line or dot on the inside.
- Match the shading and thickness. Check fill (black, white, striped, dotted) and line weight. GL loves an option that has the correct shape but the wrong shading.
- Eliminate, then confirm. Cross off options that break any single rule. If two survive, look for the smallest difference between them — that detail is the deciding rule.
The visual attributes to scan
Figure completion is really a checklist of properties. Get your child fluent at naming them out loud; a wrong answer almost always breaks exactly one:
| Attribute | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Outline | Does the option complete the frame with no gap or overlap? |
| Symmetry | Is it a true mirror or rotation of the existing part? |
| Internal lines | Do interior lines meet the existing ones exactly? |
| Shading / fill | Black, white, striped or dotted — does it match? |
| Number of elements | Same count of dots, arrows or small shapes? |
| Size & position | Is each element the right size and in the right place? |
| Orientation | Do arrows or motifs point the correct way? |
| Line thickness | Does the stroke weight match the rest of the figure? |
The classic traps GL builds in
The distractors are engineered, not random. The most frequent are:
- Right outline, wrong interior. The option finishes the frame perfectly but omits or adds an internal line. Always trace the inside before you commit.
- Broken symmetry. A quarter that mirrors left-to-right but not top-to-bottom, or that rotates the motif the wrong way. Confusing a rotation with a reflection is the single biggest NVR error — a mirror flips left and right, a rotation turns the whole shape about a point.
- Shading swap. Correct shape, but a black element where the pattern needs white, or stripes where it needs dots.
- Off-by-one count. One too many or too few dots or lines — easy to miss when you are rushing.
Timing and pacing
GL NVR papers run to roughly 50 minutes and pack in a lot of questions, so the working budget is only about 35 to 50 seconds each. That is enough time for the five-step checklist if it is automatic, but not enough to stare. Train the skip-and-return habit: if an item is not yielding within the budget, mark it on the answer sheet, move on, and come back with the time you have banked. On a machine-marked OMR sheet a blank is worth nothing and a guess is worth a chance, so no answer box should ever be left empty at the end.
| Paper length | Questions | Target per question | Plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~50 minutes | ~60–80 | ~35–50 seconds | Skip-and-return; fill every box |
How the score works
NVR marks are converted into a Standardised Age Score, typically on a scale from about 70 to 140 with 100 as the average. The raw score is adjusted for your child's exact age in months, so a summer-born child is not penalised for being younger than an autumn-born classmate sitting the same paper. Many grammar schools look for roughly 111 or above, but the precise qualifying mark varies by area and year, so treat that only as a guide. The practical takeaway: getting the harder figure-completion items right lifts the SAS more than mopping up easy questions, so accuracy on the tricky ones pays off.
How to practise this type
Drill in short, focused bursts — ten questions, mark, then review every error out loud ("what property did I miss?"). That parent-marking habit turns a wrong answer into a diagnosis. Build the underlying spatial vocabulary little and often. Our free NVR worksheet sets isolate figure completion so the pattern becomes second nature, the full NVR types list maps how it relates to matrices, series and rotations, and timed mock papers knit the types back together at real exam pace. When you are ready to check where your child stands against the clock, the revision hub and GL paper guides pull the whole plan together, and the live leaderboard keeps motivation high.
Frequently asked questions
Is figure completion the same as a matrix question?
No. A matrix has a grid with one empty cell governed by row and column rules; figure completion asks you to finish a single figure using its own symmetry or repeat. The scanning skills overlap, but the logic is different.
How long should each question take?
On a roughly 50-minute GL paper you have about 35 to 50 seconds per question. If an item resists your checklist, mark your best answer, move on, and return to it later rather than losing a full minute.
What score does my child need?
NVR is reported as a Standardised Age Score, usually 70 to 140. Many grammar schools look for around 111 or higher, but the exact pass mark depends on your area and the year, so use it as a target rather than a rule.