NSW Selective Thinking Skills — The 6 Question Types & Strategies

The Thinking Skills section of the NSW Selective High School Placement Test has 40 questions in 40 minutes, each with four options (A–D). It tests reasoning, not school knowledge: everything needed to answer is in the question. Roughly half the questions are verbal and critical thinking (arguments, deductions, spotting flawed reasoning). The other half are numerical and spatial problem solving (puzzles, working backwards, shapes, data).

One common misconception: this is not the old abstract-pattern test of shape matrices, figure series and odd-one-out. The current test, developed by Cambridge University Press & Assessment, groups its questions into six categories. Here they are, with strategies for each. (For the full test format, see our NSW selective test hub.)

1. Evaluating evidence (strengthen or weaken)

You read a short claim with its reasoning, then pick the statement that most strengthens or weakens it. This is one of the most common question types.

• Find the conclusion first, then the reason given for it. Say it to yourself: “They think X because Y.”
• The right answer connects directly to the link between Y and X. Options that are true but beside the point are traps.
• Check which way the question asks: strengthen or weaken. Under time pressure it’s easy to pick the opposite.

2. Evaluating reasoning (whose reasoning is correct?)

Two characters each draw a conclusion from the same information. You decide whether one, both or neither is reasoning correctly.

• Judge each person separately. One being right doesn’t make the other wrong.
• Ask: must this be true from what is given, or is it only possible? “Could be” is not enough.
• Watch for reversals: “All swimmers passed” does not mean everyone who passed is a swimmer.

3. Identifying mistakes

A character makes a deduction that doesn’t follow, and you choose the option that explains the error.

• Spot the jump: what did they assume that wasn’t stated?
• Common flaws: treating “some” as “all”, assuming one cause when there could be others, and assuming separate events involve different people.
• The correct option names the specific gap in this argument, not a general criticism.

4. Logical analysis (what must be true)

You get a set of rules or facts and must work out what must be true, what could be true, or what cannot be true. This includes ordering and position puzzles, if-then chains, and truth-teller puzzles.

• Use the working paper. A quick table, number line or row of boxes beats holding six clues in your head.
• Place the most fixed clue first (“Maya is third”), then the ones that depend on it.
• Use only what is given. Outside assumptions lead to wrong answers.
• Test the options against the rules: eliminating two or three is often faster than solving the whole puzzle.

5. Finding procedures (numerical problem solving)

Multi-step problems from limited information: timetables, calendars, costs, scores, working backwards from a result, or counting under constraints.

• Write down what you know and what you need before calculating anything.
• Working backwards is often the quickest route when the end result is given.
• When stuck, test an answer option in the problem. With four options, checking two or three can be quicker than solving.
• Re-read the question before choosing: “how many more” and “how many altogether” lead to different answers.

6. Identifying similarity (data and spatial)

Information is shown in different forms — a table and a chart, or a shape and its rotated, folded or viewed-from-above version — and you work out which ones match. Nets, cube views, tile patterns and maps appear here.

• For folding and nets, track one distinctive face or corner and see where it ends up.
• For rotations, check a feature that would change under reflection. That is often what separates two near-identical options.
• For data, check one value at a time against each option, and eliminate as soon as something doesn’t match.
• Spatial skill improves noticeably with short, regular practice.

Time management

Forty questions in 40 minutes averages one minute each, but argument questions are often quicker than multi-clue logic puzzles.

• Don’t get stuck. If a question passes about 90 seconds, pick your best option, note the number on your working paper, and come back if time allows.
• Answer every question. Marks are not deducted for wrong answers.
• Practise timed. Untimed practice teaches the methods; timed practice builds the pace.

Common mistakes

• Using outside knowledge. The answer must follow from what the question says, even if something else is true in real life.
• Confusing “could be” with “must be”. This distinction decides many logic and reasoning questions.
• Answering the opposite question. “Weaken” vs “strengthen”, and “which is NOT”, are easy to misread when rushing.
• Skipping review. The explanation for a wrong answer is where the skill actually improves.

How to practise

1. Learn the six categories untimed so each question type is familiar.
2. Move to timed, full-length papers of 40 questions in 40 minutes.
3. Review every mistake and note which category it came from. Most students find one or two categories cost them the most marks.
4. Try the official practice test on the NSW Department of Education website to see the real style on screen.

EduSpark has 30 timed Thinking Skills papers in the 40-question format, with instant marking and a worked explanation for every question. The first paper is free, or you can try 5 sample questions without signing up.