Choose an anchor feature
Pick one asymmetric feature: a dot, notch, shaded corner or short line. Track that anchor through the transformation before checking every other detail.
Symmetric shapes can hide rotation, so the small unequal feature often carries the useful information. If no anchor exists, compare orientation of groups rather than isolated parts.
Distinguish rotation from reflection
A rotation preserves clockwise order. A mirror reflection reverses it. Label three features A, B and C mentally; if their order flips, you are probably seeing a reflection rather than a turn.
For grids, track row and column movement separately. Moving two cells right and one up is easier to verify than imagining the full board sliding.
Verify every marked feature
After predicting the new anchor position, confirm direction, fill and neighbouring elements. Many distractors place the anchor correctly but reverse one inner line.
Slow down on the final comparison. Spatial errors often happen after the main rule is found, when one small feature is not checked.