SHL verbal reasoning test practice

What the real test usually looks like

What preparation sites commonly report. The SHL verbal reasoning test is commonly reported as 30 questions in 19 minutes, about 40 seconds a question (JobTestPrep; Practice4Me). One site says the time is 17 to 19 minutes depending on the job level (AssessmentDay). Each question gives you a short passage and a statement, and you choose True, False or Cannot say.

What SHL says. SHL's practice page describes its verbal reasoning test as measuring how well you understand written information and evaluate arguments based on it (SHL). Its product page for Verify Verbal Reasoning (Managerial and Professional) gives a completion time of 30 minutes, which probably includes the instructions, and does not list a number of questions (SHL).

Not the same as Verify Verbal Ability. SHL also publishes a different verbal test, Verify Verbal Ability. Its fact sheet lists up to 18 adaptive multiple choice questions in 15 minutes, on reading comprehension with four answer options (SHL fact sheet). If your invitation names that test, the True, False or Cannot say method below will not apply in the same way.

The three answers:

• True: the statement follows from the passage.
• False: the passage contradicts the statement.
• Cannot say: the passage does not give enough information to decide either way.

Passages are business writing: policies, project updates, survey results, company news. You do not need any outside knowledge. In fact, outside knowledge is the most common reason for a wrong answer.

How our full mocks work. Our mocks are in the style of SHL's verbal reasoning test: 30 questions in 19 minutes, every one answered True, False or Cannot say, in that order, on short business passages. There is no going back once you move on, so you practice deciding and moving at the real pace. They do not cover SHL's other verbal formats, such as the four-option Verify Verbal Ability test. For a mix of SHL-style verbal and numerical questions in one sitting, try our general SHL-style practice test.

Question types with worked examples

Each example uses the same short passage, so you can see how the three answers differ. Passage: "The training budget for the sales team was cut by 10 percent this year. Two of the four planned courses have been postponed until the spring. The team manager has said that online courses will be used where possible."

1. True: the statement follows. "Some planned courses will not run on their original dates." Two courses were postponed, so this follows. Trap: hesitating because the wording differs from the passage. A statement can be true without repeating the passage word for word.

2. False: the passage contradicts it. "All four planned courses will go ahead as scheduled." Two were postponed, so this is false. Trap: choosing cannot say because you are not certain about every course. One clear contradiction is enough for false.

3. Cannot say: the passage leaves it open. "The budget cut caused the courses to be postponed." The passage mentions both, side by side, but never says one caused the other. Trap: filling the gap with what seems likely. Two facts placed together do not make a cause.

4. Strong words. "All of the sales team's training this year will be online." The passage says online courses will be used "where possible", which is not the same as "all". It does not say everything will be online, and it does not rule it out either, so the answer is cannot say. Trap: marking it false. False needs the passage to say something incompatible, such as "some courses will be held in person".

5. Numbers in a passage. "The training budget is smaller than last year's." A 10 percent cut means it is smaller, so this is true. Trap: answering cannot say because no dollar figure is given. A percentage change is enough to compare.

How to prepare

1. Check which verbal test you are taking. Your invitation or the employer's careers page often names it. True, False or Cannot say questions and four-option comprehension questions need different habits.
2. Learn your pace. At 30 questions in 19 minutes, you have about 40 seconds each. Read the passage once carefully, then return to it only for the detail each statement asks about.
3. Set your rule for cannot say. Before the test, decide what each answer means and stick to it: true follows, false contradicts, cannot say is everything in between.
4. Underline the strong words. "All", "only", "never", "most", "some" and "may" change a statement's meaning. Compare them with the passage's own words.
5. Leave your knowledge at the door. If a statement is true in the real world but the passage does not say so, the answer is cannot say.
6. Watch for cause and effect. A passage that reports two things together has not said that one caused the other.
7. Review your misses by type. After each practice set, sort your wrong answers into true, false and cannot say. Most people find one pattern, often marking cannot say as false.
8. Take full timed mocks. Nineteen minutes of close reading is tiring in a way ten questions are not. Practice at the full length so the pace feels normal on the day.

How scoring usually works

SHL does not publish a pass mark, and the employer decides how to use your result for each role. Preparation sites commonly report that SHL verbal scores are comparative: your score is compared with a group of people with a similar background who took the test before, and turned into a percentile that the employer uses to see where you rank (JobTestPrep). The same site says that pass marks differ between positions and employers, and that wrong answers are not penalized unless the instructions say so. If that holds for your test, it is worth answering every question rather than leaving any blank.

• Raw score: the number of statements you judged correctly.
• Percentile: where that score sits in the comparison group. The 60th percentile means you scored higher than about 60% of the group.
• Comparison group: the people you are compared with. The same raw score can give a different percentile against a different group.

Results usually go to the employer rather than to you, so ask the recruiter if you would like feedback. Our SHL scores guide explains SHL's reports in more detail.

Our practice score is the number of our own statements you judged correctly, with a breakdown of misses by answer type. It is a practice score: it is not an SHL score, percentile or cut-off, and it does not predict whether you will pass.

Common mistakes on SHL-style verbal reasoning

• Using what you know instead of what you read. The passage is the only evidence. A fact you know from the news is not in it.
• Treating cannot say as false. False needs a contradiction. A statement the passage does not cover is cannot say.
• Treating false as cannot say. If the passage says "the window will stay at 30 days" and the statement says it will be shorter, that is a contradiction, not a gap.
• Reading a link as a cause. "Items with photos were returned less often" does not mean the photos caused it.
• Missing a qualifier. "Proposed", "expected", "may" and "up to" all leave things open. "Has decided" and "will" do not.
• Rereading the whole passage for every statement. Read it properly once, then scan for the part the statement is about.

A one-week study plan

About 20 to 30 minutes a day. If your test is in two days, do days 1, 4 and 6.

• Day 1: Take the free sample above. Note which answer type you missed most.
• Day 2: Twenty statements focused on cannot say versus false, with the passage open and no timer.
• Day 3: Strong words and qualifiers: rewrite five statements by changing one word, and decide how each change moves the answer.
• Day 4: A full SHL-style verbal mock at the real pace. Review every miss and every slow question.
• Day 5: Cause and effect, and numbers in passages; then a short timed set at 40 seconds a statement. Our verbal reasoning test gives more passages.
• Day 6: A second full mock. Compare your score and your pace with day 4.
• Day 7: Light review, check your invitation, and set up a quiet room for the test.