Verbal Reasoning Test Practice

What the real test usually looks like

Verbal reasoning tests are sold by most of the big test publishers, and each uses its own format. These are the ones you are most likely to meet:

• True, false or cannot say. The best-known format: a passage, then statements to judge. Aon's candidate guide for its verbal test, as used for Singapore Management University admissions, defines the answers this way: true if the statement is "absolutely true, based on the information in the brief", false if it is absolutely untrue, and cannot say if you cannot tell "without further information" (Aon guide, via SMU).
• Judging written arguments. SHL describes its Verify Verbal Reasoning test for managerial and professional roles as measuring "the ability to evaluate the logic of various kinds of argument as presented in written form", and lists a 30 minute completion time (SHL).
• Verbal analogies. TalentLens's DAT Next Generation battery has a Verbal Analogies subtest that "measures verbal reasoning by the relationships between pairs of words", with 15 adaptive items (TalentLens).
• Drawing conclusions. Saville Assessment lists verbal reasoning, drawing conclusions from written information, among its single measures (Saville Assessment).

Speed varies a lot. In the Aon version described in the SMU guide, candidates get 6 minutes for 18 statements, about 20 seconds each, and the guide warns that not everyone will finish. Tests built on longer passages give more time per question, but none give enough to read slowly.

Online, with business passages. Most first-round verbal tests are taken online through a link. Passages read like memos, reports or news items on everyday business and public topics. No specialist knowledge is needed, and outside knowledge should never be used.

Question types with worked examples

The examples below use one short passage, the way a real test asks several questions about the same text.

Passage: Northfield Bank will close 12 of its 40 branches next year. The bank says branch visits have fallen by a third since 2020, while use of its mobile app has doubled over the same period. Staff at the closing branches will be offered roles at nearby branches or in the bank's phone team. The bank has not said which branches will close.

1. True. "Fewer people visit Northfield Bank branches now than in 2020." The passage says visits have fallen by a third since 2020, so this is true. Method: find the sentence the statement rests on and check it says the same thing.

2. False. "Staff at the closing branches will not be offered other jobs at the bank." The passage says they will be offered roles, so the statement contradicts it: false. Method: false needs a direct clash with the text, not just a lack of support.

3. Cannot say: cause and effect. "The branches are closing because more customers use the mobile app." The passage gives both facts side by side but never says one caused the other. Cannot say. Trap: the statement sounds sensible, and real-world knowledge pulls you toward true.

4. Cannot say: hidden absolutes. "Branch visits have fallen every year since 2020." The passage gives the total fall, not the year-by-year path. Cannot say. Trap: "every", "all" and "only" turn a reasonable statement into one the passage does not support.

5. Main idea. Which best summarizes the passage? (a) Northfield Bank is moving all its customers to its app. (b) Northfield Bank plans to close 12 of its 40 branches and offer affected staff other roles. (c) Customers prefer phone banking to branches. The answer is (b): it covers the main facts, while (a) and (c) make claims the passage never makes. Trap: picking a summary that adds a claim the passage never makes.

6. Verbal analogy. "Author is to book as composer is to ...?" (a) orchestra (b) symphony (c) piano. Turn the first pair into a sentence, "an author writes a book", then test each option: a composer writes a symphony. Trap: (a) and (c) are closely linked to composers but do not fit the sentence.

How to prepare

1. Use only the passage. Forget what you know about the topic. Real-world knowledge is the single biggest source of errors.
2. Read the statement first. Aon's own instructions tell candidates to read the statement, then look at the part of the brief they need. You rarely need to reread the whole passage.
3. Know your seconds per question. At the pace in the Aon guide, 18 statements in 6 minutes, you have about 20 seconds each (Aon guide, via SMU). Divide the minutes in your own invitation by the number of questions and practice at that pace.
4. Separate false from cannot say. False needs the passage to contradict the statement. Missing information is cannot say, however likely the statement seems.
5. Circle the small words. "All", "some", "most", "only", "never", "always", "will" and "has" change what a statement claims. Most trick statements change just one of them.
6. Watch for swapped details. A statement may copy the passage word for word but change one number, date or name.
7. Do not stall. If a statement takes more than twice your target time, mark your best answer and move on.
8. Read dense writing daily for the week before: business news, annual report summaries or policy briefs. It builds reading speed on the kind of text you will see.

How scoring usually works

Raw score. The number of statements you judged correctly.

Percentile against a norm group. Most publishers compare your raw score with a large group who took the same test, such as graduates or managers, and report a percentile. A 60th percentile means you did as well as or better than 60% of that group. The employer chooses the group, so the same raw score can mean different things for different roles.

Adaptive tests. Some verbal tests, such as the DAT Next Generation Verbal Analogies subtest, are adaptive: harder items follow correct answers, so the score depends on difficulty as well as the number right (TalentLens).

There is no universal pass mark. Employers set their own target for each role, often higher for roles with a lot of reading, drafting or client writing.

Our practice score is the number of our own questions you got right, with a breakdown by statement type. It is not a score from any real test and does not translate into a percentile.

Common mistakes in true, false or cannot say questions

• Answering from the real world. "Most banks are closing branches" may be true in life, but if the passage does not say it, the answer is cannot say.
• Treating "likely" as true. True means the passage states it or it follows directly. A strong hint is still cannot say.
• Treating "not mentioned" as false. False needs a contradiction. Silence is cannot say.
• Missing a tense change. "The bank has closed 12 branches" is not the same as "will close". The statement may be false or cannot say depending on what the passage says.
• Reading "some" as "most". "Some staff will move to the phone team" is not the same as "most staff".
• Getting slower on long passages. Long passages do not need more reading time per statement if you go straight to the sentence the statement is about.

How this practice compares with the real test

What we match. The true, false or cannot say format, passages in the length and style of business writing, and a timer set close to the pace of common tests. Every answer comes with the reason, including the cannot say ones that catch most people out.

What we cannot match. We do not have any publisher's passages or norm groups, so we cannot give you a percentile. We do not copy adaptive scoring or interactive formats, and each publisher words its instructions a little differently. Read your real test's instruction screen carefully, even if the format looks familiar.

What carries over. The core skill is the same everywhere: judge each statement against the text alone, and know exactly where true ends and cannot say begins. That skill transfers to any publisher's version.

A one-week verbal reasoning study plan

• Day 1: Take the free sample above. For each wrong answer, write down which of the common mistakes above caused it.
• Day 2: Practice the false versus cannot say line on 20 statements with no timer. Say out loud which sentence decides each one.
• Day 3: Practice at your target pace, in seconds per statement, from your invitation.
• Day 4: Take a full timed mock. The 30-Day Pass includes full mocks for this test, each with explanations.
• Day 5: Review the mock by statement type and drill your weakest one. If your test also has critical thinking items, try the critical thinking test.
• Day 6: A second full mock, then a short review.
• Day 7: Rest. Read one business article slowly and check your device and quiet room for tomorrow.