A verbal reasoning test will evaluate your ability to communicate using the English language. Whether you’re a police officer reading a report, an executive giving a presentation, or a lawyer writing a brief, you’ll need to communicate at some point in some way during your professional career.
Many employers choose to administer verbal reasoning tests to interested applicants. These screening exams help hiring managers to see how thoroughly potential new employees analyze texts and how precisely they can articulate their thoughts.
What Is Verbal Reasoning?
Verbal reasoning is a fairly ambiguous term, but when it comes to psychometric exams, it refers, very basically, to your ability to use language effectively. A verbal reasoning test isn’t much different than the SAT’s in format. You’ll be asked to define words both in and out of context, identify grammatical errors, and answer questions about various texts.
Types of Questions:
There are four types of questions on verbal reasoning tests: reading comprehension, true/false, vocabulary, and grammar questions. Here’s what you should expect.
Reading Comprehension
You’ll be given a short passage followed by several reading comprehension questions. In many cases, the text or extract will pertain to your industry; however, that won’t necessarily be the case. The questions will ask you to recall details from the passage, summarize general themes, infer the author’s purpose, and compare various ideas presented. You may also be asked to analyze the author’s argument or state whether the text does or does not support a certain conclusion either implicitly or explicitly.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary questions will ask you to either give you a word and ask you to define it or identify a word in a passage and ask you to choose the relevant meaning out of a few possible choices. In the first case, you’ll simply have to draw upon your previous knowledge. In the second case, you’ll need to use context clues to determine the significance of the word specifically as it’s used in the sentence. Alternatively, you could be asked to rearrange words in a sentence or complete analogies. Learn more about vocabulary tests and take our free practice test to improve your scoring.
Grammar
You can’t fool yourself into thinking that grammar is irrelevant in the twenty-first century. Grammar is the backbone of any language, and you need to have a strong grasp of even the technical aspects of language if you want to be taken seriously in the professional world.
These questions will test your knowledge of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure. Sometimes you’ll be given a sentence with an error and asked to identify the mistake. Other times you’ll be given four different sentences and asked to choose the one that’s written correctly.
Sentence Completion Test Questions
Sentence completion test questions will provide incomplete sentences or phrases that you must use to fill in the blanks, which will measure your aptitude for vocabulary, language comprehension, and critical thinking skills. These tests are used in psychology, education, and personnel selection to assess cognitive processes. Learn about sentence completion tests.
Synonym Test
Synonym tests assess your knowledge of word meanings by having you identify words of similar meaning from a list or provide synonyms for given terms. These assessments are commonly used in education and employment processes to gauge vocabulary, language comprehension, and verbal reasoning abilities. They help evaluate your language skills and knowledge to use synonyms in communication effectively. Learn about synonym tests.
Paragraph Organization Test
Paragraph organization tests are assessments designed to evaluate your ability to arrange a set of sentences or paragraphs into logically structured content. You’ll have a group of mixed-up sentences or paragraphs that you must reorganize to create a meaningful and understandable passage. Paragraph organization tests are often used to assess your understanding of effective writing and your skill in creating well-structured written communication. Find more information about Paragraph Organization Tests.
Verbal Ability Test
Verbal ability tests are assessments that evaluate your written and spoken communication skills. These tests can include vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar, and language usage. They are commonly used in educational settings, employment assessments, and standardized tests to measure your verbal aptitude, language comprehension, and overall verbal communication abilities. Read more about Verbal Ability Tests.
How to Prepare for a Verbal Reasoning Test?
If you read the newspaper and edit your emails before sending them to colleagues and co-workers, chances are good that you already know a good deal about how to communicate effectively. However, you’ll still probably want to send some time preparing if you need to take a verbal reasoning test.
Verbal reasoning questions aren’t necessarily straightforward. If you’re haven’t taken a standardized language test before, you may find yourself falling into their traps.
Final Thoughts
Preparing for a verbal reasoning test? Don’t sweat it! Verbal reasoning can be tricky, but with a little practice, you’ll get the hang of it. Make sure to click over to our practice tab to try your hand at some review questions before heading out to the assessment center.
