Verbal reasoning is a psychometric test which has been developed by psychologists to measure and identify cognitive ability of job applicants and is accepted as a credible means of intelligence testing by large employers for assessment, selection and recruitment purposes.
It is designed to evaluate the reasoning ability, comprehension, and verbal skills of an aspiring job applicant. It assesses the suitability of a person for a job by measurement of the desired skills. It is the standard and widely accepted form of assessment included in virtually all graduate level aptitude tests.
Verbal reasoning tests can be asked in various formats, depending on the level of the job. Basic verbal reasoning tests include sentence completion and analogies which measure linguistic ability; higher level exams for graduates, professionals and managers include problems based on passages, statements that assess the ability to draw the correct conclusion, deduct logical explanation and inferences from the given information.
Employers seek to measure certain basic skills through verbal reasoning tests. Employers gain an insight into an applicant’s potential through the verbal reasoning scorecard. The scorecard enables employers to reflect and assess the applicant’s ability to identify crucial business-related matters, deduct logical conclusions through business reports, frame official documents, and explain business terms in simple words.
The underlying skills tested in verbal reasoning questions are comprehension, critical reasoning, vocabulary and grammar. To perform well in a verbal reasoning test, you need to develop and practice these skills in detail.
Verbal reasoning question can be categorized into 3 major formats:
- Reading comprehension – These include multiple-choice questions based on a passage where you need to select a single correct option.
- Sentence equivalence – It consists of a sentence with a single blank where you have to find two choices that complete the meaning of the sentence.
- Text completion – It requires selection of words or phrases to fill in the blanks of a passage.
Most verbal reasoning questions are in the form of a short passage which is followed by two or more statements. The question will require you to read the subsequent sentences and select any one of the options from true, false and cannot say.
You need to select the ‘true’ option if the statement follows logically from the given information. Select ‘false’ if the statement is logically false on the basis of the given information. Select ‘cannot say’ if the given information is not sufficient to answer the question.
Verbal Reasoning Tips for Answering:
Verbal reasoning questions appear to be tricky.In order to answer them correctly, follow these tips:
- Assume that the information provided in a given passage is true and base the logic over it.
- Do not use either your prior knowledge or general knowledge to answer the questions. • Interpret the passage to have only an implied meaning and do not make any explicit assertion.
- Practice questions and test your speed over each type of question. Limit your time and do not exceed it.
- Read the passages briskly to get an overall sense.
- Having selected an option, check if it is logically coherent and grammatically correct.
These tips will help you develop your verbal reasoning skills and greatly enhance your chances to land successful in your job selection process.
