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Verbal Reasoning

Verbal Reasoning Instructions

Overview

The Verbal Question module helps you sharpen the way you read, interpret, and reason through written text. Each session presents 10 short passages followed by statements, with difficulty ramping dynamically based on accuracy. The test is untimed, results are instant and free, and retakes are unlimited.

Question 1.
01:00
A trade union is suing two municipalities that let welfare recipients work for years without paying them. The union believes they are entitled to the minimum wage. Since 2011, people on welfare in the two municipalities have folded fake flowers without any compensation, which were then sold in garden centres. They also glued envelopes and harvested trees. According to the union, the work was “humiliating, unsafe and devoid of perspective”. Neither did it contribute to a successful reintegration, claims the union. The social services of the two municipalities have since halted the unrestricted deployment of welfare recipients. Some employees have been given an employment contract. However, the union considers the compensation that the municipalities want to offer to be insufficient. They claim that more than 230 people are entitled to the full minimum wage with retroactive effect. The social services of the two municipalities are only willing to offer 170 people untaxed compensation of up to $1,500 per person. The municipalities dispute that money was earned unfairly through the use of welfare recipients. They claim that the income went directly back to the budget used to help and support people on welfare experiencing difficulties finding a job.

Do the municipalities believe that money was earned unfairly by deploying welfare recipients?
a. Yes, those entitled to benefits worked for years without being paid.
b. Yes, the municipalities say they found the work “humiliating, unsafe and devoid of perspective”.
c. No, the welfare recipients eventually received an employment contract.
d. No, the income was used to support those entitled to welfare.
Question 2.
01:00
...Nota is an Australian chassis manufacturer founded in 1952 by Guy Buckingham. He first made cars for Formula Junior. Later, in the 60's, the company started developing sports cars. 11 Nota Sapphires were built. The company began building cars for Formula Vee in 1965. At that time, Nota also built the "Sportsman", a variant of the Lotus 7. The Nota Fang, the most successful car to date, arrived in 1968. More than 100 of these cars were built. After this success came the Nota Levanti. This car was built in collaboration with FIAT. After this, little more was heard from Nota. Since 2006, the company has been developing the Nota Chimera...

What is a Nota Fang?
a. an Australian chassis manufacturer
b. a sports car
c. a car for Formula Junior
d. a variant of the Lotus
Question 3.
01:00
...Repairs to electrical equipment may only be carried out by professionals. Improper repairs can lead to considerable risks to users. For this reason, please always contact our customer service department. Only original spare parts meet all requirements. Children do not see the dangers arising from improper handling of electrical appliances. As such, always ensure that children are supervised while this device is switched on. If you dispose of this electrical appliance and replace it with a new one, make sure to disassemble the door lock so it becomes unusable and cut off the power cord. Then dispose of the device in an environmentally friendly manner...

To which electrical appliance would this user manual belong?
a. a coffee maker
b. an iron
c. a washing machine
d. an electric kettle
Question 4.
01:00
A green environment does not necessarily determine people's sense of happiness: beautiful buildings, a canal through the city or a harbour environment can generate just as much happiness. Researchers from the University of Warwick compared 1.5 million ratings given by people to their environment with health figures from the United Kingdom. The parts of the country that received high ratings for how beautiful or scenic they are were generally not parks or forests. Cities, harbours and places of architectural interest received higher ratings. Ratings for the surrounding area were compared to health figures; the places where people indicated they appreciated the city often scored better on the health map than the places where people indicated they appreciated the green environment. According to the University of Warwick, further research is needed to substantiate the findings, as they contradict previous research. For example, Japanese scientists discovered that people who live close to a park live longer and healthier lives.

What is the best environment to live in in order to be healthier?
a. close to parks or forests
b. close to port areas
c. close to architectural sights
d. further research is needed
Question 5.
01:00
Winning a million dollars in the lottery is a reason for one in five Americans to stop working immediately. People who win such a prize often choose to pay off debts and go on vacation. This is the conclusion reached by a bank following research among more than a thousand Americans. More than half of those surveyed plan to participate in the lottery this year. Few of them know how small the chances are of winning the jackpot. Only 4 percent were able to correctly estimate that the chance of winning the jackpot is between one in four and five million. When it comes to winning the prize, not everyone would be equally eager to share that information. Close relatives, such as parents and children, would still get to hear about it in 90 percent of cases. Other family, friends and colleagues would hear much less often that there is something to celebrate. This is often due to the fear of intrusiveness, envy or high expectations. Almost half of those questioned think that someone aged 45 would never have to work again if a million dollars were credited to their bank account. The bank warns that those who stop working have lots of free time, which in turn changes their spending patterns. Also, a pension would no longer be accrued. More than three out of ten would hire a financial advisor after winning a million dollars to be able to handle their new assets smartly.

What does the bank warn you about?
a. The small chance of winning the jackpot.
b. Intrusiveness or envy of friends and colleagues.
c. Calling in financial advice.
d. Stopping work.
Question 6. Continue with information from question 5
01:00
How many Americans in the research group were able to correctly estimate the chances of winning the lottery?
a. about 4
b. about 40
c. about 250
d. about 400
Question 7. Continue with information from question 5
01:00
How many Americans plan to play the lottery this year?
a. one in five
b. three out of ten
c. more than half
d. unknown
Question 8.
01:00
A company goes to a conference that lasts several days with four people. The company has booked four adjacent rooms at the hotel where the conference will be held. When the four people arrive at the hotel in the evening, they don't go to bed right away: all four of them do something else first.

- Frank, the quality manager, has a room with a higher number than that of the person who is going to watch television.
- The person in room 101 goes to the hotel bar.
- The person who goes to work to prepare the speech for the next day is not staying in room 103.
- It is not the director of exams, but the general director, who is staying in room 102.
- There is one other room between the room in which Max, who is not the content manager, is staying and the room of the person who is taking a walk.
- Mark is staying in room 104.
- The only woman from the company is called Marge.

Who is staying in room 103?
a. Frank
b. Marge
c. Mark
d. Max
Question 9. Continue with information from question 8
01:00
In which room is television being watched first?
a. 101
b. 102
c. 103
d. 104
Question 10. Continue with information from question 8
01:00
Who takes a walk in the evening first?
a. Frank
b. Marge
c. Mark
d. Max

Test Format & Interaction

  1. Structure:
    • A factual passage (80–150 words).
    • 3–5 statements per passage.
    • Three verdict options: True | False | Cannot Say.
  2. Navigation: One passage at a time; answers lock on submission.
  3. Adaptive logic: Early passages focus on clear, direct statements. As you advance, expect more subtle language, qualifiers, and tricky red herrings designed to test deeper comprehension.
  4. Time guidance: The test is untimed to encourage accuracy over speed, though most participants complete it within 11–17 minutes.

Immediate Scoring & Feedback

Results appear within 1 second of final submission:

  1. Overall accuracy (e.g., 28/30 statements correct).
  2. Per-passage verdict matrix (color-coded True/False/Cannot Say).
  3. Line-by-line annotation:
    • Exact sentence(s) justifying the verdict.
    • Why distractors are tempting but wrong.
    • Inference rule applied (e.g., scope shift, causal overreach).

Retake Policy

  • Infinite attempts with fresh, parallel-form passages.
  • Optional free account stores verdict-type trends (e.g., “Over-inference on Cannot Say: –12%”).
  • Guest mode erases everything after closure.

Scoring Transparency & Psychometric Design

  • Each verdict is binary and passage-bound—no partial credit, no normalization.
  • Item difficulty calibrated via Rasch modeling on 50,000+ prior responses.
  • Diagnostic only; no official percentile or certification.

What Verbal Reasoning Actually Measures

Verbal reasoning isolates three core operations on text:

  1. Literal extraction – What is explicitly stated?
  2. Logical bridging – What must follow?
  3. Boundary detection – What is not determinable?

It is not a vocabulary, spelling, or general knowledge test. High performers excel at suppressing external assumptions and tracking referential scope.

Question Micro-Types (All Embedded)

Micro-Type

Cognitive Load

Example Stem

Direct Paraphrase

Low

“The passage states X happened on Tuesday.”

Necessary Inference

Medium

“X caused Y” → Must Y have occurred after X?

Scope Violation

High

“All employees received training” → “John received training”?

Qualitative Leap

High

“Sales increased slightly” → “Sales doubled”?

Why Mastery Translates Beyond the Test

Mastering verbal reasoning isn’t just about getting a good score, it’s about thinking more clearly and communicating with precision. The skills you build here reach far beyond any exam room.

  1. Hiring Filter: Used by 80% of FTSE 100 and Big Law for graduate schemes.
  2. Academic Predictor: Correlates r = 0.52 with critical reading sections (LSAT, GMAT).
  3. Professional Edge: Faster contract review, policy analysis, due-diligence scanning.
  4. Cognitive Longevity: Strengthens working memory span and resistance to misinformation.

Evidence-Based Preparation Protocol

Phase

Action

Rationale

1. Baseline (Day 1)

Take full untimed test → note Cannot Say errors.

Identifies over-inference tendency.

2. Micro-Drills (Days 2–5)

3 passages daily → underline only supporting sentences.

Forces evidence anchoring.

3. Speed Layer (Day 6+)

Impose 45 seconds per statement.

Builds fluency without sacrificing rigor.

4. Stress Test

Practice at 7 a.m. or post-workout.

Inoculates against fatigue.

5. Error Autopsy

For every “Cannot Say” miss, write the missing clause needed.

Closes knowledge gaps permanently.

Data Privacy & Ethical Guardrails

  • Zero PII for guests.
  • Passage text hashed; verdict patterns never linked to identity.
  • Aggregated data solely refines item ambiguity indices.
  • ADA-compliant: high-contrast, screen-reader optimized.

Scope Limitations

  • No long-form analysis (e.g., 500-word editorials).
  • No interactive dialogue or open-ended inference.
  • Supplement with full-length, proctored verbal batteries for high-stakes settings.

Ready to Parse with Precision?

Start Free Verbal Reasoning Practice (10 passages | 3-verdict logic | Instant annotated feedback)

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