Verbal Reasoning - Judging Text Instead of Interpreting It
The verbal reasoning module of CAST Permanent measures how accurately you read and how strictly you reason from written language. Items typically present a short passage followed by statements you must judge as correct, incorrect, or not derivable from the text; other items ask for the relation between word pairs (synonym, antonym, whole-to-part, cause-to-effect, degree), the odd word out, or the word that completes a sentence logically. Nothing outside the passage counts as evidence.
Judge only what the text states
Use three verdicts. Correct: the passage states it or it follows necessarily. Incorrect: the passage states the opposite. Insufficient information: the passage neither states nor contradicts it. A statement can be true in the real world and still be 'insufficient information'. Many candidates lose points by converting plausibility into proof.
Quantifiers, scope and modality decide items
Track small words: all, some, none, only, at least, always, never, may, must, can. 'Some files were delayed' does not support 'most files were delayed' or 'files are usually delayed'. Check who the subject is: a minister's intention is not a ministry decision; a pilot project is not general policy. Comparisons need a stated comparator: 'cheaper' is unsupported unless the text names the alternative. Causal words (because, therefore, due to) claim more than sequence (then, after).
Worked example
Passage: 'The municipality replaced its street lighting with LED lamps. LED lamps consume less electricity than the sodium lamps they replaced, and the investment is expected to pay for itself within eight years.' Statement: 'The municipality's electricity bill will fall next year.' Verdict: insufficient information. The text supports lower electricity consumption, but says nothing about tariffs, burning hours, or other consumption. 'Will fall' is also stronger than 'expected'. An option saying 'the lamps use less electricity' would be a restatement, not an inference.
Analogy items
Name the relation before looking at the options: whole-part, category-member, tool-user, cause-effect, or degree (warm-hot). Then demand the same relation in the same direction; a reversed relation is a classic distractor.
Traps that cost marks
- Real-world knowledge overriding the passage.
- Treating 'not stated' as 'false'.
- Choosing a restatement instead of the asked-for inference.
- Ignoring negation and double negation ('not unlikely').
- Losing the thread of long passages: read the statement first, then hunt for the one or two sentences that decide it.