Verbal Reasoning
What is tested
Verbal reasoning checks how precisely you handle language rather than how wide your vocabulary is. Expect word analogies, synonyms and antonyms, odd-one-out, sentence completion, short passage deduction (true / false / cannot say), and word-logic items where you must classify a term.
Concepts to master
Name the relationship before you look at the options. The common families are: part-to-whole (wheel : car), category (oak : tree), function (scalpel : cut), cause and effect (drought : famine), degree (warm : scorching), and opposition (ally : enemy). For passage questions, separate what the text states from what it merely suggests: 'cannot say' is a genuine answer, not a cop-out.
Traps that cost marks
- Reversed order. 'Hand : Glove' is not the same as 'Glove : Hand'; check which side carries the item.
- Absolute language. Words such as all, never, only, must usually make a deduction false when the passage used some or may.
- Near-miss distractors that share a topic but not the relationship.
- Outside knowledge. Answer only from the passage given, even if you know more.
- Guessing a word's meaning from how it sounds.
Worked example
Lukewarm : Hot :: Breeze : ? State the link in a sentence: 'lukewarm is a mild form of hot.' So the answer must be a strong form of breeze - gale. 'Wind' fails because it is the same level of intensity, not the stronger one.
Rule of thumb: write the relationship as a short sentence, insert both pairs, and reject any option that breaks the sentence.