Verbal Reasoning: Reading for Proof, Not Plausibility
What you are actually being asked
Verbal Reasoning is a reading-under-time-pressure test. A short passage is followed by questions asking whether a statement is true (supported by the passage), false (contradicted by it) or cannot say (the passage does not give enough information). Other items ask for the main idea, the meaning of a word in context, or a necessary inference. The skills are scanning for keywords, locating the single relevant sentence, and judging whether the passage actually proves the statement.
Concepts to master
- False vs cannot say: 'false' requires contradiction, not merely absence of support.
- Scope: does the statement refer to the same group, time period and quantity as the passage?
- Quantifiers: all, some, most, only, never change meaning completely.
- Inference: a valid inference follows necessarily, not probably.
Traps
The commonest trap is the plausible statement that is true in real life but not stated in the passage. The second is the near-miss paraphrase, where one word (a date, a comparison, 'always') flips the meaning. Watch for answers that overgeneralise from a single example, and for questions asking what the author suggests rather than states.
Worked rule of thumb
Passage: 'Most patients who missed appointments cited transport costs, although a minority mentioned work commitments.'
- 'Work commitments were the main reason for missed appointments' → False (contradicted: most cited transport).
- 'Transport costs affected some patients' → True.
- If the passage had said nothing about work, the answer would be Cannot say.
Never use outside knowledge; the passage is your only evidence.