Verbal Comprehension Tests
To help you pass verbal comprehension psychometric tests, use these preparation assessments, advice, and solutions to boost your score.
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What are a verbal comprehension test?
Verbal comprehension tests measure your ability to locate the hidden information from a paragraph of text, which is required to answer questions. You may be presented with a paragraph of text discussing a recent newsflash, alongside the text will be a list of statements, which you are required to determine which is true or false, basing your answer purely on the content of the text. These tests are often under timed conditions. Reading the paragraph of text quickly and understanding it well are crucial to succeeding in this psychometric test.
Take a look at these pictures of an online verbal comprehension test.
Verbal comprehension or verbal reasoning?
The verbal comprehension test is another way to measure your verbal reasoning ability. Note that all verbal reasoning tests will assess your comprehension ability in one way or another. You are likely to come across these assessments when applying for administration, customer service and call center roles. These roles require you to take in and understand large amounts of verbose, written information quite quickly.
Free example verbal comprehension test
Try one of our free tests to see how they help you improve.
Free Practice Verbal Comprehension Test
FreeThis free verbal comprehension test contains 20 questions. You will have 30 seconds per question in which to correctly answer as many as you can.
Verbal Comprehension Test 1
Premium- 30 questions
- 30 mins
Verbal Comprehension Test 2
PremiumVerbal Comprehension Test 3
PremiumVerbal Comprehension Test 4
PremiumVerbal comprehension advice
Below are our top three tips to perform well in any verbal comprehension test:
- 1. Read fast and thorough: In a verbal comprehension test, you are given just enough time to read the paragraph of text and answer the related questions with little to spare to check your answers. It is highly important that you read the text, the questions, and any additional information with care before you attempt to answer the questions. A cursory glance over any of these critical components can lead you to answering something other than what the question asked for, or misinterpreting the text where you will locate these answers. For example, you might be asked to pick select statement a statement which is FALSE from a list. Upon first glance, some people assume they are being asked to select a statement which is TRUE, and may very well select the first option from this list, not realizing that of the multiple options, many were statements that were TRUE, but only one was FALSE. If only a few seconds extra were taken to calmly read all pieces of information, then this silly mistake could be easily avoided. Practicing these tests with us, can help you to find the correct balance between speed and accuracy.
- 2. Only use the passage for information: Many people will think they've reached the answer to the question, but may have shaped the answer with their own opinions and knowledge. Try to be wary of this when answering the questions. Base your answers solely on the information you are given, do not rely on prior knowledge or outside information. The test is designed to assess how you process the information you are given, not to test your general knowledge, or to trip you up with trick questions.
- 3. Keep your cool: Owing to the quick-fire nature and tight time restrictions verbal comprehension tests can be quite stressful. Prepare yourself by practicing under these timed conditions. Follow this advice to maintain your calm during a test; breathe deeply, ignore external distractions and avoid looking at the timer too frequently.
And finally...
Despite the challenges that you face in a verbal comprehension test, these require fewer skills than a more general verbal reasoning test - relying less on logical reasoning and English proficiency. Luckily, for you, as the candidate, this makes them easier to practice and prepare for.
Practice before the real assessment, and prepare yourself as much as possible to give yourself the best chance of landing your dream job. We wish you all the best!