Strategies for solving verbal reasoning question types are described in our publication 'Verbal Reasoning Tests Explained'. This book discusses forty question types and gives advice on the best strategy for answering each type of question.
The following two extracts are from this publication.
Type 2 Questions (the following examples are taken from Verbal Reasoning Paper 1)
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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The alphabet above can be used to help you with the following questions. Write the missing letters in the brackets.
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9. A , Z , B , Y , ( C ) , ( X ) , D , W
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10. S , Q , O , M , ( K ) , ( I )
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14. J , A , B , K , C , D , L , E , ( F ) , ( M )
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The best strategy for answering questions of this type is to look for the pattern which is always present in letter sequences. Children should use the alphabet provided by drawing loops between letters or by drawing loops between the letters in the question. It is then much easier to see the pattern. (For these examples we have used colour instead of loops.) |
| When the questions involve a series of single letters, such as the examples above from Paper 1, it is best to start by working out whether the pattern involves adjacent letters or alternate letters. In Question 9 the letters A, Z, B, and Y do not appear to form a sequence, but if we jump from A to B we can see the beginning of a simple sequence. We can test this out with two more jumps to the letter D. The sequence is clearly A, B, C, D and the missing letter is C. The second pattern in this question starts with Z, and the pattern is Z , Y , X , W. |
| Question 10 is a single sequence of adjacent letters. The sequence is shown on the alphabet above. The sequence starts with S and goes back through the alphabet jumping alternate letters. |
Question 14 combines two sequences - A, B, C, D, E, F, and J, K, L, M. The clue in this question is to notice the A and B next to each other, and also the C and D.
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Type 3 Questions (the following examples are taken from Verbal Reasoning Paper 2)
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A, B, C, D, E, and F are six boys. A, D and E go to Park School whilst the others go to Mill End School. B, C and E wear school caps. C, D and F wear grey shirts.
Now answer the following questions.
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4. |
Which boy who wears a grey shirt goes to Park School?
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5. |
Which boy who attends Mill End School does not wear a school cap?
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It is very difficult for children (and adults!) to attempt to retain several items of information in their heads and at the same time re-order this information. When questions require this strategy children should jot down a simple grid like the one shown here. There is always room at the side of the page to do this. When the grid is complete it will contain all the information children need to answer the questions.
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It is only necessary to use single letters to indicate the separate pieces of information. So, the column headings are the school children, from A to F, and the other letters represent the information given about these children. P and M stand for Park School and Mill End School, C stands for 'cap' and G for 'grey shirts'.
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B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
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M |
M |
P |
P |
M |
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C |
C |
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C |
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G |
G |
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G |
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The questions can now be answered quite easily. For example, Question 4 asks 'Which boy who wears a grey shirt goes to Park School?'. Three columns contain a 'G' (grey shirt). On reading up each of the columns we can see that only one column also contains a 'P' (Park School). The boy is 'D'.
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