Verbal Reasoning
A quick powerpoint showing each type of Verbal Reasoning question you might encounter with select examples from the official question bank:
The consensus appears to be that:
- ‘True/False/Can’t Tell‘ passages are more straightforward
- ‘Drawing Conclusions/Main Argument/Writer’s Intent‘ questions are difficult to answer
- ‘Exceptions‘ questions are time-consuming
After learning how to read fast, the main hurdle people face in Verbal Reasoning is learning how and when to use inferences, especially for the questions in number 2.
Drawing Conclusions
As opposed to ‘Main Argument’ questions, you can answer ‘Drawing Conclusions’ questions without putting yourself in the shoes of the writer. Think more as a reader i.e. what makes sense following from what I’ve just read? How can I apply it?
Avoid options that are too strong without evidence, such as those that say something will definitely happen in the future or that all people will definitely behave a certain way. Look for words like ‘could’, ‘not all’ as these are likely to be correct, unless there is extensive evidence in the text to suggest something stronger.
Main Argument & Writer’s Opinion
‘Main Argument’ questions are about what the writer is trying to achieve. You can think of these as if you were analysing a small GCSE English passage.
The first and last paragraph tend to be the best indication of the overall argument; wrong answer options usually focus too much on a specific example used in the centre of the text, instead of the overall point this example is trying to support.
‘Writer’s Intent’ questions are just a step beyond the main argument, so you can tackle them in a similar way. If you are asked ‘what would the writer agree with?’ you can first think about what the writer was trying to achieve with the passage, and then which of the answer options is best aligned with this aim. As above, don’t focus too literally on examples in the text, think more about why where these examples in the text in the first place?
Need further help?
Why don’t you check out some of our VR articles: