Verbal reasoning is a key part of many school entrance exams. It's not a subject taught on the national curriculum, so many children are unfamiliar with these types of questions.
In this article, we'll help you learn:
The skills assessed in verbal reasoning
Which entrance exams use verbal reasoning
What verbal reasoning questions look like
How to help your child prepare for verbal reasoning tests
What is verbal reasoning?
Verbal reasoning tests your child’s ability to reason and solve problems with written information. At 11 plus, verbal reasoning assesses:
Reading fluency and comprehension
Vocabulary knowledge
Phonological awareness
Logic and problem-solving
Ability to discover and apply rules
Attention to detail
Don’t be fooled by the word ‘verbal’, as verbal reasoning can also involve solving problems with letters and numbers. However, most questions require an understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them. Having a wide vocabulary is useful for understanding these questions.
The types of questions used vary depending on which exam board the school uses. Questions also vary in length – some contain only a few words while others contain a few sentences and take longer to complete.
Watch the short video below for an overview of verbal reasoning from Anna, Chief Learning Officer at Atom Learning.
Which exams test verbal reasoning?
Many selective schools include verbal reasoning tests as part of their entrance exams. These exam boards include verbal reasoning:
CAT4: an online cognitive abilities test, used by some independent schools as an entrance exam and some secondary schools for setting purposes. This includes sections on 'verbal classification' and 'verbal analogies'.
CEM Select: an online entrance exam used by some independent schools. Some verbal reasoning questions might be included, such as shuffled sentences, solving anagrams, and completing missing words.
GL Assessment: multiple-choice paper tests used by most grammar schools and some independent schools for 11+ entry. It's up to individual schools or consortiums to choose their combination of exam papers, but verbal reasoning is a common choice.
ISEB Common Pre-Test: online adaptive test used by many UK independent schools to assess children for entry. This includes a 25 minute verbal reasoning section.
Common types of verbal reasoning question
Synonyms
Antonyms
Homonyms
Odd ones out
Identifying connections
Verbal reasoning example questions
Here are examples of some common verbal reasoning question types – and top tips for how to tackle them!
Scrambled words
In 'scrambled/jumbled word' questions, your child will need to identify which of the options is the word once unscrambled.
Top tip
Use the clue (which is a synonym of the unscrambled word), and note any letters in the options that do not match the letters in the scrambled word.
For instance, option E can immediately be eliminated as there is no 'i' in the scrambled word.
Synonyms
Your child will need to select two words from the options provided that are closest in meaning - one from the group before the line, and one from the group after the line.
Top tip
Work through each of the options in the first group, matching them up with the second group. Does 'greedy' align with 'stubborn', 'obtuse' or 'jealous'?
If not, proceed to 'obstinate' and follow the same procedure.
Join the words
A new word can be formed from one word in each bracket set. You will need to select two options from the list provided that, when put together, create a new word.
Top tip
Use the same logic as the previous example. Take 'bare': are 'barering', 'baretrust' or 'baremate' words?
Move on to the second word, 'stale', and use the same process.
Statement logic
Your child will see a short passage of text and will need to select the correct statement based on their comprehension of the text.
Top tip
Work through each statement one at a time. Look at statement A: does the text explicitly say that hawks and robins can swim?
If there's nothing in the text to explicitly say this is the case, mark this as incorrect and move on to the next statement.
Note that there is only one correct answer.
Solve the code
In these questions, letters, numbers or symbols will represent a certain code that needs to be solved.
Top tip
On spare paper (or in the space around the question), solve each letter at a time. Take BELL as an example – the code for this is !>££. Therefore, we know that:
B = !
E = >
L = £
Get your child to solve each letter, which will help them to form the code for the new word.
11+ course
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How to prepare for 11 plus verbal reasoning
Here are our top tips to help your child feel well-prepared for their verbal reasoning exam.
Bitesize learning
It’s important to build a good knowledge base before the exam. Using a ‘little and often’ approach when learning is key – our brains encode new information more effectively when dealing with smaller ‘chunks’ of information. For children aged 10–11, child psychologists recommend regular study sessions of 20–30 minutes.
Atom Home makes learning reasoning a more enjoyable process for your child. They'll explore exciting worlds full of interactive questions, earning coins to spend in the Atom shop. Atom adapts to your child, showing them questions at just the right level of difficulty to keep them motivated.
Read for fun
Reading widely and regularly is the best way to boost verbal reasoning skills. It increases the speed at which your child recognises words. This can help them manage their time more effectively in the exam.
Encourage your child to read across genres and a diverse range of authors to help widen their vocabulary and sharpen their analytical thinking. Classic novels are a great place to start, as they are likely to contain a lot of unfamiliar vocabulary. It takes plenty of time to embed new vocabulary into long-term memory.
Play games and puzzles
Reasoning questions require your child to spot patterns and solve problems using logic. Puzzles such as crosswords and sudoku can help your child develop their attention to detail, sustained thinking and visualisation.
Many board games have great educational value, so why not hold a regular family game night? Here are our favourite board games that will support your child's verbal reasoning skills.
Develop exam skills
Once your child feels confident with verbal reasoning questions, they’ll be ready to put their knowledge to the test. Practice tests will help your child build confidence working under exam conditions. They’re also a great way to consolidate learning and highlight any knowledge gaps that need further study.
Verbal reasoning: easy with Atom.
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