How to Pass Advanced Verbal Reasoning Tests - jdrr.yolasite.com

242 Pages·2007·1.52 MB·English

HOW TO PASS
ADVANCED
VERBAL REASONING
TESTS
MIKE BRYON
London and Philadelphia
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is
accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and authors cannot accept respon-
sibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage
occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this
publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or any of the authors.
First published in Great Britain in 2008 by Kogan Page Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criti-cism or
review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication
may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the
prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction
in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning repro-
duction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned
address:
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA 19147
United Kingdom USA
www.kogan-page.co.uk
© Mike Bryon, 2008
The right of Mike Bryon to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
ISBN-13: 978 0 7494 4969 8
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bryon, Mike.
How to pass advanced verbal reasoning tests : essential practice for English usage,
critical reasoning, and reading comprehension texts / Mike Bryon.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7494-4969-8
1. Verbal ability–Testing. 2. English language–Usage–Testing. 3. Reasoning
(Psychology–Testing. 4. Reading comprehension–Ability testing. I. Title.
BF463.V45B79 2007
153.9(cid:2)4--dc22
2007037086
Typeset by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
Contents
Preface v
1 Verbal reasoning tests 1
Tests that hide in a bundle of forms! 3
Tests of verbal ability 4
If you are invited to an assessment centre 5
For some candidates, verbal tests are their
worst nightmare 6
If English is not your first language 6
If you are dyslexic or suffer some other disability 7
2 The winning approach 8
3 150 Warm-up questions 14
Word link: opposites 15
Word link: synonyms 22
Find the new word 28
Word swap 32
Sentence sequence 38
4 100 English usage questions 48
Correctly complete the sentence 49
Identify the correct sentence 61
iv Contents
5 100 True, false or cannot tell questions 81
6 Written assessments, presentations, group exercises and
assessment centres 119
An example of what such a day might include 120
The group exercise or role-play 122
Presentations 126
Written exercises 130
7 Five timed realistic tests with interpretations
of your score 133
Test 1. Synonyms and antonyms 134
Test 2. Sentence sequence 141
Test 3. Word swap 159
Test 4. English usage 167
Test 5. Reading comprehension and critical reasoning 179
An interpretation of your score in the practice tests 193
8 Answers and detailed explanations 196
Chapter 3. 150 Warm-up questions 196
Chapter 4. 100 English usage questions 201
Chapter 5. 100 True, false or cannot tell questions 211
Chapter 7. Five timed realistic tests with
interpretations of your score 222
Preface
Stand out from the crowd
If you have been searching for help to prepare for a verbal
reasoning test at the advanced level then you have found it. This
book has been especially written for the candidate facing an
advanced level test and it contains hundreds of questions, in fact
over 500. If you are applying for graduate or managerial jobs, for
example in finance-related graduate jobs, the NHS Graduate
Training Scheme or the Big Four accounting firms, banks or
consultancies, then you will face a battery of sub-tests including
an advanced verbal reasoning test. This book reflects the diffi-
culty of these tests, and the practice questions will help ensure
that you improve your score and chances of a pass.
Use this book to stand out from the crowd of other applicants.
Before you sit an advanced verbal reasoning test be sure to work
through these practice questions and tests. Score them and go
through the explanations of any questions that you got wrong.
Finally, read the interpretation of your score and amend your
programme of revision accordingly. You will find lots more ques-
tions at all levels in other books in the Kogan Page testing list. If
you have difficulties in locating sufficient practice questions of a
vi Preface
particular sort then by all means contact me at help@mike-
bryon.com and I will be happy to provide you with details of any
that I know.
This book offers unbeatable practice for tests online or admin-
istered with pen and paper or at an assessment centre. You will
find lots of advice, insight and tips on all the major types of
advanced verbal reasoning tests in use today, including written
exercises, group exercises, role plays and presentations. Use it and
very soon you will be much faster at answering these questions
and achieving a much higher score. It is ideal for the candidate
who wants to prepare systematically for a psychometric test of
advanced verbal reasoning skills – and pass.
1
Verbal reasoning tests
At some stage of your career you are certain to face a verbal
reasoning psychometric test. This can involve multiple-choice
tests of your work-related verbal abilities organized as tests of
your command of English usage, reading comprehension, written
assignments, group discussions or presentations. If you are a
graduate or applicant to managerial positions or postgraduate
courses you are very likely to face a psychometric test of your
advanced verbal skills.
Beyond the first stage of a recruitment process your qualifica-
tions count for little. Once employers have established that you
have satisfied the formal requirements for the position they then
turn to investigate your abilities in a range of other competencies
relevant to the position; these are bound to including your verbal
reasoning skills.
Psychometric tests of verbal reasoning are not like blood tests,
rolling up your sleeve and putting up with the discomfort of the
needle. They are only indicators of potential and you (the subject)
have considerable influence over the outcome. This is good news
because you can learn to do really well in them and, through
preparation, can pass something you might otherwise have failed.
Psychometric tests of verbal reasoning skills come in many
forms, at different stages of your career and at different stages of
the recruitment process. Below are descriptions of the more
2 How to pass advanced verbal reasoning tests
common types. Look out for them, use the advice, insight and
practice material provided here and you will maximize your
chances of success.
To begin with make sure your application and/or CV are error
free. Many organizations will reject your application out of hand
if they find errors. You will not believe the number of candidates
rejected at this early stage for this easily avoidable reason.
Verbal reasoning tests are always being changed and novel
assessments trialled and introduced. A few years ago, for
example, a verbal test was most likely to include questions that
asked you to identify synonyms and antonyms, or tested your
spelling or command of the rules of English grammar. These
styles of question are still used but are becoming less common.
Contemporary tests are more likely to comprise a passage of
information and a series of questions relating to it, to which you
have to answer true, false or cannot tell. Written assignments,
memos or work-related exercises are also increasingly common.
You may be assigned a task to study a briefing file of documents,
sometimes against a tight time constraint. You may then have to
write a response to a task assigned to you. The in-tray exercise is
an example of this type of assignment and usually involves, for
example, details of a fictitious but comparable organizational
structure, policy documents and reports on performance, e-mails
from imaginary colleagues, and letters from suppliers and
customers. You will by expected to read the background infor-
mation and then make recommendations to your line manager in
respond to a series of e-mail-style questions.
In preparation for any verbal test it is still advisable to revise
the rules of grammar and punctuation. Be aware that many tests
are used worldwide and for this reason they may follow either US
or English practice with regard to spelling and punctuation. It is
very unlikely that the test will score against either convention, so
feel free to follow whichever you grew up using or were taught. It
would be a bad test that asked you to identify the correct spelling
Verbal reasoning tests 3
in the case of, for example, color (US spelling) and colour (UK
spelling).
Something you may have to get used to is the lack of certainty
found in verbal reasoning tests relative to numerical questions. In
maths there is a right answer and little room for argument. But
verbal tests are less definite because they are often concerned with
judgement, inference and context, which, at the advanced level,
can require the drawing of some fine distinctions. It is not usual
for candidates to feel that the answer they selected is at least as
correct as the given answer. If you ever find yourself in this situ-
ation then the likelihood is that you have to work to bring your
judgement more into line with the question setter. When a test
author is designing high-level verbal tests he or she has to draw
these very fine distinctions between the suggested answers, much
finer distinctions that we draw in normal English usage. Practice
will help you learn to answer the questions according to the
judge’s view of what is right – and remember, the judge’s decision
is final.
Tests that hide in a bundle of forms!
Every organization requires you to complete a bundle of forms on
paper or online. Very often these include some type of self-
assessment – these are psychometric tests and to some extent they
are verbal reasoning tests. Most candidates give them far too little
thought. This is a mistake as they may well be the basis of
selection at the stage when the largest numbers of applicants are
rejected. Look out for them – they comprise a series of questions
to which you must indicate your preference. For example:
Good leadership is about boldness far more than listening skills.
agree neither agree nor disagree disagree