SHL Verbal Reasoning Test – Ultimate Guide With Practice Questions
If you are about to take the SHL Verbal Reasoning test, then you are in luck. In this article, we will highlight, exactly what you need to know about verbal reasoning tests. Including the types of questions that you can expect to see in this assessment, As well as, a few tips that will help you prepare for your upcoming SHL Verbal Reasoning Test.
Whether your test date is a few weeks away or you are still considering taking this test. It is always a good idea to start preparing for any assessment. After all, the SHL Verbal Reasoning test can be extremely daunting.
This is usually the case when it comes to texts that are required to land a job that you want. The SHL Verbal Reasoning test focuses on assessing a candidate’s verbal reasoning and comprehension skills. This test is most commonly used by employers to assess whether a candidate has the skills needed for a specific job.
Table of Contents
What Is the SHL Test?
SHL is an assessment company that provides a wide range of psychometric assessments including the SHL Aptitude Test and the SHL General Ability Test. These assessments are used to evaluate whether potential employees have the relevant skills required for certain jobs. Many recruiting companies include these assessments as part of the application process for several jobs.
The SHL psychometric assessments are used to evaluate employees’ specific skills that will be required in different industries. The skills tested in these assessments include the applicant’s verbal reasoning skills, mechanical comprehension skills, numerical reasoning skills, and personality characteristics.
Whatis great about these assessments is that they are available in more than 30 languages. Making these assessments accessible to different recruitment companies all around the world.
What Is the SHL Verbal Reasoning Test?
The SHL Verbal Reasoning Test is a popular test that employers use to measure an applicant’s critical thinking skills. This is done by testing the applicant’s logical deduction and comprehension skills. However, there is a separate SHL test for inductive reasoning.
In the verbal reasoning test, candidates are given a set of information that they have to properly interpret. When answering these questions, it is important to keep in mind that you do not consider external facts or knowledge. Answer the questions using only the information given to you in the assessment.
The SHL Verbal Reasoning Test is an online assessment, which is completed on a computer. However, for certain roles, recruiting companies might require potential candidates to complete this assessment at a specific location. Usually, this location will be a test centre of the prospective employer’s office. On the other hand, certain employers do not mind if potential employees complete this assessment wherever they choose.
The verbal test consists of 30 questions, which will need to be completed within the time limit specified by the employer. The maximum time limit of the SHL verbal tests is usually around 19 minutes.
While some recruiters might request for candidates to complete just the SHL verbal reasoning test. Certain candidates might also have to complete a few of the other SHL psychometric assessments, such as the SHL Checking Test, the SHL Mechanical Comprehension Test, the SHL Situational Judgement Test, and many others. However, the tests required for the application process will depend on the position the applicant is applying for. Specifically, the skills that the applicant will need to succeed in that role.
Why Do Companies Use SHL?
Employers use his verbal test to make their recruitment process much easier. Instead of tediously sifting through the candidates, they can use this assessment to measure the candidate’s ability and see if it matches the requirements at the job level.
While applicants usually hate this part of the recruitment process. There is also a benefit for potential candidates to complete the assessment. Test takers can view it as an efficient way to also know if the job fits their skills. They also can prove their abilities in an efficient manner. After all, we all know how terrible it is when recruiters string you along the hiring process without the intention of actually getting you.
By completing the SHL verbal test, you will have a better idea of how likely your chances are of being hired. This will also prevent you from putting effort into a recruitment process that you might not have the required skills for.
What Is a Good SHL Test Score?
The SHL verbal test has quite a complex scoring system; however, this system can work to your advantage. All the answers in the SHL verbal tests are not taken into account. The wrong answers are ignored and only the correct answers are considered. For every correct answer, the candidate will be awarded a point.
Unlike most tests, the SHL verbal test does not have a set passing score. The passing score is based on the average scores of the individuals who have previously taken this test. Then your score will be compared to the average score and converted into a percentile. The higher your percentile is the better your chances are of being hired for the role that you are applying for. So, if you get an SHL score of 90, that means you are part of the upper 10% of the test takers, and you are likely to get hired.
SHL Verbal Reasoning Test Questions
The verbal reasoning tests will need to be completed online. This includes everything that you will need for the test. All the questions in the verbal reasoning tests are in multiple-choice format. These 30 questions will be randomly generated by a program.
Typically, verbal reasoning test questions start with a written passage. This passage will have information about a situation. Think of it as a narration or a story that provides you with many details. These details are the only information that you should consider when determining the answer to the question.
After the passage, there are usually questions that test your comprehension and analysis skills. So, it is important that you really understood the provided text. Typically, you have to choose one correct answer from four options in the questions that follow.
However, in the entire SHL Verbal Reasoning Test, the test taker only has three possible answers to choose from. These multiple-choice options are true, false, and cannot say. Meaning that you are going to state whether the statements are correct (true), incorrect (false), or impossible to verify because you do not have enough information (cannot say).
It is important to keep in mind that when you answer the questions in the verbal reasoning tests, you cannot use any outside information. You need to do your best to stick to the information that you are given and draw conclusions from there.
The best way to get a good idea of the types of questions that you will be asked during the SHL test is to answer practice questions. Sample questions will give you a better idea of what you can expect to see on the actual exam, such as the types of passages you will read.
How Do You Pass the SHL Verbal Reasoning Test?
The SHL verbal test is known as quite a difficult test to pass for some test takers. However, this is usually a result of a lack of preparation. After all, if a candidate has sufficient time to prepare for this assessment, they have a much higher chance of passing the assessment.
Once you see an application that requires you to take this verbal test, you should immediately start preparing. The sooner you start following the preparation tips for the verbal tests we have listed below the better you will feel when you are taking the official test.
1. Go Through the SHL Verbal Reasoning Test Guidelines
Before your upcoming SHL verbal test, all candidates should go over the test guidelines and the rules of the exam. The test guidelines will give you a better insight into what type of questions you can see in the assessment. These guidelines might also include more information on the passing score for your specific SHL test.
Make sure that you pay close attention to the rules of the SHL verbal test. The rules will provide important information that you need to know before your assessment. This is why you need to make sure you read these rules carefully. Online tests may require you to take the test in a certain environment without distractions. The rules will also include exactly how long you will have to complete the assessment.
2. Complete Practice Tests
The best way to prepare for any assessment is to complete a SHL practice test from JobTestPrep. This is exactly what you need to do to prepare for verbal reasoning tests. Unlike other assessments, verbal reasoning tests do not have much material that you can study beforehand.
However, SHL has practice verbal reasoning tests that will give you a better idea of how the questions in this assessment will be asked. After completing practice verbal reasoning tests, you will feel much more prepared to take on the official test.
3. Focus on the Practice Questions You Get Wrong on the Practice Tests
After completing a few practice tests, it is common to feel unhappy with the score that you are getting. If you want to improve, you have to review your answers on the SHL verbal reasoning practice test.
Make a note of your incorrect answers. Reread the passage and the question and identify what details you have overlooked. By doing this, you will be able to understand the mistake you made. Then, you can keep it in mind to prevent it from happening in the official assessment.
4. Make Sure to Read the Assessment Carefully
The formal SHL Verbal Test can be complex and requires quite a lot of reading from the test takers. In a test environment, it is common to browse over content rather than carefully read it. However, when it comes to this verbal test, it is crucial to read the assessment carefully.
After all, these verbal tests include written passages that you will need to read carefully to fully understand. Test takers should read through each text passage before answering the question. It is also just as important to read the verbal reasoning question carefully before answering.
5. Apply Logic when Unsure
When completing your assessment, you may come across a question or a written passage that is a bit hard to figure out. If this happens, the best thing that you can do is to leave the question that you are unsure of till the end. Move on to the next question and complete answering all the other questions in the assessment.
Once you have done this, you can go back to the question that you were unsure about. When answering this question, try to answer logically. However, it is important to keep in mind to keep out any outside knowledge. Only use the information provided in the text passage given. But if all else fails, you can take a wise guess.
6. Practice Time Management Skills
Usually, the SHL verbal tests include 30 questions and have a maximum time limit of around 19 minutes. The time limit of these verbal tests is quite short considering how many questions the test takers will have to answer.
This is why candidates need to practice their time management skills prior to the real test to avoid running out of time. The last thing you want is to have a low score just because you ran out of time.
Final Thoughts
The SHL verbal reasoning test focuses on evaluating a candidate’s logical deduction and understanding skills. This assessment will require candidates to have a high level of critical thinking skills. Candidates who take this test will be given information and are only able to use the information given to answer questions.
This test is commonly used by recruiters to assess potential candidates. Recruiters do this to ensure that the candidates hired have the required skills needed for the position that they have applied for.
While the SHL verbal reasoning test is known as a difficult assessment, don’t let this assessment stop you from landing your dream job.
You now have all the information you need to know exactly what the SHL verbal reasoning test is. So, you will have a better idea of what you can expect. With enough preparation, you will be ready and you feel confident in acing this verbal reasoning test.
More Verbal Reasoning Tests That Might Interest You:
- Saville – Verbal reasoning practice tests
- Talent Q – Verbal reasoning practice tests
- Kenexa – Verbal reasoning practice tests
- Cubiks – Verbal reasoning practice tests
- Cut-E – Verbal reasoning practice tests
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Sarah is an accomplished educator, researcher and author in the field of testing and assessment. She has worked with various educational institutions and organisations to develop innovative evaluation methods and enhance student learning. Sarah has published numerous articles and books on assessment and learning. Her passion for promoting equity and fairness in the education system fuels her commitment to sharing insights and best practices with educators and policymakers around the world.
