Verbal reasoning: what it actually tests

Verbal reasoning is effectively a vocabulary and logic test in disguise. Once a child recognises the question family, the panic goes.

The main families

• Odd one out — needs word meaning, not just pattern-spotting.
• Analogies — hot is to cold as tall is to…?
• Code breaking — letters shifted by a rule.
• Word ladders and letter sequences — alphabet order and position.
• Closest in meaning — precision of vocabulary.

What to do about it

Vocabulary is the bottleneck for most children. Reading widely, plus a word list collected from real reading, does more than drilling papers.

Practice smart

Ten questions on one family, discussed fully, beats fifty mixed questions answered in silence. Ask your child to explain their reasoning out loud — that is the skill the exam is testing.