Verbal reasoning tests a student's ability to use words to do logical reasoning. It is made up of three sub-tests.

1. Verbal classification. This section assesses students' ability in word classification with emphasis on inductive reasoning (i.e., to analyze a problem by working from specific facts and discovering general principles). The test presents a set of three words. The student is asked to select a fourth word from a list of words that belongs with the set of original words.
2. Sentence completion. This section assesses students' deductive reasoning and general verbal reasoning. The test presents sentences, each with one word missing from the sentence. The student selects a word to complete the sentence from a list of words.
3. Verbal analogies. This section assesses students' inductive and deductive reasoning skills. The test presents a pair of words. Students are to determine the relationship between this pair of words, and given another word, select a word from a word list that, when combined with the given word, represents the same kind of relationship that exists between the original pair of words presented (i.e., A is to B like C is to ?).