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