Wrapping up VR
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Some Verbal sets have True/False/Can’t Tell statements.
Most sets have questions with four answer choices, from A to D.
Use ‘MOO’ to decide if Verbal statements are True, False or Can’t Tell.
- A Verbal statement is True when it matches the passage.
- A Verbal statement False when it is the opposite of the passage.
- A Verbal statement is Can’t Tell when it relies on information outside the passage. As a result, the passage neither supports nor contradicts the statement.
In Verbal questions, you will normally select the answer that is supported by the passage. Correct answers are the ones that match the passage, just like True statements.
If an answer choice contradicts the passage, or is not supported, you can eliminate it. These wrong answers in Verbal questions are normally like False and Can’t Tell statements.
Walkthrough question
Verbal Reasoning recap
Let’s recap what we’ve covered so far by answering a Verbal question.
Good pacing is critical throughout the Verbal section.
You may need to triage a small number of questions.
- Most Verbal questions have key words. Try to answer these questions as you encounter them.
- Once you’ve spent 30 seconds on a question, it’s time to move on. Allow no more than 5 to 10 seconds to select an answer. If you’re really not sure, click an answer and flag it for review.
- If a question has no key words – or if its key words aren’t helpful – just skip it and come back to it after answering the other questions in the set. At that point, you might spot the correct answer – or eliminate wrong answers – based on your knowledge of the passage.
Walkthrough activity
Practising triage - Part 1
Let’s put our Triage strategy into practice with a full set of four Verbal questions.
Walkthrough activity
Practising triage - Part 2
Have a go at implementing the Medify triage strategy.
Walkthrough activity
Practising triage - Part 3
Let's continue our Triage practice here.
Walkthrough activity
Practising triage - Part 4
Now let’s work through our answers and see if we benefited from triaging.
With practice, you can answer most Verbal questions in 30 seconds or less.
Learn to recognise the questions you will want to triage.
When in doubt, eliminate wrong answers, make your best guess and move on.
Developing good Verbal pacing takes practice.
Excellent Verbal pacing is especially gruelling.
When you do well, you may feel as if you have barely finished the section in time.
Take a breath, gather yourself and get ready for the next section.
You may find you are running out of time in the Verbal section.
This can happen despite your best efforts.
If time is running out:
- Work extra quickly – spend no more than 15 seconds per question or statement.
- Be extra brisk and brutal at eliminating answers.
- Click an answer for every question, no matter what.
- On difficult or tricky questions, guess quickly and move on.
Timed practice
Crisis prevention in VR - Part 1
Let’s put our crisis prevention strategies into action with some timed practice questions.
If you find yourself running out of time:
- Eliminate answers that don’t ‘feel right’, even if you can’t explain why the answer is wrong.
- Keep your reasoning clear and straightforward. If you find yourself making up reasons to justify an answer that isn’t quite right, it is probably wrong.
Timed practice
Crisis prevention in VR - Part 2
Let’s do some more crisis prevention practice with Verbal questions.
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For negative questions, do the opposite: eliminate the answers supported by the passage. This will likely take longer than the straightforward approach used in other questions, but it’s generally simpler to see answers that match the passage.
You can answer many Verbal statements in much less than 30 seconds.
- This is where you can save the time you need for more complex items, such as Summing Up questions.
In some cases, you can answer Verbal statements in 10 to 15 seconds each.
- Not all statements are made equal. With practice, you’ll be able to identify the easier/more straightforward statements in a set of four, and answer these rapidly.
If you improve your speed, you will have more time for Verbal questions.
- The exact distribution of question formats you encounter on Test Day will vary, but you should see at least 2 sets with statements in a Verbal section.
- Aiming to improve your pace when answering statements is therefore potentially very beneficial.
Timed practice
Working very quickly
Let's try answering a full set of four Verbal statements in one minute total.
Searching quickly but carefully for key words is essential for Verbal Reasoning success.
Excellent pacing is equally important.
Good key word skills + Excellent pacing = Great Verbal Reasoning scores
From now until Test Day:
- Practise to refine your Verbal pacing.
- No more than 2 minutes per passage.
- No more than 30 seconds per question.
- Try to answer Verbal statements as quickly as possible.
Remember that the exact distribution of sets with questions and statements in a Verbal section will vary.
This means that on Test Day, you could encounter two sets with statements, or up to four. As you’ll probably be aiming to answer these sets quicker than the sets with questions, this distribution of set types will affect your overall pacing.
With this in mind, prepare for all eventualities.
Don’t overcomplicate Verbal statements.
The test-maker must keep things adequately straightforward and simple, or the UCAT would not be standardised.
Several Verbal statements will include terms or concepts that are clearly outside the passage.
Such statements are meant to be quick marks, so don’t hesitate to select Can’t Tell.
In almost all Verbal questions, the passage supports correct answers. Eliminate answers that contradict the passage or rely on outside information.
In negative questions, the passage supports incorrect answers. Eliminate them. Select answers that contradict the passage or rely on outside information.
Timed practice
Verbal Reasoning wrap-up - Part 1
Let’s celebrate reaching our final timed practice by answering a full set of Verbal statements, followed immediately by a full set of Verbal questions as a taste of what the actual test is like.
Timed practice
Verbal Reasoning wrap-up - Part 2
Let’s look at the answers to the eight items we tackled in the previous timed practice.