How the Clevry verbal reasoning test works
An instruction page tells you the time limit and the number of questions, and the clock starts only when you press Start test. A short practice set comes next, pitched at the level you are sitting. Then the scored statements begin.
Each passage is a short text on one topic. Clevry’s own practice page shows an article of about 200 words in three parts, each under a question heading, with four statements beside it. Choose True if the passage shows the statement is true, False if it shows it is false, and Cannot Say if you cannot tell for certain from the information given.
You can change answers while you are on a page, but you must answer every statement on it before moving on, and you cannot go back to an earlier page. Questions get harder as you go.
Clevry calls its tests measures of power, not speed, with generous limits. Your time appears on the employer’s report but is not used in your score.
Essential, Enhanced or Expert: which verbal test you are sitting
The level is in brackets after the test name on your invitation and report, as in Verbal Reasoning Test (Enhanced). The task is the same at every level. The clock, the passages and the group you are compared with change.
- Expert, once the Utopia series: Clevry’s highest level, for graduates, managers, professionals and specialists, and sometimes titled Verbal Critical Reasoning. 11 minutes, about 41 seconds a statement. The passages are described as a magazine’s media pack: facts about the magazine and its publisher, and articles on environmental topics. No knowledge of the subject is needed. You are compared with 2,267 Expert candidates from 2023.
- Enhanced, once B2C: for customer service, call centre, sales and admin staff, personal assistants and junior managers. 9 minutes, about 34 seconds a statement, Clevry’s tightest verbal clock, though the average is 7 minutes and 98% of candidates reach every statement. Its passages are reported to be business documents such as a bank loan application. You are compared with 2,634 Enhanced candidates from 2023.
- Essential, once the Criterion Workforce Series (CWS): for operatives, apprentices, team leaders and first-line supervisors, mostly in manufacturing and utilities, and written for people with no qualifications up to A level. 10 minutes, about 38 seconds a statement, with a 7-minute average. Material is reported to come from safety handbooks, training notes and staff notice boards. You are compared with 868 Essential candidates from 2022 and 2023.
How to answer True, False or Cannot Say
Use the same steps on every statement:
- Read the statement first, then find the sentence in the passage it depends on.
- True means the passage states it or it follows directly. You should be able to point to the line.
- False means the passage says the opposite. A statement the passage simply does not mention is not False.
- If no line settles it, the answer is Cannot Say, even when the statement is true in real life or seems likely.
- Match the strength of the words. "Some" in the passage does not support "most" in a statement, and a reason the passage never gives is not a reason.
- Before you press Next, read all four answers again. You will not see the page again.
Worked example
Passage: "From 1 March, car park permits will go only to staff who live more than three miles from the office or who work shifts starting before 7am. Permits already issued stay valid until they expire. Staff who give up a permit can buy a monthly bus pass at half price. The car park has 120 spaces, and last year the company received 210 permit applications."
Statement 1: "A member of staff who lives two miles away and starts at 6.30am can get a permit." True. Either condition qualifies, and a 6.30am start is before 7am.
Statement 2: "Every existing permit will be withdrawn on 1 March." False. The passage says existing permits stay valid until they expire.
Statement 3: "The rules changed because there are not enough spaces." Cannot Say. 210 applications for 120 spaces makes it look likely, but the passage never gives a reason.
Statement 4: "Staff who give up a permit can travel by bus for free." False. The pass is half price, not free.
Tips for the real Clevry verbal test
- Work out your pace from the instruction page before you press Start test: about 41 seconds a statement at Expert, 34 at Enhanced and 38 at Essential, reading included.
- Try Clevry’s free practice passage on its candidate portal, and the extra verbal practice behind the Help button on your candidate dashboard.
- If a statement has you stuck, give your best answer and move on. Clevry says modern verbal tests do not take marks off for a wrong answer.
- Finish every page properly before Next, because Next is final, but do not race: time is not part of your sten.
- Use a laptop, desktop or tablet. Clevry recommends one because on a small screen it is hard to see the passage and the statements together.
- If you need extra time, ask the employer before you start. They set a new total limit for you.
Practise the Clevry verbal reasoning test on CogniPrep
We have each level as its own game on Clevry’s clock: Expert 11 minutes, Enhanced 9 and Essential 10. A sitting is 16 statements on four pages of one passage and four statements, easier pages first, drawn from 12 original passages per level written in that level’s style. Next unlocks only when all four statements are answered, and there is no Back. Your score is the share you got right, with anything unanswered counted wrong and time not scored, shown as a Clevry-style sten worked out against other CogniPrep players, followed by a review of every statement.