How the DAT Next Generation Verbal Analogies test works
DAT Next Generation is a set of five separate ability tests, and the employer chooses which ones you sit. Verbal Analogies is the one that measures reasoning with words. Each question rests on a pair of words with a relationship between them, and your job is to find the pair that matches it.
TalentLens does not publish the exact question layout or the number of options. The usual form of an analogy is “A is to B as C is to ?”, with a short list of words to choose from.
The test has 15 questions and no time limit, and takes most people 10 to 12 minutes. It is adaptive: answer correctly and the next question is harder, answer wrongly and it is easier. You must answer all 15 to receive a score.
How to solve a verbal analogy
The method is the same from the easiest question to the hardest.
- Turn the first pair into a short sentence that states the link: “An author writes a book.”
- Keep the order. “A book is written by an author” is a different sentence, and the answer must follow the order of the question.
- Put the third word into the same sentence and try each option in the gap.
- If two options fit, your sentence is too loose. Tighten it: not “goes with” but “is the person who creates”.
- Check the kind of link: part and whole, tool and purpose, opposite, degree, cause and effect, member and group. The hard questions hide which one it is.
Worked examples
- Author is to book as composer is to: orchestra, symphony, piano, conductor, concert. Sentence: “An author creates a book.” A composer creates a symphony. Orchestra, piano and conductor all go with composer, which is why they are there, but a composer does not create any of them.
- Drizzle is to downpour as breeze is to: wind, gale, cloud, calm, rain. Sentence: “A downpour is a much stronger drizzle.” A gale is a much stronger breeze. Wind is the general word, not a stronger one, and calm runs the wrong way.
How the test is scored
Everyone answers 15 questions, but not the same 15, so the number you get right says little. The test weighs each answer by the difficulty of its question and produces an ability score, which is reported as a percentile against a norm group the employer chooses. No pass mark is published.
Tips for the real test
- There is no clock, so say the sentence for every question, even the ones that look obvious.
- Distrust the first word that springs to mind. The commonest wrong option is a word that is associated with the third word but not linked in the right way.
- If you do not know a word, work from the options: try each in your sentence and see which makes one clear statement.
- Expect the questions to get harder. That is the test working, not you failing.
- Sit the test in the language you are strongest in if the employer offers a choice. It is available in English, French, Dutch and Spanish.
Practise Verbal Analogies on CogniPrep
Our Verbal Analogies game gives you 15 questions from our own bank of 150, each showing one pair of words and half of a second pair with five options. It adapts across three difficulty levels from a middle start, has no time limit, and does not let you go back. Your result is an ability estimate with a percentile against other CogniPrep users. The layout and the five options are our reading of a format TalentLens does not publish, and the difficulty levels are ours.