Finding evidence
Find the right sheet, person, action and time period. Keep the relevant passage visible while judging the statement.
Watch for: A shared keyword can appear in a paragraph about a different team or responsibility.
Practice this drillAon Verbal Reasoning study guide
Find the relevant passage, check exactly what it establishes and choose True, False or Cannot Say.
Eight-statement drills · 49 statements in 12 minutes · Written information sheets
Choose the skill you want to practice
Each focused drill has eight statements with feedback after each answer. These are our practice categories, designed to help you diagnose reading mistakes.
Paraphrasing
Compare meaning across the whole sentence, including who acts, what happens and when.
Watch for: Similar words can conceal a stronger claim. “Aims to” does not mean “has achieved.”
Practice this drillQualifiers & negation
Check words such as all, some, only, always and not. Preserve exactly how broad or limited the claim is.
Watch for: “Not all” guarantees an exception. “Some” alone does not tell you whether exceptions exist.
Practice this drillConditions & exceptions
Identify the rule, its conditions and any exception. Then check which conditions the named case satisfies.
Watch for: “Only approved staff may enter” makes approval necessary; it does not promise entry in every circumstance.
Practice this drillSupported inferences
Combine relevant facts from the same sheet only when they make the conclusion necessary.
Watch for: A plausible prediction, reversed rule or assumed intention is not an established conclusion.
Practice this drillRecognizing missing evidence
Identify the missing fact: perhaps a cause, a time period, a group’s result or an unconfirmed outcome.
Watch for: Missing support is not a contradiction. Equally, a statement with an explicitly false part is not merely uncertain.
Practice this drillMake three different evidence judgments
True
The information establishes the whole statement. Equivalent wording and conclusions that necessarily follow can both be true.
False
The information contradicts the statement. You can point to a fact or rule that makes its claim wrong.
Cannot Say
The information leaves the statement unresolved. It could be true or false without contradicting what you have read.
Cannot Say is an answer about the evidence. It is different from leaving a statement unanswered or feeling unsure about a difficult passage.
Work through six original examples
Choose an answer before expanding the explanation. These teaching examples show the relevant passage directly. In scored practice, you must find the appropriate sheet among five tabs.
1. Match the responsibility, not just the keyword
Linden Equipment: handling a return
The customer service team receives return requests and checks that the customer has supplied the order reference. It then sends the completed request to the warehouse supervisor.
Only the warehouse supervisor may approve a return. Once approval has been recorded, customer service sends the customer a shipping label. The finance team processes any refund after the returned equipment has been inspected.
The customer service team has authority to approve a return.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: False
- The statement asks who may approve a return, not who receives the request or communicates with the customer.
- The passage gives approval authority only to the warehouse supervisor.
- Customer service has other responsibilities, but approval is explicitly assigned elsewhere. The statement is contradicted.
A matching word helps locate the evidence. The relationship between the people, actions and objects decides the answer.
Practice finding evidence2. Recognize the same meaning in new words
Linden Equipment: review meetings
At a project review, staff are encouraged to raise concerns while the work is still in progress. The purpose is to identify potential problems early enough for the team to respond.
A concern does not have to come with a proposed solution. The meeting facilitator records unresolved issues and assigns an owner to investigate each one. Completed projects are reviewed separately at the end of each quarter.
Staff are encouraged to report possible problems before the project is finished.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: True
- “Possible problems” expresses the meaning of “potential problems” in this context.
- “Before the project is finished” matches the stated timing: while work is still in progress.
- The actor, action and timing are preserved. The statement adds no new requirement or guarantee.
True statements do not need to repeat the passage word for word. Check the meaning of the whole claim.
Practice paraphrasing3. Do not turn “some” into “some but not all”
Linden Equipment: packaging update
Some of Linden’s suppliers now use returnable packaging for deliveries to the main workshop. This packaging can be collected after unloading and used again.
The workshop has created a separate collection area for returnable packaging. Disposable packaging continues to be sorted in the existing recycling area. Customers may request guidance on disposing of packaging supplied with their orders.
All of Linden’s suppliers now use returnable packaging for deliveries to the main workshop.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: Cannot Say
- “Some” establishes that suppliers using returnable packaging exist. It does not establish that every supplier does.
- The passage also does not identify a supplier that fails to use it. A supplier could use both returnable and disposable packaging.
- All suppliers using returnable packaging and only a subset using it are both consistent with the passage. The statement remains unresolved.
A stronger claim is not automatically false. Choose False only when the passage provides a contradiction.
Practice qualifiers & negation4. Apply the exception to the named person
Merewood Studios: early access
The main entrance opens at 9 a.m. Staff must wait until then to enter unless they have an early-access permit. Permit holders may enter through the side entrance from 7 a.m.; no additional approval is required.
Noor holds a valid early-access permit and arrives at the side entrance at 7:30 a.m. She has her staff identity card and permit with her. The side entrance is operating normally.
Under these rules, Noor must wait until 9 a.m. before entering the building.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: False
- The general rule requires staff to wait until 9 a.m., but it includes an exception for permit holders.
- Noor has a valid permit and arrives after the time when the side entrance may be used.
- She is allowed to enter at 7:30 a.m. The claim that the rules require her to wait is false.
Read the condition after “unless” or “except.” A general rule may not apply to the particular case in the statement.
Practice conditions & exceptions5. Combine facts when the conclusion must follow
Merewood Studios: the digital archive
Every file held in the digital archive is encrypted. The archive contains completed project records and approved policy documents. Only records officers may upload files to it.
The final report for the Willow project is held in the digital archive. A draft of that report is stored in the project team’s working folder. Working folders are managed separately from the archive.
The final report for the Willow project is encrypted.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: True
- The encryption rule covers every file in the digital archive.
- The final report is explicitly placed in that archive.
- It therefore falls under the rule. The passage does not need to repeat the encryption fact beside the report’s name.
A supported inference follows necessarily from the supplied facts. Do not reverse the rule: an encrypted file is not necessarily an archived file.
Practice supported inferences6. Separate a sequence of events from its cause
Merewood Studios: booking reminders
Merewood introduced email reminders for studio bookings in April. The booking team also began offering a telephone confirmation service that month.
The share of booked sessions missed by customers was lower in May than in March. Booking volumes differed between those months. The company plans to keep both services available while it reviews customer feedback.
The email reminders caused the reduction in the share of sessions missed by customers.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: Cannot Say
- The reminders began in April, between the two comparison months, March and May. This does not show when or why the missed-session share fell.
- The passage does not establish what caused the change. Telephone confirmations or other differences could also matter.
- It neither proves nor rules out an effect from the email reminders. The causal claim cannot be settled.
“After” and “because of” make different claims. Name the missing connection before choosing Cannot Say.
Practice recognizing missing evidenceCheck the exact test in your invitation
Scales verbal: 49 statements, 12 minutes
Aon’s standard format asks you to judge statements using supplied written information. This is the format covered by our full timed practice.
Other versions need different timing
Aon lists basic instructions, scales verbal instruct, separately. Shorter verbal assessments also exist: SMU’s admissions guide describes 18 statements in six minutes. Use your invitation and tutorial to identify your version.
Find the evidence without rereading every sheet
Aon’s instructions say the sheets remain unchanged throughout a sitting and each statement relates to one sheet. Its PDF uses five icon tabs; the video shows six named tabs. Our practice uses five written sheets. Aon: verbal reasoning practice and instructions · Aon: scales verbal interface walkthrough
1. Read the claim first
Identify the person, group, action and time. Notice whether it claims a fact, a rule, a cause or a future result.
2. Use the tab titles as a map
Find the likely source, then locate the relevant paragraph. Familiarity should help navigation; keep checking the wording instead of answering from memory.
3. Read around the matching phrase
The next sentence may contain an exception or restriction. Resolve what pronouns such as “they” or “these” refer to.
4. State the reason for the judgment
Identify support, a contradiction or a missing fact. Keep the relevant sheet open while answering, then move on.
Build a steady pace before chasing speed
Twelve minutes divided across 49 statements is about 14.7 seconds each. This is a pacing reference, not an individual deadline or a requirement to finish everything. Source searches may take longer at first; later statements may use passages you already recognize.
Before the clock
Read the tutorial and try its examples. Aon’s introductory stages are untimed. Set aside an uninterrupted period for the timed test.
During the sitting
Begin in the given order. If an item is consuming too much time, use the statement picker and return if time remains. Our full-practice clock continues while you navigate.
During review
Check whether an error began with choosing the wrong sheet or misreading the right one. Review lucky guesses as well as mistakes.
Aon permits navigation between statements and recommends working in the predefined order. Follow the controls and instructions shown in your own assessment. Aon: verbal reasoning practice and instructions.
Understand what your practice score tells you
Track correct answers, attempted statements and recurring mistakes together. High accuracy on very few statements and rapid progress with frequent errors suggest different practice needs.
Practice points = correct − 0.5 × incorrect
Our results show these points alongside your correct-answer count. For example, 34 correct and six incorrect gives 31 practice points. Nine unanswered statements add zero.
A published 2018 cut-e scales verbal consumer report documents this weighting. It also compares performance with a named norm group and reports speed and accuracy. That is evidence for a particular assessment version, not a guarantee of every employer’s scoring rules. cut-e: 2018 scales verbal sample benchmark report, hosted by ICAP.
Practice points are not an official Aon score. A percentile requires an appropriate comparison group; our question bank cannot establish your employer’s cutoff or your place in its candidate pool. Treat our training goals as provisional preparation targets.
Check the real marking instructions before deciding how to handle uncertain items. Do not select Cannot Say as a substitute for a guess: choose it when the passage leaves the claim unresolved.
A practical study order
1. Learn the evidence judgments
Try the six examples before opening their explanations. For each answer, identify a supporting sentence, a contradiction or the specific missing fact.
2. Start with a mixed drill
Use an untimed eight-statement drill to practice finding the right sheet. Classify errors as a wrong source, changed meaning, missed condition, unsupported inference or missing evidence.
3. Repair the recurring mistake
Choose the corresponding topic drill. Explain each answer in your own words, then return to mixed practice so the skill is no longer announced in advance.
4. Rehearse under the full clock
Complete a 12-minute sitting and review afterward. Compare accuracy and coverage on unfamiliar passages. Repeating a familiar company pack is useful rehearsal, but remembering its answers can inflate your score.
Rehearse the full 12 minutes
Judge 49 statements using five fixed information sheets. Full practice keeps explanations hidden until the end and saves your responses for review.
One Aon Verbal pass covers full practice and drill replays. Each drill has a free first attempt where your account’s access includes a trial. Saved reviews stay available.
Common questions
Is scales verbal the same as scales verbal instruct?
No. This guide covers the standard scales verbal reasoning format: 49 statements in 12 minutes. Aon lists scales verbal instruct separately as a basic-instructions assessment. Language Skills, or scales lt, is another separate test. Check the exact name and tutorial in your invitation.
What is the difference between False and Cannot Say?
False means the passage contradicts the claim. Cannot Say means it leaves the claim unresolved. Ask whether you can point to evidence proving the statement wrong; the absence of evidence proving it right is not enough.
Can I use common sense or outside knowledge?
Use ordinary language comprehension to understand the passage, then judge the claim from the supplied information. Do not add assumptions about how a real company would behave, what a job title usually means or what probably happened.
What if one part of a statement is wrong?
For a statement claiming both A and B, an explicitly contradicted part makes the whole claim False. If one part is supported and the other unresolved, with neither contradicted, choose Cannot Say. Both parts need support for True.
Must I answer all 49 statements?
Aon says candidates are not expected to finish every task. Aim for accurate judgments at a sustainable pace. Our full practice preserves unanswered items so you can distinguish errors from statements you did not complete.
Can I return to an earlier statement?
Our full practice lets you revisit and change answers until submission or time expiry. In short drills, submitting an answer reveals its explanation and locks that response. Follow the navigation instructions in your real assessment.
Is this also a compact-test simulation?
No. Shorter versions exist, and employer or admissions instructions can differ. Our full practice uses the standard 49-statement, 12-minute format. The targeted drills teach transferable reading skills but are not separate simulations of every Aon version.
What does an Aon Verbal pass cover?
One Aon Verbal pass covers this assessment’s full timed practice and drill replays. Each short drill has a first free attempt where your account’s access includes a trial. Saved reviews remain available. Aon Numerical and other assessments have separate passes.
Preparation references
- Aon: prepare for your online assessment
- Aon: verbal reasoning practice and instructions
- Aon: scales verbal interface walkthrough
- cut-e: 2018 scales verbal sample benchmark report, hosted by ICAP
- SMU: candidate guidance for its admissions assessment
Independent preparation from Game Assessment Prep. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Aon or cut-e. All teaching examples and practice passages are original material.