Korn Ferry verbal test guide

Read business passages and identify exactly which statements the evidence supports.

Choose a practice drill

Know the format

Questions15
Time75 seconds for the first question on a passage, then 60 seconds for each follow-up.
Answer controlsSelect the requested one or two statements from six options. For two-answer questions, both selections must be correct.
What to have readyUse a desktop or laptop so you can read the passage and answer choices together.

There is a fresh time allowance for each question. Submit when ready; time saved on one question does not carry forward. If the timer expires, the selected answer is submitted automatically. You cannot return to earlier questions.

Work through an example

This introductory example uses original material and is separate from the scored question bank.

Orders placed before noon are dispatched the same day if payment has cleared. Fragile orders also require a packaging check. No fragile order is dispatched before that check is complete. A late order may be dispatched the same day, but this is not guaranteed.

Which two statements are supported?

Practice each skill

Finding information

Find the sentence that answers the question. Check who, when and which group it describes before comparing the options.

Common mistake: A statement can use the same words as the passage but reverse who did what, or extend a claim to a different period.

Practice finding information

Drawing inferences

Ask whether the passage requires the conclusion. Keep possibility, probability and certainty separate, and use no outside business knowledge.

Common mistake: A change happening after another change does not, by itself, establish its cause.

Practice drawing inferences

Conditions and qualifiers

Break a policy into its conditions. Track “only,” “unless,” “at least” and “all” precisely, then apply every relevant exception.

Common mistake: Satisfying one necessary condition does not establish that all the conditions have been met.

Practice conditions and qualifiers

Move from learning to timing

  1. Start with an untimed drill. Explain why your chosen answer follows and why the alternatives fail.
  2. Read the worked solutions, then practice the skill that caused the error. Check recorded exposure when repeating familiar questions.
  3. Take a full test under the individual question clocks. Use the same equipment and a quiet setting you expect for your real test.
  4. Review accuracy alongside unanswered questions, timeouts and Challenge performance. Aim for the practice goals consistently across different question sets.
View full verbal test

Understand your practice results

The real Elements assessment adapts its questions to your performance. Our full practice uses a fixed mix weighted toward Challenge questions, so you can rehearse demanding tasks and the published timing. A raw practice score is not Korn Ferry’s normed percentile. Employers choose their own benchmarks; there is no universal pass mark.

Drill explanations wait until the whole passage or dataset is complete; logical explanations follow each question. Full-test feedback waits until the end. Progress charts appear after a second comparable attempt, while saved reviews remain available from the first.

Official preparation

Use Korn Ferry’s own practice to check the publisher’s interface, and follow the instructions and adjustments on your invitation. Elements practice does not cover all Aspects, personality, leadership or employer-specific batteries.

Original independent preparation. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Korn Ferry or Talent Q.