← Back to CCAT test guide
Criteria Cognitive Aptitude Test section guide
CCAT Verbal Reasoning guide
Work with vocabulary, analogies, sentence logic, and verbal relationships.
50
questions
15 min
total time
18 sec
average available per question
No
calculator
What this section tests
The ability behind the questions
Verbal questions are one of Criteria's three broad CCAT categories and test how quickly you understand and apply word relationships.
Typical question pattern
How to approach each item
- Identify the exact relationship in the prompt.
- Apply the same relationship to each option.
- Eliminate choices that fit the topic but not the logic.
Worked example
A simple version of the rule
Bird is to nest as bee is to hive: the relationship is animal to home.
Preparation strategies
Practise the skill efficiently
- State analogy relationships as a short sentence.
- Use prefixes, suffixes, and roots for unfamiliar vocabulary.
- Read sentence-completion choices back in context.
Watch out
An option may be associated with a word without sharing the required relationship.
Quick tip
Name the relationship before looking at the answers.
More CCAT guides
Continue through the test
This guide uses representative examples for preparation. It does not reproduce proprietary live assessment questions and is not endorsed by the assessment publisher.