Verbal Reasoning is a test of speed and discipline, not deep reading. You get roughly thirty seconds a question, so the winners aren't the slowest, most careful readers — they're the ones with a repeatable method that stops them re-reading. Everything you need is in the passage; your own knowledge is a trap.
The method
1 · Skim, don't study
Read the passage once at pace to map where things are — the topic, the structure, where the opinions sit. Do not try to memorise it. You will come back for specifics.
2 · Read the question and find the keyword
Identify the one idea the question hinges on, then scan the passage for where that idea lives. Answer from that sentence and its neighbours, not from memory.
3 · True / False / Can't tell
True = the passage states it or directly forces it. False = the passage contradicts it. Can't tell = the passage simply doesn't give you enough to decide. Most wrong answers come from using outside knowledge to 'fill the gap' — that's a Can't tell.
4 · Reading-comprehension: pre-select
For best-answer questions, decide what you think the answer is from your understanding, then confirm against the options. Eliminate anything that overstates, adds new information, or shifts the scope of the passage.
5 · Protect the clock
If a question isn't yielding in ~40 seconds, pick your best option, flag it, and move. A guessed question and a flagged return beat a perfect answer that costs you two others.
Quick wins
Watch absolute words — 'always', 'never', 'all', 'only'. One counter-example in the passage makes them False.
Author's opinion ≠ reported opinion. Keep straight who is actually claiming what.
Never bring in real-world knowledge. The passage is the only source of truth.
'Can't tell' is the most under-used correct answer — don't be afraid of it.
Now drill Verbal Reasoning
Practice Verbal Reasoning free in the real exam interface — the method only sticks when you use it.