Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT): Sample Questions & Practice Tests
The Civil Service in the UK offers a wide range of positions, from public services to developing and implementing policies. To join the Civil Service, candidates need to go through a multi-step hiring process to determine their suitability for the job they are after.
One of the most common ability tests is the Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT), also known as the Verbal Reasoning Test (VRT). It is often taken together with the Civil Service Numerical Test (CSNT). The CSVT is a verbal reasoning test that is designed to assess your ability to understand and analyse written information. Although it may seem like a simple task, the CSVT is actually quite challenging as you are required to determine the accuracy of the information, which can be pretty confusing.
To help you pass your test, we've built a PrepPack that covers both the Civil Service Verbal Test and the Civil Service Numerical Test (CSNT). The pack includes detailed guides and accurate practice tests for all difficulty levels – from basic to advanced.
On this page, you will find all you need to know about the Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT), including the test’s structure, sample questions, and tips.
Civil Service Verbal Test
Civil Service Tests PrepPack
- 11 Verbal reasoning practice tests
- Verbal reasoning video study guide
- True/False/Cannot say guide
- 10 Numerical reasoning practice tests
- 3 numerical reasoning video study guides
What Is the Civil Service Verbal Reasoning Test?
The Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT) is a psychometric test that assesses your verbal reasoning skills and aims to evaluate your ability to understand written information, identify the relevant pieces, and draw logical conclusions.
The psychometric test, which is taken online, is adaptive. That means that the difficulty of the questions changes according to your performance – if you answer correctly, the next question will become harder, and if you answer incorrectly, the next question will become easier. At first, the jumps in difficulty level are large. They get gradually smaller as you progress through the assessment until, by the end, you should converge on a level that is reflective of your true skills.
You will be presented with a passage of text followed by a statement. You will need to determine whether the statement is ‘true’, ‘false’, or ‘cannot say’.
The CSVT civil service assessment has no time limit, and it usually takes up to 45 minutes to complete. Your score will not be affected by the time it took you to complete the test.
Let’s take a look at a practice tests!
Civil Service Verbal Test Questions Sample Questions
CSVT Sample Question #1
Let’s start with an easy one –
The production of organic food products supplied in food stores continues to increase considerably with demand particularly high in Europe and North America. Health awareness and higher standards of living are both enhancing consumption, and the market is likely to triple over the next decade. The organic food industry is facing the challenge of how it will cope with the forecasted future demand.
Consumers change their food habits because they care more about their health.
CSVT Sample Question #2
Now let’s move on to something a bit more complicated –
From the time he was a young man Shakespeare fished English streams, and he enjoyed angling even more than archery, falconry, and the other sports at which he excelled. The historical authority for this is H. N. Ellacombe, author of Shakespeare as an Angler (1883), but evidence is plain throughout the Bard's work. He knowledgeably describes many kinds of sea life, from the backward-crawling crab and the stinking mackerel down to the lowly barnacle: "Give me mine angle…we'll to the river," he writes in one place, "there I will betray the tawny-finned fishes!"
Shakespeare probably did not do much angling near his home at Stratford-on-Avon, since the Warwickshire Avon has never ranked high as a fishing river. It is known that Shakespeare was caught poaching on the estates of Sir Thomas Lucy (whom, if the story is true, he later satirized in Henry IV as Justice Shallow). It is interesting to note that his Henry IV has more references to fishing than any other of his plays, and he also mentions, in Richard II, a little town called Dursley, where he lived. Nearby lived John Dennis, a Gloucestershire squire, and author of the Secrets of Angling.
The playwright learned in this beautiful country most of the fishing arts and lore revealed in his plays; here he found "tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stone and good in everything."
Shakespeare in all likelihood did not fish near his home town because the fishing there was not very good.
CSVT Sample Question #3
Let’s see a more challenging one –
About half of all women and many men will experience urinary tract infections at some point in their lives. They are usually caused by Escherichia Coli (E. coli) bacteria.
It is common knowledge that E. coli can grip to human cells using appendages with tiny protein hooks on their tips, but this protein's structure, or how it interacts with human cells, is less-known.
The hooks consist of interlinking chains of this protein, called FimH, which are difficult to pull apart into separate molecules. Researchers in Switzerland have recently managed to isolate individual FimH molecules for the first time.
They found that when FimH is pulled by tensile forces – as during urination – the protein grips tightly to the sugar molecules that coat the surface of human cells, making it very hard to flush out. When urination stops, the force disappears, and the protein can release its grip, and the bacteria now move to the bladder.
The researchers were able to take apart the protein chains.
How to Prepare for the Civil Service Verbal Test?
The best way to prepare for the civil service verbal reasoning test is to familiarize yourself with the test’s structure, type of questions, and unique challenges. With the proper preparation materials that simulate the actual test, you will be able to sharpen your verbal abilities, learn how to locate the relevant information quickly, and make the hardest question easy as pie.
About to take the Civil Service Verbal Test? Check out our PrepPack which will provide you with all the preparation needed to ace the Civil Service Verbal Test and the Civil Service Numerical Test!
What Score Do You Need to Pass the Verbal Reasoning Test & Can You Fail It?
Your Civil Service Verbal Reasoning Test score is calculated by the number of questions you answered correctly and their difficulty level. Then, your score is compared to a group of representatives at the same occupation and organisational level as the position you applied for and will be presented as a percentile out of 100%.
Thus, if your percentile score is 52, you scored higher than 52% of the representatives in the group. After the test deadline, the sum of all candidates' scores will determine the test's passing mark.
If you receive the passing score, your score will be banked for six months, which means you can apply for other Civil Service positions with the same grade and will not need to retake the test. If you didn’t receive the passing score or it has been more than six months since taking the test, you will be allowed to retake it in your future application.
Civil Service Verbal Test (CSVT) Tips
Whether you're an avid reader or you haven't opened a book since your student days, the pressure of having to make inferences from dense, convoluted texts when your career is at stake can take a toll on anyone. Proper preparation can be a deciding factor in reducing text anxiety and keeping a level head. Here are a few helpful tips:
Take your time
The Civil Service Verbal Test has no time limit, and your score is not affected by how long it takes you to complete it. Thus, don’t rush and take your time. Read the text carefully, pay attention to all the details, and be sure you submit the correct answer before moving on to the next question.
Take your time
The Civil Service Verbal Test has no time limit, and your score is not affected by how long it takes you to complete it. Thus, don’t rush and take your time. Read the text carefully, pay attention to all the details, and be sure you submit the correct answer before moving on to the next question.
Find the evidence
What makes the Civil Service Verbal Test especially challenging is its True/False/Cannot say options. To be sure if the information is true, false, or cannot be determined as either, you have to rely on the information within the text and base your reply only on what is presented to you. So, look for the specific sentence and wording that includes the evidence that will make your answer 100% correct.
JobTestPrep’s preparation PrepPack plan is tailored specifically for the Civil Service Verbal Test with two preparation guides, and 11 accurate practice tests that cover all difficulty levels.
What Other Tests Are There for the Civil Service?
As part of your recruitment process for the Civil Service, you may be asked to take several ability tests or just one, depending on the job and its requirements.
Here is a list of all the Civil Service tests –
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