Verbal Reasoning Practice for the publicjobs Test
Most practice resources for the publicjobs verbal reasoning test are built for the UK market: pound-denominated passages, SHL-style layouts, timing that does not match what AON actually gives you in the live Irish competition. This page covers the real format you will face and how to practise it properly.
What the publicjobs verbal reasoning test actually looks like
The test uses a simple three-option format: read a short passage, read a statement, then decide whether that statement is True, False, or Cannot Say based solely on what the passage contains.
The passages tend to be business-oriented or general-topic text, a few sentences to a short paragraph. The difficulty is not in the reading level. It is in the speed and in resisting the urge to use what you already know about the world. A full breakdown of the format - including how questions are constructed and where people lose marks - is in the publicjobs verbal reasoning format guide.
The format by grade:
- Executive Officer (EO): 59 questions in 35 minutes, roughly 30 seconds per question. Verbal reasoning and situational judgement scores count toward your order of merit ranking. Check your competition’s Information Booklet on publicjobs.ie for exact details, as composition can vary.
- Clerical Officer (CO): typically fewer questions in a shorter window; the core format is the same. Again, check your own competition booklet.
- Administrative Officer / HEO and above: verbal reasoning appears at these levels too. The format stays consistent, the passages may be more complex.
The test is delivered online by AON Assessment Solutions (formerly cut-e). Depending on the competition, it may be unsupervised at home or supervised via remote proctoring. publicjobs.ie publishes a self-assessment version, which is untimed and uses 16 questions across four passages. It is worth doing for familiarity, but it will not prepare you for the time pressure of the live test.
The one rule that trips most people up
You are not being asked what you know. You are being asked what the passage says.
If the passage says “the company reduced its workforce by 15%” and the statement says “the company faced financial difficulties,” the answer is Cannot Say, not True. The passage does not mention finances. You may know that workforce reductions usually mean financial difficulty. That knowledge is exactly what you have to switch off.
The first time I sat the SJT I ranked on instinct and it cost me. The verbal is a similar discipline. The passage is the only source of truth.
The distinction between False and Cannot Say catches candidates out most:
- False means the passage directly contradicts the statement.
- Cannot Say means the passage does not give you enough information to confirm or deny it.
If in doubt and the passage simply does not address the point, Cannot Say is almost always correct. The mistake is picking False when the passage is just silent on the matter. There is a dedicated post on exactly this: “Cannot Say” Is Ruining Your Verbal Reasoning Score goes through the instinct that causes it and the rule that fixes it.
Why Irish-specific practice matters
Generic prep built for UK civil service tests does not match the Irish competition format. Here is the practical gap:
| Generic UK prep | PublicServicePathway | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | SHL or Saville style | AON/cut-e true/false/cannot say, mapped to publicjobs format |
| Passages | UK business and public sector context | Irish civil service and public service context |
| Timing | Often untimed or different pacing | Practice under the EO 30-second-per-question pace |
| Capability Framework | Not referenced | Questions mapped to the 2024 Irish Capability Framework |
| Price | From £79/month (JobTestPrep) | From €39/month, free taster with no card needed |
JobTestPrep has Irish civil service content, but it is adapted from their UK bank, and the price is in sterling. careerservices.ie-style courses are genuinely Irish but tend to be workbook-based at around €199 per year for a single grade, not interactive practice under timed conditions. The gap in the market is affordable, accurate Irish practice you can start the same evening you apply.
Five things to practise before your test
1. Read the statement first, then the passage. Many candidates read the passage top to bottom and then look at the statement. Knowing what you are looking for before you read saves time. The step-by-step verbal reasoning method sets this out in full, including how to keyword-scan rather than read every word.
2. Practise under timed conditions from day one. The EO test gives you around 30 seconds per question. If you have only ever practised untimed, the clock will feel brutal. Treat every mock as a race.
3. Cover up what you know. Before you answer, ask: “Does the passage say this, or do I just believe it?” If it is the latter, set it aside. Overthinking verbal reasoning passages is one of the most common ways marks leak - there is a post on spotting and fixing that pattern.
4. Do not overthink Cannot Say. If you are spending more than a few seconds wondering whether a statement is False or Cannot Say, it is almost certainly Cannot Say. False requires a direct contradiction, not an absence of evidence.
5. Build pace gradually. Start with passages where you have 45 seconds per question. Drop to 35. Then hit 30. Speed is a skill that comes with repetition, not just reading tips.
Who this is for
Ciara is a Clerical Officer chasing the Executive Officer panel. She has been through the CO assessment before, feels reasonably confident on verbal, and has underestimated the EO pace. The verbal is not harder to understand at EO level - it is harder because the time is tighter and the competition is stiffer. Familiarity with question types is what separates the middle of the pack from the top. The Executive Officer verbal reasoning guide goes into more detail on the specific dynamics of that competition.
Daniel is a graduate sitting a publicjobs competition for the first time. He does not have an older colleague to ask. He is not sure whether failing verbal knocks him out entirely or whether it is just one score in a pool. (Answer: for EO, verbal and SJT scores combine toward your order of merit. No official pass mark is published. You are ranked against everyone else in your cohort. This makes practice volume matter more than a threshold to clear.) The post on verbal reasoning vs reading comprehension is useful for anyone who has misread what this test is measuring.
Orla is heading into a competency interview after the psychometric stage. If that is you, the public service interview prep section is where to go next. But if you have not cleared the verbal test yet, start here.
Practice that matches the real format
PublicServicePathway is an independent prep platform built specifically for publicjobs.ie competitions. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Public Appointments Service. The questions are designed to match the AON/cut-e true/false/cannot say format, with Irish context in the passages and timing drills built around the live test pace.
Not sure whether to spend money on practice or work from free resources? The post on free vs paid verbal reasoning practice breaks down what each option gives you and where the free resources run out.
The situational judgement test section covers the ranked-answer format that is unique to Irish competitions and the format where most candidates lose ground on their order of merit. If you are preparing for EO, do not skip it in favour of verbal alone.
Numerical reasoning practice for the public service numerical test is in the adjacent section. Candidates who are confident on verbal often discover that the numerical is their actual weak point once they try it under timed conditions.
Pricing is straightforward. Free taster with no card required. €39 per month (cancel any time, only pay for the weeks you actually need before your test date). €149 per year, which undercuts the main Irish incumbent by €50. Interview mock add-on for €49 if you reach the panel stage. Full breakdown at /pricing/.
Start tonight
The publicjobs self-assessment on publicjobs.ie is a useful first look, but it is untimed and short. It will not tell you how you perform under pressure.
Try the free taster at psp-taster.pages.dev. No card, no sign-up friction. You will get a feel for the pacing and the Cannot Say discipline immediately. If it surfaces a gap, you know what to work on before your assessment window opens.
The candidates who do well on verbal are not the ones who read fastest. They are the ones who have already done this enough times that they do not hesitate.
Practise the real publicjobs format
Irish-format SJT, numerical and verbal, mapped to the 2024 Capability Framework. Free taster, no card needed.