Verbal Study Guide for the CCAT

General Information

The Verbal questions on the CCAT test your language ability. Like all of the other questions on the test, there is an emphasis on answering quickly, so you’ll want to review the skills below to help you do well on the three basic types of questions.

Opposites

Some questions will ask you to choose the word “most nearly opposite” of a given word. Words that mean the opposite of a given word are antonyms. These words will all be presented in isolation; that is, they will not be part of a sentence. Therefore, you will not be able to use context clues to determine their meaning. You wouldn’t have much time to do this anyway, though, as this is a very quick test.

If you do not know the word’s opposite right away, don’t spend too long thinking about it. First, think of what the given word means. Then, see if you can eliminate words that mean the same or nearly the same thing. These are synonyms, not antonyms. Synonyms are words that mean the same thing and they might be there to throw you off. Also, eliminate words that have no connection at all to the given word. At this point, if you have more than one choice and you are unsure which is the antonym (opposite), it is better to take a guess than leave the question unanswered. Then, move on to other questions so you have a chance to get to the questions you feel more certain about. Try this one:

Choose the word that is most nearly opposite of the word recommend.

A. confirm

B. discourage

C. reveal

D. affirm

E. boast

The correct answer is B. discourage. To recommend something is to promote it, affirm it in some way, and encourage others to try it or view it positively. Discourage is the word most opposite of this on the list.

Analogies

An analogy is a comparison between two things based on a way they relate. Some of the verbal questions on this exam will involve analogies. The questions will ask you to select a pair of words that is analogous to the given pair. Analogous is the adjective form of analogy.

The analogy questions test your ability to discern relationships between word pairs. You’ll have to determine how two things are related and then find the word pair that exhibits the same relationship. What matters here is the relationship, not superficial similarities.

The relationship could be any number of things. The second item could be a part or component of the first item. The first item could be a unit of measurement, and the second item could be what it measures. The first word could be a category, and the second word something in that category. The second word could be something found in the first word. These are just examples; there are numerous ways things can relate. Your goal is to figure out that relationship and then choose the pair that exhibits the same relationship, even if the things themselves are significantly different.

Also, make sure to match the order of the words. For example, if in the pair in the question, the first word is a larger thing and the second word is a smaller part of that thing, in the pair you choose, the first word should also be the larger thing and the second the smaller part of that thing. See if you can find the analogous answer here:

Choose a pair that is analogous to sewing : thimble

A. cooking : pan

B. sewing machine : pedal

C. carpentry : gloves

D. craft : scrapbooking

E. writing : books

The correct choice is C. The original pair gives an activity and a tool used in that activity. In the answer choices, A and C also give an activity and a tool that might be used in that activity. Since there are two choices that illustrate the activity: tool relationship, the next step would be to refine our sense of the relationship between the two things. It will need to be more focused.

What we can notice is something more about the purpose of the tool. It is used in the activity, yes, but used for protection. A thimble is used to protect the thumb from being pricked by the needle. Likewise, gloves can be worn during carpentry projects to protect the hands. Choice A is wrong because it doesn’t illustrate the relationship as well as choice C. A pan is a tool used in cooking, but it is not used for protection.

Fill in the Blanks

The fill-in-the-blank questions test your ability to use language precisely by choosing the most appropriate words. The word or words that are the most appropriate will be the ones that most closely fit with the context established by the sentence or sentences. The challenge is that you are choosing the best answer, not necessarily the only one that will work. There may be word choices that have the right literal meaning (denotation) but perhaps not the right connotation (feeling associated with a word), or that may not be as situationally appropriate as another choice.

Two Blanks

Some fill-in-the-blank questions will have two blanks. There will be three sentences. One sentence will not have any blanks, but don’t ignore it. It is important for establishing the scenario that provides context for the other sentences. You must choose the option in which each word is a strong match for the context and meaning of the sentences. There may be choices containing one word that fits very well and another word that does not fit. These choices can be eliminated.

Here is an example:

To keep up with growing demand, the owner of a small chocolate company decided to purchase machines to automate the chocolate-making process. However, she knows her ____ customer base values unique products that don’t feel mass-produced. She hopes to ____ these long-term customers by adding creative touches to the products that will maintain her original homemade feel.

A. younger, admire

B. neutral, maintain

C. growing, confuse

D. dissatisfied, intrigue

E. loyal, appease

The correct answer is E. loyal, appease. The customers are described in the third sentence as “long-term,” which would make loyal a good choice to describe them in the second sentence. Both indicate continued business from these customers. It also makes sense that a business owner would want to retain these customers. Since the machines are new for the company, and the company is small but growing, we can assume the products had been made by hand. This is something the long-term customers liked. The business owner is coming up with ways to keep them happy despite the change, so she’s trying to appease them. Appease means to satisfy or keep someone content.

One Blank

Some fill-in-the-blank questions will have just one blank, but may contain two sentences. You are looking for the word choice that best completes the sentence with the blank. This might have to do with various factors, including the meaning of the word, the context it relates to, its level of formality, or its grammatical expression. Make sure to pay attention to the meaning of both sentences, not just the one with the blank. The entire question sets up meaning and context that will be important for choosing the right answer. Here is an example:

The company decided to offer online customers a gift wrap option during checkout. Results were positive on all fronts, showing that the cost is ____, and the option is popular enough to have resulted in a significant increase in revenue.

A. extreme

B. exorbitant

C. nominal

D. unclear

E. variable

The best choice is C. nominal. This means small or insignificant. The first sentence introduces the topic of a gift wrap option. This is not something one would expect to cost a lot of money. The second sentence states that all results were good, so we can rule out extreme and exorbitant. We can also rule out unclear and variable since neither expresses “positive” results.