Wonderlic Basic Skills Test

Symbology encompasses the interpretation of symbols, punctuation marks, abbreviations, and other non-alphabetic elements that convey meaning in written communication. The verbal section tests recognition and proper application of these elements.

The period (.) terminates declarative and imperative sentences, appears in abbreviations, and functions in decimal numbers. Declarative: The meeting ends at noon. Imperative: Submit your report by Friday. Abbreviations: Dr., Mr., Mrs., Inc., etc. Some modern style guides omit periods in abbreviations without lowercase letters: USA, FBI, NASA.

The comma (,) performs multiple functions: separating items in series, setting off introductory elements, joining independent clauses with conjunctions, setting off nonessential information, separating coordinate adjectives, and indicating direct address. The red, rusty, old car (coordinate adjectives). The bright red car (cumulative adjectives, no comma). John, please answer the question (direct address).

The semicolon (;) joins related independent clauses without conjunctions and separates items in complex lists. The project succeeded; everyone celebrated. Attendees included Dr. Smith, the president; Ms. Jones, the treasurer; and Mr. Brown, the secretary.

The colon (:) introduces lists, explanations, and quotations following independent clauses. It also appears in time notation and ratios. The recipe requires three ingredients: flour, sugar, and eggs. The meeting begins at 10:30. The ratio is 3:1.

The question mark (?) terminates direct questions but not indirect questions. Direct: Where is the library? Indirect: She asked where the library was.

The exclamation point (!) indicates strong emotion, surprise, or emphasis. Use sparingly in formal writing. What a wonderful performance! Stop immediately!

The apostrophe (') indicates possession and contractions. The student's book (one student). The students' books (multiple students). Don't, can't, won't, it's (it is).

Quotation marks (" ") enclose direct speech, titles of short works, and words used in special senses. She said, "I'll be there." The article "Climate Change Solutions" appeared in the journal. The so-called "experts" disagreed.

The hyphen (-) joins compound words, prefixes to words, and numbers when spelled out. Self-esteem, well-known, pre-existing, twenty-one. Hyphens also prevent ambiguity: re-cover (cover again) versus recover (regain), re-sign (sign again) versus resign (quit).

The dash (—) or em dash indicates breaks in thought, sets off parenthetical information with emphasis, and introduces lists or explanations dramatically. The results—completely unexpected—changed our strategy. Three factors drove success—innovation, timing, and teamwork.

The en dash (–) connects ranges and compound adjectives with open compounds. Pages 10–25, ages 18–25, New York–London flight.

Parentheses ( ) enclose supplementary or explanatory information. The results (see Table 1) support our hypothesis. Use parentheses for acronym definitions: The World Health Organization (WHO) issued guidelines.

Brackets [ ] insert editorial comments into quotations and enclose parenthetical information within parentheses. The report stated, "The project [Phase II] exceeded expectations." (See the appendix [pages 50–60] for details.)

The ellipsis (...) indicates omitted material in quotations and trailing thoughts. "The Constitution provides... equal protection under the law." I wonder if we should...

The slash (/) indicates alternatives, fractions, and certain abbreviations. Pass/fail grading, 3/4 cup, w/o (without), c/o (care of).

Standard editing marks communicate corrections efficiently. The caret (^) indicates insertion points. The deletion symbol (a line through text with a tail) marks material to be removed. The paragraph symbol (¶) indicates new paragraph breaks. The close-up symbol (curved lines) shows where spaces should be removed. The transpose symbol (curved lines crossing) indicates switching positions of adjacent elements.

Stet (Latin for "let it stand") with dots underneath cancels a previous editing mark, restoring original text. The lowercase symbol (a diagonal line through capital letter) indicates changing to lowercase. The capital letters symbol (three underscores beneath a letter) indicates capitalizing.

Standard abbreviations appear frequently in reading passages. Time abbreviations include a.m. (ante meridiem, before noon), p.m. (post meridiem, after noon), B.C./BCE (before Christ/before common era), and A.D./CE (anno Domini/common era). Note that A.D. traditionally precedes the year (A.D. 476) while B.C. follows (44 B.C.).

Measurement abbreviations include in. (inches), ft. (feet), yd. (yards), mi. (miles), oz. (ounces), lb. (pounds), tsp. (teaspoon), tbsp. (tablespoon), c. (cup), pt. (pint), qt. (quart), gal. (gallon). Metric abbreviations typically omit periods: cm, m, km, g, kg, mL, L.

Academic and professional abbreviations include B.A./B.S. (bachelor's degrees), M.A./M.S. (master's degrees), Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy), M.D. (Doctor of Medicine), Esq. (Esquire), Jr./Sr. (Junior/Senior).

State abbreviations follow two-letter postal codes: CA (California), TX (Texas), NY (New York), FL (Florida). Traditional abbreviations may use different forms: Calif., Tex., N.Y., Fla.

Latin abbreviations appear in academic and formal writing. Common examples: e.g. (exempli gratia, for example), i.e. (id est, that is), etc. (et cetera, and so forth), et al. (et alii, and others), vs./v. (versus), cf. (confer, compare), N.B. (nota bene, note well), ibid. (ibidem, in the same place), sic (thus, as originally written).

Acronyms form words from initial letters: NASA, NATO, UNICEF, AIDS, radar, scuba. Initialisms pronounce each letter: FBI, CIA, ATM, HIV, URL. Some organizations accept either pronunciation: FAQ, SQL.

The asterisk () marks footnotes and indicates multiplication. Single asterisk for first footnote, double (*) for second, and so forth. In informal writing, asterisks indicate emphasis or stand for omitted letters in censored words.

The dagger (†) and double dagger (‡) serve as secondary and tertiary footnote markers after asterisks. In some contexts, daggers indicate deceased individuals.

The section symbol (§) references specific sections in legal documents and codes. Section 504 may appear as § 504.

The paragraph symbol (¶) references specific paragraphs and marks new paragraph breaks in editing. Paragraph 12 may appear as ¶ 12.

The copyright symbol (©) indicates protected intellectual property. The symbol appears before the owner's name.

The registered trademark symbol (®) indicates federally registered trademarks. The trademark symbol (™) indicates unregistered trademarks or those pending registration.

The at symbol (@) appears in email addresses, social media handles, and indicates unit pricing (3 items @ $2.00 each).

The ampersand (&) represents "and" in company names and informal contexts. Johnson & Johnson. Research & Development.

The number/pound/hash sign (#) indicates numbers, weight in pounds, and hashtags in social media. #10 envelope, 5# bag, #trending.

The percent symbol (%) indicates proportion per hundred. A 25% increase.

The degree symbol (°) indicates temperature and geometric angles. 72°F, 90° angle.

Addition (+), subtraction (−), multiplication (× or ·), and division (÷ or /) represent basic operations. The equals sign (=) shows equivalence. The not equal sign (≠) shows inequality.

Greater than (>) and less than (<) indicate comparative relationships. Greater than or equal to (≥) and less than or equal to (≤) include the possibility of equality.

The plus or minus symbol (±) indicates range or tolerance. 100 ± 5 means 95 to 105.

The percent symbol (%) indicates hundredths. 25% means 25 per 100 or 0.25.

The square root symbol (√) indicates the principal square root. √16 = 4.

Exponents appear as superscripts: x², x³, x^n. Scientific notation uses powers of ten: 3.5 × 10⁴.

The dollar sign ($) precedes amounts in American notation: $100.00. The cents sign (¢) follows amounts: 50¢. The euro symbol (€), pound symbol (£), and yen symbol (¥) represent other currencies. Placement varies by national convention.