Watson Glaser Test [2022]: Overview, Free Practice Test, Sample Questions, Tips & Strategies

The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is a pre-hire test developed by Pearson. It is usually used by law firms and other organisations to screen candidates during the recruitment process. The skills evaluated are crucial for succeeding in both the legal world and managerial roles.

Like all tests, the absolute best way to get a high score is by practising.

But as the Watson Glaser test is unique, just practising is not enough. It has to be an ACCURATE practice.

Only by using accurate Watson Glaser practice tests, which simulate the real test, you will be familiar with the different sections and rules. This intimate familiarity is your key to gaining an advantage over your competition.

The Watson Glaser Test includes 40 multiple-choice questions, that takes 30 minutes to answer.

The test is divided into five sections (click to jump to a specific section):

1. Inference assessment
2. Recognising assumptions
3. Deduction
4. Interpretation
5. Evaluation of arguments

Each section is unique and has a set of rules you need to familiarise yourself with. Read on to learn about each section and get Watson Glaser sample questions.

To boost your Watson Glaser score, you have to master the test's unique format and sections. To do that you have to practise.

The Inference Assessment section, will present you with a single statement of facts that you regard as true.

Every statement will be followed with a series of inferences – conclusions that one might draw from the facts in the statement.

Your task is to examine the inferences, and decide how true or false each one is, on a scale:

• True
• Probably True
• Insufficient Data
• Probably False
• False

Note: Sometimes, in deciding whether an inference is probably true or false, you will have to use common knowledge or information.

While you should not hesitate to use such knowledge, it is unadvisable to rely on such knowledge as the sole basis for judging an inference to be True or False. These rulings must be supported by the statement of facts given.

Statement: James is a human rights activist who was fined £60 on three different days during the past month for smoking in public at his workplace. On each of the occasions, he admitted to the act peacefully, telling policemen that he is unwilling to conform with such a breach of people's right to privacy. James paid the three fines shortly after receiving them.

Inference: James has spent at least a couple hundreds of pounds in his struggle to oppose violation of civil liberties this year.

• True
• Probably True
• Insufficient Data
• Probably False
• False

In the Watson Glaser Test Recognising Assumptions section, you will be presented with different statements. Several proposed assumptions follow each statement. Your job is to decide for each assumption whether a person, in making the given statement, is really making that assumption – that is, taking it for granted, justifiably or not.

Note: These assumptions do not have to concur with reality or reason – you are not judging their common sense, but plainly whether they are made or not.

Statement: Complaints were raised against the town's sole French teacher for using her monopoly to charge more than her late predecessor. In fact, however, she does not earn more money on each lesson than she would have before, because she lives out of town and her fee reflects higher transportation costs than those of her predecessor, who lived in town.

Proposed Assumption: Service providers who spend more on transportation are more expensive.

• Assumption Made
• Assumption Not Made

In the Deduction section, you will have to read several passages. Each one will be followed by a suggested conclusion.

Your task is to determine whether the conclusion “follows” or “does not follow” the information presented in the text.

Note: While making a decision, you should rely only on the premises, even though you may believe some conclusions may or may not be true according to your general knowledge.

For the purposes of this test, consider the premises in each exercise to be true without exception. (e.g., the sentence "apples are tasty", should be read as all apples are actually tasty, even rotten apples and unripe apples).

Statement: Some citizens pay taxes. Many citizens receive income support.

Conclusion: More citizens receive income support than citizens who pay taxes.

• Conclusion follows
• Conclusion does not follow

The Watson Glaser Test Interpretation section is similar to the Deduction section we just talked about.

In this section you will be presented with a short paragraph, for which you have to assume that everything stated in it is true. Then, you will have to decide if a certain conclusion is followed beyond a reasonable doubt from the text, or not.

Note: While section 3 (Deduction) instructions ask us to decide whether a proposed conclusion “necessarily follows”, section 4 (Interpretation) offers a disjunction: The proposed conclusion can necessarily follow or probably follow (beyond a reasonable doubt).

Another distinction is that section 3 mainly uses formal logic, whereas section 4 is less formal in that way.

Text: In the years 2011-12, 32% of pupils entitled to free school meals (an indicator of low socioeconomic status) achieved five GCSE passes at grade C or above. This is compared to 65% of pupils who were not entitled to free school meals.

Conclusion: Most of the pupils who were not entitled to a free school meal achieved five GCSE passes at grade C or above.

• Conclusion follows
• Conclusion does not follow

In this final Watson Glaser test section, you will be presented with a question or a topic, followed by several arguments you need to evaluate. For each argument, you will have to determine whether it is “strong” or “weak”.

Note: For an argument to be strong, it must be both important and directly related to the question. An argument is weak if it is not directly related to the question (even though it may be of great general importance), if it is of minor importance, or if it is only related to trivial aspects of the question.

Question: Should parents put their children in preparation courses for gifted tests, in order for them to reach their full potential?

Argument: Yes; parents are responsible for their children’s future and should do whatever they can to help them succeed in life.

• Strong argument
• Weak argument

Want to try more Watson Glaser sample questions? Watch our new YouTube video that explains all 5 sections in detail and provides an example for each section:

And if you are ready to move on to the next prep level, then check this:

1. Take the example questions if offered. Sometimes you will be offered example questions on your test day before your actual test. If this happens, treat it as an opportunity to get confident with the questions you are due to face. The only exception to this advice is if you feel it may tier you.
2. Read the instructions carefully (don't skip them!). Remember, each section has its own rules to follow.
3. Don't spend too much time on a single question. If you finish the questions before the time is up, you can go back to questions you weren't sure of.
4. The time limit does not affect your score. Completing the test with time to spare will not improve your score, so make sure to use every minute and answer all of the questions. Don't leave any questions unanswered!
5. There’s no penalty for wrong answers. So, it is better to make educated guesses if you’re running out of time.
6. Use your common sense with caution. Pay attention to where you are, or are not, allowed to use common sense and world knowledge. In some sections, you must base your answer solely on the passage, and in others, you have to use common sense to reach a conclusion.
7. Brush on your formal logic. For example, did you know that ‘most bears like beets’. Since this sentence only states that ‘most’ bears like beets, not ‘all’, it means that not all bears enjoy beats.

The results of your Watson Glaser exam will be compared against a norm group.

The norm group’s members are individuals of a comparative educational and professional background within a relevant field (such as senior managers), who have sat the exam previously.

Your potential employer will compare the profiles of all candidates. Those with the highest relative scores will pass the test and move on to the next stage.

Additionally, there will be individual percentile scores for three subscales, allowing the employer to assess you against specific skills. These sub-areas are called RED: Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions.

Check this sample report PDF to see how the score report looks, and see this table that contains all the available norm groups.

The Watson Glaser doesn't have a pre-determined pass mark. Each employer has a different benchmark, but ideally, you should aim for a score of 80% and above. This means that you should strive to answer correctly at least 32 out of 40 questions. The higher your scores are, the better your chances of passing the test.

While there’s no official Watson Glaser average score, a small study conducted by Pearson, the company that developed the test, found a mean score of 32.8 within its study participants.

As you’ve read above, scoring high on the Watson Glaser is not enough, since you will also have to beat the other competitors.

Although the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Test is hard, boosting your score is absolutely possible. Getting a GREAT score is all about practising.

That’s why the preparation pack found on this page is specially designed to give you all the tools you need to immensely improve your score and beat your competition.