Watson-Glaser critical thinking test practice

Practise a Watson-Glaser-style critical reasoning test across its five subtests: Inference, Recognition of Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation and Evaluation of Arguments.

The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal — sometimes called a critical reasoning test — is used by law firms and graduate schemes to test how carefully you reason about arguments and evidence. This simulator rehearses all five subtests in the real format — including the five-point Inference scale and the strict Deduction rules — with every answer independently verified and explained, so you understand why each verdict is right, not just what it is.

Watson-Glaser is a trademark of its owner, who is not affiliated with this site, and this simulator contains no live test questions.

New to these tests? Start with the free diagnostic to find your weak areas first. The simulator is part of full access.

Last updated 8 July 2026

What this simulator rehearses

Watson-Glaser measures critical thinking, not reading speed. Each subtest asks you to reason with a very specific kind of discipline — separating what an argument states from what it assumes, and what a conclusion is entitled to from what merely sounds right. Most people lose marks not because the passages are hard, but because they answer from instinct instead of from the rules of each subtest. This simulator is where you learn those rules by doing.

The five subtests it covers

• Inference— rating how strongly a conclusion follows from given facts on a five-point scale, from “true” to “false”, rather than a simple yes/no.
• Recognition of Assumptions — deciding whether a statement is actually taken for granted by an argument, or not.
• Deduction — judging whether a conclusion follows necessarily from the premises, under strict logical rules, ignoring what you know about the world.
• Interpretation — deciding whether a conclusion follows beyond reasonable doubt from a short passage of information.
• Evaluation of Arguments — judging whether an argument is strong and relevant to the question, or weak and beside the point.

Timing, scoring and explanations

The run is 40 questions in about 30 minutes across the five subtests. Feedback is held to the end so your attempt stays comparable, then every question opens into a full worked explanation with the deciding evidence or logical step shown. Your score reports what you got right — no invented percentile. Because the subtests each reward a different discipline, the review is where the real learning happens: seeing exactly why “strong argument” or “assumption not made” was the correct call.

How to prepare with this site

Take the free diagnostic first to see which style of reasoning is weakest, then work through the relevant method guides — each of the five subtests maps to categories with their own guide and drill. Build the discipline in slow practice before you rehearse it under time here. The simulator and drills are part of full access; the diagnostic and guides are free.

Frequently asked questions