The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

That’s what I did today. A Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. It’s the first time I’d come across this one! There is a limited number of practice you can do on it but this is what I found:

About Watson-Glaser from GetFeedback
Watson-Glaser Sample Questions
Watson-Glaser Practice test from Hogan Lovells

Personal Experience:

Test items: 31

Time given: 60 minutes

Backgracking: Allowed

Difficulty: Hard

 

(Notes: It took me 30 minutes to do the test

and I used the remaining time to backtrack.)

There are five question areas:

    1. Inference
    2. Recognition of assumptions
    3. Deduction
    4. Intepretation
    5. Evaluation of arguments

I did a critical thinking AS-Level at college as well so I was already slightly familiarised with the types of problems presented. If you have trouble with these kinds of problems I suggest you read a book on Critical Thinking to help you familiarise yourself. At least go over the sections that are relevant and teach you the tips and tricks on how to ace the questions.

I have some of my own tips that help me with some of the questions. Here they are! (They may not make sense until you have looked at the Watson-Glaser sample questions, found in the link above).

Tip 1: Always make a mental note when you see any of the statements or questions use extremist words such as ‘always’, ‘everytime’, ‘never’ or ‘only’. This is critical information to answering the question. So if the statement suggests that “All rainy days are boring” and follows up with the answer-statment “Therefore, some rainy days are not boring” that can immediately be disregarded because ‘ALL’ rainy days are boring. That was a simple example but it really does help sometimes with the complex ones.

Tip 2: Think about it like this, if it seems to be true but is not definitely true (T) - i.e. the statement does not directly match with a statements in the text - then it is more likely to be probably true (PT). However, if the statement matches up with a phrase in the text then it is more likely to be definitely true (T).

Tip 3: Do practice and make sure you understand all the questions properly and what they want from you. Then, do practice tests and makes sure you understand the logic of any of the questions you answered incorrectly. It may help you in similar formatted questions.

Tip 4: BE AWAKE. This test requires a lot of concentration.

Overall I found the test difficult and I am not sure how well I did even though I backtracked through the test to double check my answers. There’s just no way of knowing until I get the result. I will update as soon as the results come through!

Numerical Tests - The New Fashion

Don’t you love the conversations you have with your grandparents, ‘No gran, I can’t get to the job interview without first completing an application form, a series of tests, a telephone interview, an assessment centre...’. How times have changed since the good old days of newspaper ad, phone call, interview, job. Well maybe not for all jobs but definitely for graduate jobs.

Numerical tests are definitely in fashion. Not just for jobs that require numerical ability, but also for those that don’t! I applied to a scheme the other day that said nothing about having to be numerate at all. I still had to complete a numerical test. I think it’s something to do with the fact that your numerical ability is some indication of your overall general intelligence.

I find the SHL numerical tests are very hard. I don’t have a degree in a numerical subject, but I do have A-Level Maths. The general format is you have 25 minutes to answer 18 questions so about a minute and a half for each question. Performance under time pressure is something you only get with practice. Here are a few of my tips when it comes to numerical tests.

Tip 1: Your percentage score is not what the employers are looking for. They are looking for your score in comparison to a pool of results. The feedback I received from one of the SHL Verify Numerical Tests I completed was that I was in the 95th percentile (meaning that I got a score higher than 95% of test takers). Although, from my guessing, I calculate that I probably got the percentage score of around 60-65%. It’s not about you, it’s about how you compare.

Tip 2: Be awake. The main reason for a bad result is if you are tired, unable to concentrate or stressed. Make sure you pick a time where there are no distractions, where you are fully awake and can focus your efforts on each question.

Tip 3: Practice, practice, practice. It is the best way to improve your accuracy, efficiency and general ability. The format of the questions will become familiar and the time it takes for you to figure out what the question wants will lessen.

Tip 4: Stop practicing. There is something called over-practicing. It’s not good. Don’t overdo it.

If you are an undergraduate/graduate and you are jobhunting you are bound to come across testing of some sort. These tips apply for any kind of test, not just the numerical ones. It’s just another hoop to jump through.


Share your experience with numerical tests, leave a comment.