Critical thinking tests judge how well you weigh evidence and arguments. Here is each of the five commonly described skills with a short original item.
Critical thinking tests in the Watson-Glaser tradition are usually described through five skills: drawing inferences, recognising assumptions, deducing, interpreting evidence and evaluating arguments. Versions and sub-scores differ by publisher and edition, so treat the five parts as a learning framework and check the publisher's own guide for your test.
The five parts below are presented as small, self-contained exercises. The examples are original and were written for practice, not copied from any publisher's items. Some current editions group the skills into fewer reported scores, and the answer scales differ, so use these to learn the thinking rather than to predict exact test wording. For the named test itself, see the Watson-Glaser test page.
An inference is a conclusion you draw from facts. Many versions rate a proposed inference from true to false on a scale that includes "insufficient data", which works like Cannot say.
An assumption is something an argument takes for granted without stating. You are asked whether the argument relies on it.
Deduction asks whether a conclusion necessarily follows from statements you must treat as true.
Interpretation asks whether a conclusion follows beyond reasonable doubt from the data, taking the information as given.
Here you judge whether an argument is strong or weak. Strong means it is both important and directly linked to the question. A weak argument is trivial, off-topic or based on personal preference.
Several of these parts overlap with verbal and logical reasoning, so those are the question types ReasonEra helps with. Upload a screenshot of a practice item, choose "Tutor Explanation", and read the reasoning for each option, not only the final answer. Free practice tests for verbal and logical reasoning are available, and a free account includes 3 trials. The 14-Day Pass costs 49 € for unlimited use for 14 days.
This tool is meant for the weeks before an assessment, but conditions for a real test are set by the employer and are often strict, so read your invitation and keep ReasonEra for preparation.
It measures how well you draw conclusions, notice hidden assumptions and judge the strength of arguments from written information. The exact skills reported depend on the publisher and the edition.
They are commonly described as inference, recognition of assumptions, deduction, interpretation and evaluation of arguments. Some editions group these into fewer scores, so check the publisher's guide.
Verbal reasoning usually asks whether statements are supported by a passage, while critical thinking also asks you to examine assumptions and argument quality. The two overlap in practice.
It is an unstated idea that an argument depends on to work. If the argument would fall apart without it, it counts as an assumption made.
Practise each part separately, learn to build counter-examples and review every wrong answer. ReasonEra's explained answers and free verbal and logical practice tests can support this.
Each explanation names the rule that was used, so you can apply it to the next question yourself.
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Notes. This guide is based on general practice and public information, so confirm specifics with the recruiter. We fix mistakes quickly when they are sent to info@reasonera.com.