Watson-Glaser Practice Test 2026: Free Sample with Answer Walkthroughs

The honest answer is that the best Watson-Glaser practice is not doing more questions, it is doing a few questions slowly and understanding exactly why the right answer is right. The test is unforgiving on conventions, not on difficulty, so this page gives you one worked sample for each of the five sections with a full walkthrough. Work each one before you read the answer, then check your reasoning against ours.

Quick takeaways

• The Watson-Glaser III is 40 questions in about 30 minutes, roughly 45 seconds per question, across five sections.
• The five sections are Assessment of Inferences, Recognition of Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation, and Evaluation of Arguments.
• Every section asks you to reason only from the passage in front of you. Importing outside knowledge is the single most common way candidates lose marks.
• The answer formats differ by section: a five-point scale for Inferences, and a two-way choice for the other four. Knowing the format before you start saves time.
• Below are five worked sample questions, one per section, with the answer and the reasoning.
• Most UK law firms screen at roughly the 75th to 80th percentile, a raw score around 30 to 32 of 40. For the firm-by-firm cutoffs, see the pass-marks article linked below.

How to use this practice set

Watson-Glaser practice only helps if you replicate the real conventions, so read the rule for each section, attempt the question, and only then read the walkthrough. The trap on almost every item is the same: you bring in what you know to be true in the real world, when the test only wants what the passage supports. The five questions below are arranged in the test's section order.

The chart below is the section-by-section answer-format reference you should memorise before sitting the real test.

For the full format and scoring breakdown before you practise, read The Watson-Glaser Test: Format, Sections, and Score Explained.

Sample 1: Assessment of Inferences

Rule: you read a short passage of facts, then judge each proposed inference as True, Probably True, Insufficient Data, Probably False, or False, based only on the passage.

Passage: A city installed 200 new protected bike lanes last year. Over the same period, cycling commutes rose 18 percent and reported cycling injuries fell 5 percent.

Proposed inference A: "The new bike lanes contributed to the rise in cycling commutes." Your answer? The defensible answer is Probably True. The passage links the new lanes and the rise in cycling in the same period, which makes a contribution likely, but it does not prove the lanes were the cause rather than, say, fuel prices or weather, so it is not True with certainty.

Proposed inference B: "Cycling is now the most common way to commute in the city." Your answer? The answer is Insufficient Data. The passage gives no comparison with other commute modes at all, so you cannot judge whether cycling is most common. The trap here is assuming that an 18 percent rise implies dominance; the passage simply does not say.

Sample 2: Recognition of Assumptions

Rule: you read a statement, then decide for each proposed assumption whether it is Assumption Made or Not Made. An assumption is something taken for granted for the statement to make sense.

Statement: "We should hold the annual conference in March to maximise attendance."

Proposed assumption A: "More people are available to attend in March than at other times of year." Your answer? Assumption Made. The statement's logic collapses without it: if March attendance were no higher, choosing March to maximise attendance would make no sense.

Proposed assumption B: "The venue is cheaper to book in March." Your answer? Not Made. The statement is about maximising attendance, not cost. It works whether or not March is cheaper, so cost is not an assumption the statement relies on. The trap is marking a real-world-plausible fact as assumed when the statement does not depend on it.

Sample 3: Deduction

Rule: you read premises, then decide whether a stated conclusion necessarily follows. The conclusion must follow with certainty from the premises alone, even if the premises seem odd in the real world.

Premises: "All members of the committee are lawyers. Some lawyers are partners at their firm."

Conclusion: "Some members of the committee are partners at their firm." Your answer? Does Not Follow. The committee members are all lawyers, and some lawyers are partners, but the partners might be entirely outside the committee. Nothing in the premises forces any committee member to be among the partners. The trap is the overlap feeling likely; deduction requires necessity, not likelihood.

Sample 4: Interpretation

Rule: you read a passage, then decide whether a proposed conclusion follows beyond reasonable doubt. This is stricter than "probably" but looser than formal deduction.

Passage: "In a voluntary online poll, 700 of 1,000 responding employees said they prefer hybrid work. The company employs 5,000 people in total."

Conclusion: "A majority of the company's 5,000 employees prefer hybrid work." Your answer? Does Not Follow. Seventy percent of the 1,000 who responded is a clear majority of respondents, but the poll was voluntary and covered only a fifth of the workforce, so it may not represent the other 4,000. The conclusion about all 5,000 does not follow beyond reasonable doubt. The trap is treating a strong sample result as if it automatically generalises to the whole population.

Sample 5: Evaluation of Arguments

Rule: you read a question, then judge whether each proposed argument is Strong or Weak. A strong argument is both important and directly relevant to the question; a weak one is trivial, off-topic, or relies on a leap.

Question: "Should companies require all employees to return to the office five days a week?"

Proposed argument A: "No, because several large studies report that many employees are at least as productive working from home, so a blanket mandate risks lowering output." Your answer? Strong. It is directly relevant to the question and addresses the central consideration, productivity, with a substantive claim.

Proposed argument B: "No, because office coffee machines are often of poor quality." Your answer? Weak. It is trivial and does not bear on the real decision. The trap in this section is letting your own opinion on remote work decide; you are judging the quality and relevance of each argument, not whether you agree with its conclusion.

How the score works

Watson-Glaser is scored on the number of items you answer correctly out of 40, which is then converted into a percentile against a norm group. The percentile is the figure employers compare against their cutoff. The report also shows your performance on the three reported scales, Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions, but hiring decisions are almost always made on the overall percentile.

The infographic below is the section-by-section answer-format reference, with the timing and the law-firm percentile target in one place.

There is no universal pass mark. The bar is the percentile the employer sets against their norm group, so the same raw score can clear one firm and miss another. For the firm-by-firm picture, see Watson-Glaser Pass Marks: What Magic Circle, Silver Circle, and US BigLaw Actually Cut At.

How to prepare in a week

A week of focused practice moves Watson-Glaser scores more than candidates expect, because the gains come from learning the conventions, not from getting smarter. Spend the first two days on Recognition of Assumptions and Evaluation of Arguments, the two sections where most marks are lost, until suppressing outside knowledge becomes automatic. Spend the next two days on timed full-length sets so the 45-seconds-per-item pace feels normal. Use the final days to review every item you got wrong and write one sentence on why the correct answer follows from the passage, which is the single highest-yield habit for this test.

The practice that works is timed and explained: doing questions with the clock running and then reading why each answer follows. For full-length timed sets with worked walkthroughs for every item, work through our Watson-Glaser practice.

FAQ

Is there a free Watson-Glaser practice test?

Yes. This page gives one worked sample for each of the five sections with full walkthroughs, and our practice tool runs full-length timed sets. Note that the publisher, TalentLens, licenses the real test to employers and does not sell an official practice version to candidates.

What are the five Watson-Glaser sections?

Assessment of Inferences, Recognition of Assumptions, Deduction, Interpretation, and Evaluation of Arguments. These map onto the three reported scales: Recognize Assumptions, Evaluate Arguments, and Draw Conclusions.

What answer options does each section use?

Inferences uses a five-point scale: True, Probably True, Insufficient Data, Probably False, False. The other four sections use a two-way choice: Assumption Made or Not Made; Conclusion Follows or Does Not Follow (for both Deduction and Interpretation); and Argument Strong or Weak.

How many questions is the Watson-Glaser and how long?

The current Watson-Glaser III is 40 questions in about 30 minutes, roughly 45 seconds per question. An older long form ran 80 questions in 60 minutes.

What is a good Watson-Glaser score?

There is no universal pass mark. As a guide, the 80th percentile, around 33 to 34 correct out of 40, is competitive for most professional roles, and most UK law firms screen at the 75th to 80th percentile or higher.

Can you use outside knowledge on the Watson-Glaser?

No, and doing so is the most common way candidates lose marks. Every section asks you to reason only from the passage or premises in front of you, even when you know the real-world answer is different.

How should I practise for the Watson-Glaser?

Practise timed, then review why each answer follows from the passage. A few questions understood deeply beat many questions rushed. Focus your time on Recognition of Assumptions and Evaluation of Arguments, the highest-loss sections.

Can you retake the Watson-Glaser test?

Retake policy is set by the employer, not the publisher. Some firms allow one retake per cycle; many do not allow a retake within the same application cycle. Because the test is item-banked, a retake usually draws different questions.

Related on PrepClubs

• Pillar. Watson-Glaser test overview and preparation. The full pillar page with format, employer use, and prep paths.
• Deep practice. Full Watson-Glaser practice with worked explanations. $39 one time. Pass Guarantee. Timed full-length sets in the real WG-III format.
• Format. The Watson-Glaser Test: Format, Sections, and Score Explained. The complete format and scoring breakdown.
• Cutoffs. Watson-Glaser Pass Marks: Magic Circle, Silver Circle, and US BigLaw. The firm-by-firm percentile bar.
• Guide. What is a good cognitive test score: per-test benchmarks. Cross-test benchmarks including Watson-Glaser, CCAT, Wonderlic, and PI.

Practice on PrepClubs

Full-length Watson-Glaser practice with worked walkthroughs.

A handful of explained questions beats a hundred rushed ones. Our Watson-Glaser practice tests run the five sections at the real 45-seconds-per-item pace, with a worked walkthrough for every item that shows why the correct answer follows from the passage and the wrong ones do not. $39 one time. Pass Guarantee.

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