Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal

• Watson Glaser tests your critical thinking skills through different question types.
• Questions test your ability to analyze information and form logical conclusions.

Inference

• Involves rating the probability of inferences based on provided information.
• Requires determining if an inference is true beyond a reasonable doubt, probably true, has insufficient data, is probably false, or is false based solely on the given information.

Recognition of Assumptions

• Focuses on identifying unstated assumptions underlying given statements.
• Requires reading a statement and judging whether a proposed assumption is an assumption of the statement or not.

Deduction

• Presents several statements followed by suggested conclusions.
• Requires selecting whether the conclusion "follows" or "does not follow" from the given statements.

Interpretation

• Involves weighing up evidence to decide if generalisations or conclusions are warranted based on the data given.
• You must decide if conclusions logically follow beyond reasonable doubt, or don't logically follow, using only the information in a given statement.

Evaluation of Arguments

• Involves evaluating the strength and relevance of arguments regarding a particular question or issue.
• Determine if the argument is strong or weak based on the provided information, assuming all arguments are true.

Example: Inference

• Statement: 200 students in their early teens attended a weekend conference in England to discuss race equality and world peace.
• Inference: The students who attended the conference showed a keener interest in broad social problems than most other students in their early teens.
• Assessment: Probably True, as most teens don't show serious concern with social problems, although the facts don't definitively prove this.

Example: Recognition of Assumptions

• Statement: "We need to save time in getting there so we'd better go by plane."
• Assumption: Going by plane will take less time than going by some other means of transportation.
• Answer: Assumption Made, the statement assumes a plane is faster.
• Statement: "We need to save time in getting there so we'd better go by plane."
• Assumption: Travel by plane is more convenient than travel by train.
• Answer: Assumption Not Made, the statement focuses on saving time, not convenience.

Example: Deduction

• Statement: Some Sundays are rainy. All rainy days are boring.
• Conclusion: No clear days are boring.
• Answer: Conclusion Does Not Follow, as the statements don't provide information about clear days.
• Statement: Some Sundays are rainy. All rainy days are boring.
• Conclusion: Some Sundays are boring.
• Answer: Conclusion Follows, rainy Sundays must be boring.

Example: Interpretation

• Statement: Vocabulary study shows growth from zero words at 8 months to 2,562 words at 6 years.
• Conclusion: None of the children in this study had learned to talk by the age of six months.
• Answer: Conclusion Does Not Follow, at eight months the number of words spoken was zero.
• Statement: Vocabulary study shows growth from zero words at 8 months to 2,562 words at 6 years.
• Conclusion: Vocabulary growth is slowest during the period when children are learning to walk.
• Answer: Conclusion Does Not Follow, there is no information about vocabulary growth and walking.

Example: Evaluation of Arguments

• Question: Should all young adults in the UK go on to higher education?
• Argument: Yes; university provides an opportunity for them to wear university scarves.
• Answer: Argument Weak, as it's not a serious reason for attending university.
• Question: Should all young adults in the UK go on to higher education?
• Argument: No; a large percent of young adults do not have enough ability to derive any benefit from university training.
• Answer: Argument Strong, it is a weighty argument against all young adults going to university.