Critical Thinking Tests for Lawyers

Many law firms use the Watson-Glaser Test as part of their recruitment process. It measures critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills. The Bar Aptitude Test (BCAT), compulsory for gaining entry onto the Bar professional Training programme is also based on this test. The process of critical thinking involves thorough and careful interpretation of information as well as its subsequent application to reach justifiable conclusions. These skills are necessary in many professions, particularly law, where a lawyer must evaluate different pieces of evidence.

You are tested across five different areas:

• Drawing inferences – this is the ability to draw conclusions from facts. In this test each question contains a statement to be regarded as true, followed by some inferences. You have five options with which to answer – True, Probably True, Inadequate Data, False and Probably False.

• Recognising assumptions – the ability to assess whether a statement is justifiable based on an assumption given. You will be given two statements and must decide if the second statement can be justified based on the assumptions of the first statement.

• Deductive reasoning – the ability to weigh information and to decide whether conclusions are warranted. You must decide whether a follow on statement is necessarily true based on the first statement (not your general knowledge). Answers are yes or no.

• Logical interpretation – measures your ability to understand the weighting of different arguments given a particular question or issue. You are given a short paragraph to be assumed as true. You will then be given a suggested conclusion and must decide whether this conclusion follows on from the information beyond reasonable doubt (although not necessarily absolutely). Questions are in yes or no format.

• Argument evaluation – the ability to distinguish between strong and weak arguments, where a strong argument is one which is important and directly related to the question. This section measures your ability to determine whether certain conclusions necessarily follow from information in given statements or premises. You will be given a question statement followed by an answer statement and must decide whether the answer statement is strong or weak.

Practice the Watson-Glaser tests HERE

Practice the BCAT tests HERE