The Watson-Glaser test, explained

Forty questions, with a timed limit of 30 minutes; TalentLens says the whole session, including instructions and untimed practice questions, can run to about 40. Some employers set it untimed instead.

Inference, recognition of assumptions, deduction, interpretation and evaluation of arguments. Each has its own short instructions and its own answer layout, and the results are usually grouped into three scores: Recognise assumptions, Evaluate arguments and Draw conclusions (the last covers inference, deduction and interpretation).

See two worked examples of each in Watson-Glaser example questions.

Several UK firms say so on their own careers pages. These are the ones we have checked, with what each firm says; formats change between recruitment cycles, so your invitation is the final word.

Not every firm uses it. Linklaters describes a different assessment for UK applicants, and Pinsent Masons uses a blended situational judgement and video assessment. Our guide to law firm online assessments sets the firms side by side.

Your raw score is turned into a percentile against a norm group, so a 70th percentile means you scored higher than 70% of that group. The group is the employer's choice, which is why the same raw score can mean different things at different firms.

Firms set their own cut-offs and do not publish them. Prep sites commonly put competitive law firms around the 70th to 80th percentile, but that is their estimate, not a firm's figure. The detail is in Watson-Glaser scores and pass marks.

Usually: TalentLens gives the timed version a 30-minute limit, which is 45 seconds a question. But employers choose, and DLA Piper says its version is untimed, due within five working days of the link.

On a timed test, pace matters as much as accuracy. On an untimed one, every mistake is avoidable, so the best preparation is checking each answer against the section rule.

Learn what each section's answers mean, practise on the clock, and review every miss against the rule it broke. Most people lose marks on two habits: using what they know instead of what the passage says, and treating "probably" or "some" as stronger than they are.

Start with the free practice test to find your weakest section, then follow the method and seven-day plan in how to pass the Watson-Glaser. Several firms also offer their own practice version: Clifford Chance says its practice attempts are unlimited and not seen by the firm.

No. A verbal reasoning test such as SHL's asks whether one statement is True, False or Cannot say from a passage; the Watson-Glaser has five different question types and a five-point scale for inferences. They reward the same core habit, answering only from the text, which is why practising one helps with the other.

If your application also has a numerical or verbal test, see the SHL verbal reasoning practice and SHL numerical practice, or the full reasoning test hub.