- Sep 9, 2024
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Hi, I have copied my WG Short Guide bellowQuick question for @Andrei Radu if it's alright- I think you mentioned in a post that you made a Watson Glaser guide for yourself when taking the test. Would you by any chance be able to share that with us? Thank you
. Just wanted to add before that (i) this was partly based on the excellent course on WG tests by the TCLA here which I highly recommend watching for a more complete understanding; and (ii) that this is meant to be a quick tool to use for revision/during the test, not a comprehensive guide in itself - it simply includes what I think are the most important rules to keep in mind when making a more difficult judgement. 1)Arguments section
- Always treat the statement as true.
- Cast out individual opinions and biases.
- Ensure the argument is directly relevant to all the most important aspects of the question. è to do so, see whether the argument directly addresses the aim of the question and the means of obtaining it (see some/all distinction).
- Correlation does not mean causation.
- Ensure that the argument backs up its position with benefits or disadvantages.
- Do not apply your own general knowledge or moral standards that are not included in the statement.
- Do not generalise.
- This section tests whether the statement in question assumes something, not whether you can assume something from the statement.
- Take words used in the statement at face value.
- Don’t conflate ‘assumable’ with ‘probable’.
- The test:
- Identify the premises and the conclusion.
- Does the conclusion logically follow from the premises?
- If not, does the assumption offered validate the conclusion? Is it a necessity for the assumption to be true in order that the conclusion of the statement logically follows from the premise?
- Apply the ‘Inverse Test’: negate the assumption and if the conclusion is damaged, the assumption is correct.
- Pay attention to what is included in the statement specifically.
- Do not conflate generalised and existence statements.
- Select your answer solely from the information presented, do not use general knowledge or be affected by your own biases and prejudices.
- If you don’t know the meaning of a word, try and figure out from its context.
- Notice the difference between qualifiers (e.g. some, most) and extreme qualifiers (always/none).
- Test:
- True: The inference is explicit in the passage; if the inference is inferable from the passage (solely from the passage and without broader reference to general knowledge).
- Probably True: If the statement does not directly suggest the inference is true, but suggests it is likely (>50%) to be the case; or if the inference is based on common knowledge + information in the passage.
- More information required: Information you are asked is simply not given in the passage, with no grounds for correctly inferring the likelihood of the truth or falsity of the statement; also, generally if the inference is opinionated.
- Probably false: if the statement does not directly suggest the inference is false, but suggests it is likely (>50%) to be the false; or if the inference is false based on common knowledge + information in the passage.
- False: The inference directly contradicts something mentioned in the statement, or if the inference misinterprets the statement.
- Don’t interpret generalisation from an existent statistic.
- Judge each conclusion independently from each other.
- Differs from deducing in that a conclusion will follow if it’s beyond reasonable doubt (as opposed to logically necessary).
- Don’t confuse correlation with causation.
- Test: does the conclusion follow logically? If not, does it follow beyond a reasonable doubt?
