Academic critical thinking

About this practice suite

This suite prepares candidates for academic critical thinking selection in the academic admissions, scholarships, and placement sector with 5 skill areas: critical thinking, verbal reasoning, logical reasoning, reading comprehension and case analysis. Every question was written by Novus editors for this suite — none are taken from live or leaked exams — and the full bank holds 52 scored questions across three modes, plus 8 reserve questions used to vary repeat attempts. Answer keys never ship to the browser: your answers are scored server-side, and results stay on your device.

Skills this suite practises

• Critical thinking — Evaluating evidence, assumptions, arguments, credibility, and alternative explanations.
• Verbal reasoning — Drawing conclusions from written information without relying on outside assumptions.
• Logical reasoning — Conditional logic, syllogisms, ordering, grouping, argument structure, and constraint problems.
• Reading comprehension — Understanding passages, instructions, policies, technical material, and workplace documents.
• Case analysis — Synthesizing multiple documents and making a reasoned recommendation.

Sample questions from the guided bank

Two of the 10 guided-practice questions, shown exactly as they appear in a session. Answers and explanations are not printed here — keys stay on the server — so open guided practice to answer them and see how you did.

1. A campus study claims “library hours cause higher grades” because both rose together. Best critique?

   • A. Libraries never affect study time
   • B. Any two rising trends prove causation
   • C. Grades cannot be measured
   • D. Correlation alone does not prove causation

2. Passage: “Only students with ID may enter after 8 p.m.” Which follows?

   • A. No one with ID may enter after 8 p.m.
   • B. After 8 p.m., entry requires student ID under the stated rule
   • C. Faculty must leave by 8 p.m.
   • D. The library closes at 8 p.m.

Practice modes and timing

Guided practice is untimed-feeling and instructional; the mini-test is a short timed check; the full simulation mirrors a complete sitting. All three draw on separate question sets, so moving up a mode never repeats what you practised.

Study outline

Read the study outline for this suite’s skills, timings, and recommended lessons on one printable page, or download its standalone HTML file. The printable page can also be saved as a PDF from your browser.