The most important part of an IQ test is “analytical thinking.” Try to answer questions correctly without spending too much time. It’s also important to practice as much as possible. You can practice free IQ tests online to improve your skills.
1. Study patterns For IQ Tests:
Read a question and try to figure out what the problem’s about within 10 seconds. After that, you should know where you’re going with your reasoning link in the numerical reasoning IQ Test (i.e., whether you need to look for specific information in the text, draw a diagram, or something like that). Therefore, you can read the whole question before starting to solve it – this will save lots of time! Many students spend more than half their time re-reading the same questions over and over again because they simply do not understand what they are supposed to write about. It is very useful to practice summarizing questions (after reading them through properly) in a few words and without using professional terms.
2. Develop your reasoning step by step:
- a) Answer the easiest questions first – they will give you an idea of how it’s done;
- b) Try to go from general to specific whenever possible; forget about small details that may appear irrelevant at the beginning;
- c) Focus on what’s being asked for rather than on what has been written; read between the lines if necessary (what kind of relationship exists between things? What is it compared with?). Ask yourself questions;
- d) Decide what you should be writing about at each analytical step. If you don’t know how to proceed, check whether the question can be answered (for example, Is five larger than 4? etc.). Try to avoid using general terms such as “more,” “same,” and so on if they are not required for solving the problem. Break down a big task into smaller parts until it becomes easy enough for you. Ask yourself whether it is necessary to write all of these details or just some of them. It’s always better to spend more time with fewer things than the other way round;
- e) When you need information from the text, look for corresponding words in your own language (it will help you understand the problem better);
- f) If you need to use solutions tables, do so only when the number of possibilities is limited, and you know how to proceed – otherwise, make a diagram instead;
- g) Do not rely on your memory or intuition. Use pencil and paper! Check whether your solution makes sense if you have missed something (if it’s not possible to find out for sure by yourself, ask somebody else). Asking somebody else may also help prevent careless mistakes.
3. Make good use of difficult questions that require much time and deep thinking:
- a) Try to write them down because they are more likely to stay in your mind after the test (or even during it – this will help you solve easier problems quickly too);
- b) Spend enough time analyzing them because this will improve your reasoning skills.
4. Try to “predict” IQ questions
Try to “predict” questions in advance based on the subject and what it is about (this requires practice). For example, I’m familiar with different types of reasoning tasks: two things/people are alike in some way; one thing/person is related to another one; I know some info about something but need more details, etc. Whenever you figure out what type of task you’re supposed to do, try to predict an answer – if it doesn’t give a clear answer or there is no such thing as an obvious winner, you may have solved the problem well;
