Wonderlic SLE common mistakes
Wonderlic SLE · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Reads the short passage once, then picks the answer that matches what the candidate already believes about the topic, even though the passage never says it.
Wonderlic passages are one to three sentences long and cover ordinary topics, so the brain automatically supplies plausible background knowledge to fill the gap; the option feels 'obviously right' before it is checked against the text.
What to do instead
Before marking an option, locate and point to the exact words in the passage that support it. If the support is only in the candidate's head, cross the option out, no matter how true it is in real life.
Answers a stem that asks which option is NOT true, or which one is the EXCEPTION, as if it asked which one IS true.
Under a 12-minute clock the eye jumps to the content words and skips the small capitalised negative; the first true-sounding option then gets selected on autopilot.
What to do instead
Before reading any options, underline the negative or exception word in the stem and write a one-word reminder ('pick the FALSE one') beside it. Then eliminate every option that is supported by the passage and choose from what remains.
Solves analogy items by topic association ('both are animals', 'both are sports') instead of by the specific link between the paired words.
Topic matching is fast and produces several options that 'feel related', so the candidate picks the first familiar-sounding pair rather than testing the exact relationship.
What to do instead
Write the pair as a full sentence before looking at the choices (e.g. 'A thermometer measures temperature'). Then read each option into the same sentence and keep only the one that stays true, checking that the direction of the relationship is preserved.
Chooses the most common everyday meaning of a vocabulary word instead of the meaning that fits the sentence it appears in.
Frequent words are recognised instantly and the dominant dictionary sense arrives first, crowding out the less common sense the item is actually testing.
What to do instead
Treat the sentence as a blank: cover the target word, predict a synonym from the surrounding context, then substitute each option into the sentence and keep the one that preserves the sentence's meaning.
Solves correctly for an intermediate value (the monthly figure, the per-unit cost, the discount amount) and selects it, when the question asked for the annual total or the final price.
The last number produced feels like 'the answer', and word problems bury the actual request in the final clause, which is read before the arithmetic and forgotten by the end.
What to do instead
Underline the words naming the requested quantity before starting, and write its unit beside the answer line. When the calculation finishes, re-read the underlined request and check the result is in those units, not an earlier intermediate.
Applies a percentage increase or discount to the new or already-adjusted amount rather than to the original base, or adds a percentage of the wrong figure.
Percent wording is compressed ('20% less than the marked price', 'now 15% more'), and the candidate grabs whichever number is nearest the percent sign instead of identifying the base.
What to do instead
Before computing, write the skeleton 'original x (1 plus or minus the rate) = new' and fill in the base explicitly. Sanity-check the direction: a discount must give a smaller number than the base, a markup a larger one.
Mixes units inside a rate problem, for example multiplying a rate per hour by a time given in minutes, or comparing a distance in feet with one in miles.
Rates are stated compactly and the units in the question are often different from the units in the answer choices; the numbers are combined because they 'look compatible'.
What to do instead
Write the unit next to every number in the problem before calculating. Convert everything to one unit in a separate step, cross out the old units, and only then multiply or divide.
Works every item to full precision long-hand and reaches the end of the 12 minutes with several items untouched and blank.
School habits reward showing complete work, and many candidates believe a wrong answer is penalised, so they avoid guessing and spend 60 to 90 seconds on a single stubborn item.
What to do instead
Estimate to one significant figure or plug the answer choices back in, and cap any single item at roughly 20 to 25 seconds before moving on. In the final 20 seconds, enter a plausible answer on every blank, since the score counts correct answers and there is no deduction for a wrong one.
In a figure series, chooses the option that most resembles the last figure shown rather than the figure that continues the rule.
Visual working memory latches onto the most recent image, and several distractors are built to be near-copies of it, so recognition overrides rule extraction.
What to do instead
Ignore the options until the rule is written in words: name what changes between frames (rotation direction and amount, number of elements, alternating shading, position shift). Generate the next figure mentally, then find the only option that matches that description.
On rotation and folded-paper items, picks a figure with the correct markings but the wrong orientation, effectively choosing a mirror image when a rotation was required.
The pattern of symbols matches, so the option is accepted as correct; the candidate does not check whether the arrangement is reachable by turning the original or only by flipping it.
What to do instead
Track one anchor feature (a corner, a dot, a shaded face) and its neighbours, then physically turn the page or rotate the item in mind one quarter-turn at a time. If matching the anchor requires reversing left and right, the option is a reflection and must be rejected.