Beat The Gmat Cr

Front 1

Scope

Stay within the scope of the
argument.

Back 1

• If your rationale seems farfetched, or you bring in outside knowledge to solve a question, most likely you are overreaching.

• The harder you have to work to justify an answer choice, the less likely it is that the choice is correct.

Front 2

Find the Conclusion

The conclusion is often found in the
first or last sentence of the passage.

Back 2

• Look for conclusion signposts:
therefore, hence, thus, etc.

Front 3

Find the Conclusion

• Premise clauses usually show
support or offer evidence.

Back 3

• Example premise signposts: because,
since, in view of, given that, etc.

Front 4

Supply your own Conclusion

Back 4

• In “supply your own conclusion”
questions, the conclusion must be supported by ALL premises—not just one.
• Be on the lookout for helpful keywords in the second last sentence.

Front 5

Assumptions – 1

Back 5

• An assumption is merely an unstated
(implied) premise.

• In logically correct arguments which contain an assumption, the premise + assumption = conclusion

Front 6

Assumptions – 1

Back 6

• If the question stem asks you “what
is assumed…” then you should
identify unstated premise of passage.
Look for a gap in logic.

Front 7

Assumptions – 2

Back 7

• Ask yourself, “What must be true to make the concludion valid?” (using the equation above).

• Remember, since the assumption is an UNSTATED premise, any answer choice that comes from the passage to support your assumption is necessarily incorrect. The answer will be implied, not explicitly stated.

Front 8

V CR
Causal Assumption

Back 8

• Ask whether there might be an alternative cause if an argument does not necessarily seem as straightforward as a question stem makes it out to be.

• “Could Y have caused Z instead of X?”

Front 9

V CR
Strengthen the Argument

Back 9

• Find the logical gap and fix it with additional information. This is the ONLY type of GMAT question where additional information (outside of the question) can/should be used.

• Correct answers to this question type will:
– Connect evidence with conclusion better.
– Make conclusion stronger.
– Strengthen the evidence with new
information (perhaps an assumption is needed) to make the argument work).

Front 10

V CR
Causal Assumption

Back 10

• Ask whether there might be an alternative cause if an argument does not necessarily seem as straightforward as a question stem makes it out to be.

“Could Y have caused Z instead of X?”

Front 11

V CR
Inference

Back 11

• Inference questions are usually very
basic, about one or more premises.

PICK THE OBVIOUS ANSWER (even
if it seems too obvious).

Front 12

V CR
Resolve the Paradox

Back 12

• To solve this type of question, look for a logically contradictory discrepancy.

• Often the correct answer will take a similar format (in terms of answer length or argument structure).

Front 13

V CR
Mimic the Reasoning

Back 13

• Follow same line of reasoning from the passage in the answer.
• Eliminate the question stem detail to create a shorthand version of the argument structure.
• Question Stem: If it rains, then I will stay at home today.”
• Shorthand: If A, then B.”
• Answer: “If A, then B.”

Front 14

V CR
Strategy

Back 14

• Always read the question first, then
read the stimulus appropriately for that
type of question.

Front 15

V CR
Analogy Assumptions

Back 15

• Are the two situations analogous?
Or is the analogy silly?

Front 16

V CR
Strengthen/Weaken

Back 16

• Strengthen/Weaken questions are the most common CR question type on the GMAT.
• Break down piece of evidence.
• Attack validity of an assumption.
• Don’t try to prove or disprove conclusion.
• Tip the scales.

Front 17

V CR
Statistical Assumptions

Back 17

• Are the statistics representative?
• Is the question stem doing a bait and switch in terms of numbers?
• Is the question stem using numbers to assume something is so, when the numbers aren’t actually helping explain the phenomenon given?

Front 18

V CR
Number of CR Questions

Back 18

• Most people see 11 CR questions on
the GMAT.

Front 19

V CR
7 Principles of CR

Back 19

1. Understand structure of argument
(identify premise (P), conclusion (C) and any unstated assumptions)—look for structural signpost words which mark P and C.

2. Preview question before reading
passage.

3. Paraphrase passage’s point or main idea using one verb
“ie explain, criticize,
compare, contrast”.

Front 20

V CR
7 Principles of CR (contd.)

Back 20

4. Judge argument’s persuasiveness while reading actively.

5. Answer question being asked.

6. Prephrase answer.

7. Keep SCOPE in mind. Moderate (vs. very strong ) words / qualifiers usually correct.

Front 21

V CR Assumption

Back 21

• An assumption bridges the gap
between argument’s stated premises and conclusion.
• Use denial test.
• Compare premise words against
conclusion.

Front 22

Paraphrasing and Prephrasing

Back 22

Paraphrasing
• Actively translate passages into your own
words.
• Pretend you are explaining the information
in a passage to a 10-year-old kid.
Prephrasing
• Think about what form the correct answer will take.
• As you do more questions, you will begin to “guess” correctly, as you start to think as the testmakers do

Front 23

Strengthen/Weaken

Back 23

• Don’t be careless! Wrong answer
choices often have exactly opposite of desired effect.

• Double-check that your answer satisfies the question stem, not the opposite of the question stem.

Front 24

Strategy

Back 24

• Identify the conclusion and find the answer that addresses the conclusion. Most questions follow this guideline.

Front 25

Inference

Back 25

• Consider the evidence, draw a conclusion.

• An inference is an extension of an argument, not a necessary part of it.

• A valid inference is a conclusion, but not necessarily theconclusion, of a set of statements.

Front 26

4-Step Method

Back 26

1. Preview question stem.

2. Read stimulus and paraphrase if tricky

3. Prephrase answer.

4. Choose an answer which answers question stem

Front 27

Weaken/Strengthen

Back 27

• When you compare two items, you must be sure that the two items are indeed comparable.

Front 28

Inference

Back 28

• For inference questions, determine which answer choice must absolutely, positively be true based on what you’ve read.

• Pick the obvious answer choice.

• Avoid extreme answers (too strong or too weak)

Front 29

Assumption

Back 29

• For assumption questions, find the conclusion and determine which answer choice needs to be true for a conclusion to be valid.

Front 30

Indicate Flaw

Back 30

• Use the information that is present in the passage to answer “Indicate the Flaw” CR questions.

• Not about new information like “Weaken” CR questions.

Front 31

Irrelevant

Back 31

• Watch for irrelevant or overly strong answer choices in CR.

• Stay within SCOPE and TONE of passage.

Front 32

Negate

Back 32

• For assumption questions, negate CR answer choice to see if the conclusion can survive.

Front 33

Statistics

Back 33

• When an argument is based on statistics, it is usually assumed that the people polled are representative of the whole.

Front 34

Questions involving Surveys

Back 34

• Consider: Does the survey accurately represent the views of the whole group surveyed? Is there a statistics bait and switch?

Front 35

Prephrase

Back 35

• Prephrase an answer before looking at the actual answer choices.

Front 36

Explanation

Back 36

• With explanation questions, reconcile the facts presented.

• Stay within scope.

Front 37

Inference vs. Assumption

Back 37

• An inference is a conclusion that can be drawn based on one or more of the statements in the stimulus. An inference must be true based on something that you read.

• An assumption is a missing but necessary piece of evidence. An assumption is something that must be true in order for the argument to be complete.

Front 38

Scope Shifts

Back 38

• Be wary of scope shifts. Look for testmakers’ tricks:

• Sometimes a passage will begin with one group and draw a conclusion about another group. Similarly, a passage might have weak premises and then draw an overbroad conclusion.

• Other times the tone of the passage moves so far that the testtaker is left wondering, “How did that conclusion come about?”

Front 39

Evaluate the Argument

Back 39

• Test relevance.

• Determine which a choice helps to determine whether a conclusion is valid.

Front 40

Weaken

Back 40

• 2 most common ways to weaken an argument:

• Break down central assumption.
• Assert alternative possibilities relevant to the argument.

Front 41

Numbers, Percentages

Back 41

• Watch for the distinction between NUMBERS and PERCENTAGES.