Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Posts: 2642
Given Kudos: 55
GMAT 2: 780 Q50 V50
Re: Critical reasoning practice tests!
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05 Sep 2011, 14:36
It sounds like you have gotten more than enough practice already. What's important is to make sure you are getting something out of that practice. If you have done all that material, and are not getting the vast majority of CR questions correct, you would be better off spending some significant time reviewing the work you've already done. I see this all the time with my students--just doing a lot of problems is not much help.
Here are some things to look for:
1) Have I broken down the argument correctly? For instance, for assumption-based questions (Strengthen/Weaken/Assumptions/Flaw/Evaluate), am I able to identify the conclusion, the supporting premises, and one or more assumptions?
2) Am I able to clearly identify what I am looking for before I examine the answer choices? (E.g. If the question says "Each of the following supports the argument except," I am looking to cross out 4 answers that strengthen, and select one answer that does not strengthen, although it may not weaken.)
3) Can I explain why each wrong answer choice is wrong and each right answer choice is right?
4) Do any of the answer choices represent familiar traps? (Wrong direction, out of scope, too narrow/broad, false variation, numbers vs. percentages, term switch, etc.)
5) On conclusion/inference questions, have I chosen an answer that sticks very closely to what is said, or have I chosen an extreme answer that may require one or more assumptions?
If you take the time to perform this kind of review, you shouldn't need much more in the way of resources! This will benefit you much more than simply doing hundreds of additional problems.