I came across a post (on another forum ) which raved about some proven technique called SWIMMER to handle CR questions? Has anybody on this forum tried this technique?

I think Brian would do more justice to this question since he is the strategy 'guru' but I will give it a shot.

SWIMMER is an acronym for the various types of CR questions
Strengthen Weaken Inference Method Mimic Explain (the paradox) Roles (bold face)

Now the strategy is the following: Read the question stem first and identify what type of question it is. SWIMMER helps you remember the various types of questions. Based on the type of question, you follow up with a strategy specific to that question type. This helps you bracket the given information logically and quickly. You know what to focus on according to what kind of question it is. You know where to start

e.g.
Lets say your question stem says, "Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the claim above about the manufacturer's profit?"
For every question type, we have given a list of trigger words that help you identify the kind of question it is. We see that this is a strengthen question.
Strategy for Strengthen questions:
Focus: Author's conclusion - and key assumptions, if any
Answer: A premise
Solving Tips: Look for new information in the answer choice. Find the answer that supplies the missing premise (a key assumption). Remember that you do not need to prove the author's conclusion, just strengthen it.
(Of course, the book gives detailed explanations with examples.)

Similarly, for each question type, there is a strategy. You learn what to focus on while reading the stimulus. You learn what kind of an answer choice you are looking for. With practice, you do not waste any time in CR questions and are able to swiftly get to the answer. Plus, probability of a 'silly mistake' comes down to almost zero.

Additionally, this strategy is very useful if the stimulus is long. Else you will read the stimulus, read the question and then go back to the stimulus. Here you read the question and keep deconstructing the stimulus while reading it for the first time looking for important information based on what your question asks you.

This strategy tell you how to think, how to approach questions, how to start.

I have solved many questions on this forum using this strategy. Check out the following links if you are interested:
http://gmatclub.com/forum/mr-janeck-90932.html
http://gmatclub.com/forum/many-small-roads-dont-have-paintings-104915.html?hilit=roads#p819131
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Thanks Karishma.

Thanks Karishma.... Swimmer technique is usefull to me...
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Thanks,
VP

Hi Karishma,

Request you to provide your inputs on the below doubt.
I was going thro' the explanation provided in the book on Strengthen strategy. It says that:
Solving tips: Select an answer choice that supplies new information relevant to the conclusion. Find the answer that supplies the missing premise( a key assumption). Remember you don't need to prove the authors conclusion, just strengthen it.

Couple of doubts-

1- Does the answer choice need to satisfy all the above techniques.
2- Isn't finding the key assumption is different than finding the new information. If yes, then does this mean that the answer choice can follow one of the characteristic- i.e. either an assumption or a new information. Please explain.

Thanks
H



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