Critical Reasoning HELP!

Question

Hello GMATers,

I'm scheduled to take my actual GMAT exam in less than a week. Today, I completed one of MGMAT's verbal CAT exam and scored a 35 on the verbal. My assessment shows I'm scoring 73% on SC, 78% on RC, and  meager 29% on CR .

I've studied MGMAT's CR study guide AND Powerscore's CR Bible. I can't seem to get it right. Please advise how I can improve my CR score.

Thanks a bunch!

guptarahul · Answer

Hi,

I would suggest you to focus on  Strengthen, Weaken, Inference and Assumption . Just solve 10 questions of each topic everyday. 
First try to solve 500 level questions and then move to 600 level questions. Read magoosh article on Cr ( magoosh blog on CR ).

Regards
Rahul

TestPrepUnlimited · Answer

Hi,

Powerscore's CR Bible is a good starting point, but beyond familiarizing yourself with the CR patterns and logic, it's all about technique and strategy.

Despite what some books might say, read the question stem first, and identify if it is weaken/strengthen/inference/evaluate/assumption. This will allow you to focus on the details of the CR passage that are more relevant to the problem. When going through the answer choices, be sure to explicitly eliminate every choice except the one you pick. This means that you should be logically able to explain why you eliminated the four other choices. GMAT Verbal is designed to make wrong answer choices sound good. If you look for the right answer, you will fall for the traps.

Best,
Jae

guptarahul · Answer

Hi,

Yes you are right that Powerscore's CR Bible is a good starting point, but he has his exam in a week.

regards 
Rahul

TestPrepUnlimited · Answer

I know, hence the "but" and everything I wrote afterwards. As a matter of fact, Equinocs mentioned that he/she finished it. The next paragraph dives into CR advice.

arijita1018 · Answer

Hi,
All d best 4 ur xam! Do not think so much now as there is not much time left before the actual xam. Have u given any 1 gmatprep test? They are very accurate. Regarding your CR, I would suggest the following:
1] Break down the argument into background, premises, counter premises, intermediate conclusion, conclusion, etc (DO NOT skip this step)
2] Pre-think (at least 1 answer, which may not match the actual answer)
3] Eliminate the answers which appear wrong until you are left with only 1 answer

This is also mentioned in the Powerscore Bible, the problem is that even after learning these steps, we tend to ignore 1 step or the other. Try to follow each step and practice atleast 10-20 questions from the Gmatprep tests for the next few days.
AL d best!

arijita1018 · Answer

Hi,
All d best 4 ur xam! Do not think so much now as there is not much time left before the actual xam. Have u given any 1 gmatprep test? They are very accurate. Regarding your CR, I would suggest the following:
1] Break down the argument into background, premises, counter premises, intermediate conclusion, conclusion, etc (DO NOT skip this step)
2] Pre-think (at least 1 answer, which may not match the actual answer)
3] Eliminate the answers which appear wrong until you are left with only 1 answer

This is also mentioned in the Powerscore Bible, the problem is that even after learning these steps, we tend to ignore 1 step or the other. Try to follow each step and practice atleast 10-20 questions from the Gmatprep tests for the next few days.
AL d best!

Critical Reasoning HELP!

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards