Veritas Prep CR Forum Expert - Karishma - Ask Me Anything about CR

Thanks Karishma, nice explanation. It is now clear to me.

Hi VeritasKarishma

Thank you for your devotion to the community here. It's great to see you contribute every single request.
Since I learn GMAT by my self, I found the hard part of CR is how to understand Multi-Negation Structure

Example 1:
Microbiologist: A lethal strain of salmonella recently showed up in a European country, causing an outbreak of illness that killed two people and infected twenty-seven others. Investigators blame the severity of the outbreak on the overuse of antibiotics, since the salmonella bacteria tested were shown to be drug-resistant. But this is unlikely because patients in the country where the outbreak occurred cannot obtain antibiotics to treat illness without a prescription , and the country’s doctors prescribe antibiotics less readily than do doctors in any other European country.

The question type for this CR is weaken the conclusion.

To simplify this complex Conclusion, I negate:
"cannot obtain antibiotics to treat illness without a prescription" = "Can obtain antibiotics to treat illness only with a prescription"
The first part of conclusion is " this is unlikely" so the right answer for weaken = Can obtain antibiotics to treat illness only with a prescription
I chose B through POE but when look at what I have negated, it's contradict. What wrong here
And how to have good multi-negation
https://gmatclub.com/forum/microbiologist-a-lethal-strain-of-salmonella-recently-showed-up-in-a-221739.html

Example 2:
Question 3 of 1 RC, GMAT also tests comprehension by state
3) The passage suggests that Twigg believes that rats could not have spread the Black Death unless which of the following were true?
Since this is super confusing, i also simplify by negation:
Unless + true = if wrong
Could not + if wrong = could + true
-> the question is now: The passage suggests that Twigg believes that rats could have spread the Black Death if which of the following were true?

The answer fit my process.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-black-death-a-severe-epidemic-that-ravaged-fourteenth-century-eur-153465.html

In short, could you share your idea about this technique, and how to reach minimum mistake.

Thank you so much and look forward your return

Hi Karishma,


https://gmatclub.com/forum/excavation-o ... 94368.html
For the above question ,Please address my queries:
1)Why E is wrong ; I found it as taking strongest stand for the pattern that Camarnian official stayed only 1 place and mostly managed 4 simulaneously
2) For B : I had doubts , as B talks only about early carrer so how can we r sure that it will give information of 30 years career pattern
3) How to handle questions when all choices looks incorrect or partially correct? Any Technique ?

Thanks a ton!

Last year the rate of inflation was 1.2 percent, but for the current year it has been 4 percent. We can conclude that inflation is on an upward trend and the rate will be still higher next year.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the conclusion above?

(A) The inflation figures were computed on the basis of a representative sample of economic data rather than all of the available data.

(B) Last year a dip in oil prices brought inflation temporarily below its recent stable annual level of 4 percent.

(C) Increases in the pay of some workers are tied to the level of inflation, and at an inflation rate of 4 percent or above, these pay raises constitute a force causing further inflation.

(D) The 1.2 percent rate of inflation last year represented a 10-year low.

(E) Government intervention cannot affect the rate of inflation to any significant degree.

HI KArishma.

I will present my understanding and hypothesis and then would request for your inputs.

Premise: LY inflation was 1.2% and for current year it HAS BEEN 4%( has been shows the year is not over).
Conclusion: Inflation is on an upward trend & will be still higher next year.
WHY? Because from last year till now inflation has increased so it will keep increasing

We need to weaken the argument by attacking the premise.

What if the inflation last year itself wasn't the right figure. OR what if there was some other MACRO factor which drove inflation down, and which can be seen as an aberration.

OUt of the options above, i chose (A). WHY? Inflation last year was for a subset of data and not representative of a whole. So may be inflation was not 1.2% at all. SO how can we say its on an upward trend since then?

I was confused between A and B as both match somewhat to my pre thinking.

Pls help me clear my doubt.
Thanks

Hello Karishma,

PLs help me with the question below:

Mayor: In each of the past five years, the city has cut school funding and each time school officials complained that the cuts would force them to reduce expenditures for essential services. But each time, only expenditures for nonessential services were actually reduced. So school officials can implement further cuts without reducing any expenditures for essential services.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the mayor’s conclusion?


(A) The city’s schools have always provided essential services as efficiently as they have provided nonessential services.

(B) Sufficient funds are currently available to allow the city’s schools to provide some nonessential services.

(C) Price estimates quoted to the city’s schools for the provision of nonessential services have not increased substantially since the most recent school funding cut.

(D) Few influential city administrators support the funding of costly nonessential services in the city’s schools.

(E) The city’s school officials rarely exaggerate the potential impact of threatened funding cuts.

I Chose D over B:

Why Reject B-- Schools have enough money to support SOME non essential services(NES), Thats means may be one OR may be all NES. Cant be assumed that they have enough money for all- non certain

Why Chose D-- FEW administrators support the funding of costly NES. Hence they have an alternate source of money. Thus they can continue cutting NES expense.

VeritasKarishma

Hi

Please help me understand the below query of mine.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/although-par ... l#p2504985

Thanks

Hi.
I have a doubt in the following statement b/w sufficient and necessary.
"The children go to the park when the sun is shining.
My question is that why is "children going to the park" not the sufficient condition, as it means that the sun must be shining, while Sun shining doesn't mean children will always go to the park if the sun shines. In the CR bible, "Sun shining" is given as the sufficient condition, which I don't understand.
Thanks in advance.

There you go warrior1991:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/although-par ... l#p2506045

Rachit4126
Discussed here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/last-year-th ... l#p2496542

Also note that if the same method of measurement has been used for all measurements, they are comparable. Until and unless we are told that the method is insufficient or incorrect, there is no reason to doubt it.

Discussed here Rachit4126
https://gmatclub.com/forum/mayor-in-eac ... l#p2506807

https://gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep ... l#p2348776

Dear VeritasKarishma,

I've found that the OE for this Strengthen question https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-spacing- ... 59671.html states that:

(IMO, FALSE = negate & LESS likely to be true = WEAKEN)
In a way, OE implies that if the NEGATED version WEAKENS the conclusion, that option will be considered a correct strengthener.
This is similar to what I had in mind when I asked Ma'am before. The highlighted portions of OE and my previous question posted topmost are of quite similar ideas.

I'm very confused here.

Please help

Side note: some expert also uses the negation in Strengthen Question (https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... reasoning/). Two quotes below are from the aforementioned link:

@Karishma..Hi Karishma..need your help with an issue that I am facing in CR...most of the times in the actual test, The way I interpret the CR Q is quite different from how I would interpret the Q under normal circumstances (I interpret it correctly most of the times). I have a more than 80% accuracy in CR generally, but during the exam, due to the misinterpreting the Q, my accuracy takes a hit. Is this something people generally face or is it unique to me?. Also, how best to tackle it?. I am 1 month away from my GMAT

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2016/02/circular-reasoning-gmat-cr/

Above is a link to one of your articles . I am specifically refering to the below question.

Anatomical bilateral symmetry is a common trait. It follows, therefore, that it confers survival advantages on organisms. After all, if bilateral symmetry did not confer such advantages, it would not be common.

You have mentioned that the reasoning in the above argument is flawed. But i disagree.

I think it is a conditional statement. Let me rearrange the argument.

Premise : After all, if bilateral symmetry did not confer such advantages, it would not be common. ( If not A , then not B. This implies that " if B , then A' statement must also be true)
Premise : Anatomical bilateral symmetry is a common trait. ( B happens )
Conclusion : It follows, therefore, that it confers survival advantages on organisms. ( Therefore A must happens)

I would like to understand what makes my understanding wrong ?

Can you help on this?- Difference between option A and D
https://gmatclub.com/forum/lawyer-this- ... l#p2516743

VeritasKarishma, Could you please explain this question -
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-new-privat ... 56110.html

I am not an expert, but here is my take on this question -

Prompt says - Witness could not recognize both the parties -> exclude the testimony.

A) witness claims to recognize both parties -> include testimony. This is a mistaken negation and does not have to be true.

D) Include testimony (Sufficient Condition) -> Only if witness can recognize both parties (Necessary Condition). this is contrapositive and is true.

Hence, D is the correct assumption.

VeritasKarishma need your help with this question
https://gmatclub.com/forum/politician-o ... l#p2526662