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

NOTES ON STRENGTHEN QUESTIONS

- Identify the Conclusion of the argument

The conclusion is

the author’s opinion, not an established fact;
the reason the author writes the argument;
the position taken by the author if it is a two-sided debate

In case of a conditional conclusion (If A, then B), do not worry about whether A can happen or not. Worry only about what happens after A happens. You need to strengthen that if A happens, then B will happen. (Look at the conditional conclusion example given below)

- Find the option that makes the conclusion more likely to happen (not necessarily established without doubt. Just makes it more likely to happen)

- The correct option will bring in new information. Note that you may “feel” that the information is not new if it links two things already mentioned in the argument but the link will not be mentioned. This is often true of assumption questions (which are a special kind of strengthen questions but more about them later).

- Sometimes, you may come across “strengthen EXCEPT” questions. they are looking for that option which DOES NOT strengthen the argument. Your task is the same except that now you have to do it 4 times - you need to find 4 strengtheners.

Some Examples:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-paratroope ... strengthen

https://gmatclub.com/forum/proponents-o ... strengthen

https://gmatclub.com/forum/surveys-in-d ... strengthen

Strengthen - Conditional Conclusion

https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-developer- ... strengthen

Strengthen EXCEPT

https://gmatclub.com/forum/women-who-ar ... strengthen
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NOTES ON ASSUMPTION QUESTIONS

An assumption is a missing necessary premise.

An assumption is a premise – it gives some new fact/information. Sometimes, it may not be apparent that the information is new because it may involve the same variables as given in the premises. But the relation the assumption gives between the variables will be new so take note.

It is also necessary – necessary for the conclusion to be true. The conclusion cannot be true if the assumption doesn’t hold. We often negate the given options to find the one without which the conclusion cannot hold. That technique is based on this “necessary” requirement of the assumption.

To add, it is also missing – it is not something already mentioned in the argument.

There are two main methods of solving assumption questions:

I. Plug the Gap



Argument: A implies B. B implies C. Hence, A implies D.

Premises given in the argument:
– A implies B
– B implies C

Conclusion given in the argument:
– A implies D

Is it apparent that something is missing here, right? Yes! The premises give us the relations between A, B and C. They do not mention D. But while drawing the conclusion, we are concluding about the relation between A and D. We can’t do that. We must know something about D too to be able to conclude a relation between A and D. Hence, there is a necessary premise that is missing here. What we are looking for is something that says ‘C implies D’.

When we add this to our premises, our argument makes sense.
Argument: A implies B. B implies C. C implies D. Hence, A implies D.

This little point will help us in solving the trickiest of questions. We get so lost in the n number of things mentioned in the argument that we forget to consider this aspect.

For Example:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/therapist-th ... 47951.html
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-recent-rep ... 86145.html

II. Negate the Option

An assumption is necessary for the conclusion to hold. If you negate the assumption, the conclusion CANNOT hold. Another method to identify an assumption is to negate the options and look for the one which makes it impossible for the conclusion to hold. It is cumbersome to negate every option so you should rule our the irrelevant ones first. Negate and evaluate only those which have a chance!

How do we negate a statement? In two ways:

Either negate the verb of the dominant clause

There has been an increase in the number of professionals taking early retirement.
becomes
There has not been an increase in the number of professionals taking early retirement.

- Or negate the modifier

All -> Not all
Everything -> Not everything
Always -> Not always
Some -> None
Most -> Half or less than half
Majority -> Half or less than half
Many -> Not many
Less than -> Equal to or more than
Element A -> Not element A
None ->  Some
Never ->  Sometimes


For Example:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-order-to- ... it=Revenue

Links to previously published posts on assumption questions:

https://anaprep.com/?s=assumptions
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Hello VeritasKarishma .... thanks a bunch for starting this thread.

I have got this CR- problem from OG2019-Q662. I am yet not comfortable with the logic. Really appreciate ur help :

In the country of Marut, the Foreign Trade agency's records were reviewed in 1994 in light of information then newly available about neighboring Goro. The review revealed that in every year since 1963, the agency's projection of what Goro's gross national product (GNP) would be five years later was a serious underestimate. The review also revealed that in every year since 1963, the agency estimated Goro's GNP for the previous year—a Goro state secret—very accurately.

Of the following claims, which is most strongly supported by the statements given ?

(A) Goro's GNP fluctuated greatly between 1963 and 1994.
(B) Prior to 1995, Goro had not released data intended to mislead the agency in making its five-year projections.
(C) The amount by which the agency underestimated the GNP it projected for Goro tended to increase over time.
OA = (D) Even before the new information came to light, the agency had reason to think that at least some of the five-year projections it had made were inaccurate.
(E) The agency's five year projections of Goro's GNP had no impact on economic planning in Marut.

Thanks in appreciation
u1983
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Hello VeritasKarishma

First of all, thank you for initiating this thread and for all your explanations, which are always super helpful, as they give us the best possible way to approach questions. Thank you!!

Regarding CR

If you can outline a method in which we can tackle different types of CR questions that would be useful to everyone. Just a 2 line brief description of a method which we can use to tackle a type of question in CR.

For example:
Assumptions - Once we read the argument and question stem. We need to Pre-think and negate the answer choices. This is the best possible go to method for Assumptions.

Could you please give us a few similar tips on other Question types such as Strengthen, Weaken, Inference, Complete the passage (Conclusion).
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You are most welcome, u1983!
Here you go: https://gmatclub.com/forum/in-the-count ... l#p2145327
By the way, even if you put just the relevant link in the thread, I will get to it.
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That is a fabulous idea!
Let me get to the various question types in the next few days.
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Hello VeritasKarishma
Would you elaborate on the time to be dedicated to CR questions in the new format of GMAT?

Sent from my Moto G (4) using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Here is the thing about the new format - the only thing it does is take away some questions and "almost" proportional amount of time. A minute or two here and there doesn't really change anything. So time you can allocate to a CR question doesn't change.

Coming to time management of the Verbal section:

A lot depends on how well you handle your RC - time-wise.
You have a bit less than 2 mins per question. For a 4 question passage, if you stick to less than 8 mins, your SC and CR should be sorted.
SC usually takes less time (identify the decision points - read the entire sentence and start eliminating). About 1 - 1.5 mins should be enough for each SC question. That gives you about 2.5 mins per CR question (which is often required). This is how often time works out naturally for each question type on Verbal.
Problem arises when we overshoot on RC. It throws everything out of whack, so to say! Then it is not a question of "how much time should be allocated to each question" but of "how much time is available for each question"
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Hi VeritasKarishma

Here is a tricky one

Most of the students preparing for GMAT jump to OG / OG VR after studying
from books (read power score CR bible / Manhattan CR) or after viewing 2-3 hours
of 'how to approach CR qs' from online courses. Unfortunately, it is quite practical
that not all students are able to achieve desired accuracy (read 80% and higher) on official
qs and falter in applying what they learnt.

In such a scenario, if a student has an exceptional memory by which he/she recalls OE/OA,
do you think it is a wise decision to move to LSAT to erase OG memory and
come back to those qs within a fortnight? What best tactics can be used by a student
under the current situation and time crunch?
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Hey adkikani,

Anytime!

Here is how I suggest one should carry out the CR prep:

Use a CR curriculum to understand the basics and then use the practice questions of the test prep company to really drill down on the application of these basics. Understand the question types thoroughly with about 10-12 examples for each. Complete all the practice questions available in the curriculum. If the curriculum does not provide enough practice questions, use the forum to practice questions of other test prep companies.

Thereafter, switch to the official material - OG and OG Verbal. Try to answer the questions at a good pace. While reviewing, take your time and go into detail for each option. Take 2-3 mins to answer the question but at least 5-6 mins to review it post answering.

Take a couple of practice tests in timed conditions and see how you perform. Again review all questions thoroughly after the test.

If you still need practice questions but have run out of all official questions, LSAT questions is an option. But, one needs to be careful while using them. Not all are GMAT relevant.

Also, GMAT Prep question pack and additional 4 practice tests are great sources of additional practice questions.
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Hi VeritasKarishma ,
Please provide your expert advice on my queries specified in the given links-

1. https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-exchange ... l#p2145404

2. https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-current- ... l#p2144604
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Hello Veritaskarishma,

If you can suggest me A proper Plan/strategy to ace CR (i.e >90% accuracy)from scratch,it would be great.Like how to start,which resources to use, practice questions etc...
Thanks

Posted from my mobile device

Here you go:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-exchange ... l#p2147704

https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-current- ... l#p2147748
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I gave advice on how to prepare for CR to adkikani here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep ... l#p2147118

Do take a look. Let me know if you want specific course details (or any other details). I can tell you about the Veritas curriculum and preparation resources in detail too.
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Hi VeritasKarishma,
While reading the answer for the question specified in https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-current- ... l#p2144604 , I found the below explaination for the below explanation from a MGMAT instructor on its forum. (https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/foru ... t4492.html). He stated that 'therefore test' DID NOT work in that question for the particular user because there's a confusion between causality and logical deduction.


1. It was raining, therefore Tom's shoes got wet.
Here, the word 'therefore' shows causality. There isn't actually any argument here.

2. Tom's shoes are wet, therefore it must have been raining.
Here we have an argument (I'm making a claim and supporting it with evidence).

My understanding - In statement 1, we know both the parts - it was raining and Tom's shoes got wet actually happened. So, we establish cause and effect using "therefore".
Whereas, in statement 2, we ONLY know that Tom's shoes are wet and we DO NOT know for sure whether it was raining. So, here we make a claim and thus its an argument.


3.PROPOSITION A: BECAUSE "The current administration and Congress have once again practiced bad public policy" THEREFORE "the gap between the rich and poor in this country will continue to widen" - This is causality, not an argument.

4.PROPOSITION B: BECAUSE "the gap between the rich and poor in this country will continue to widen" THEREFORE "The current administration and Congress have once again practiced bad public policy" - Here, the argument is supporting a judgement of the government's policy with a claim about it's consequences.


In statement 3, which is a causality as per MGMAT instructor, do we know that both the parts(the parts that follow BECAUSE and THEREFORE) are true?
Because even the part that follows THEREFORE in statement 3 looks like CLAIM to me.

Whereas in statement 4, which is an argument as per MGMAT instructor, we ONLY know that the part that follows BECAUSE is true and make a claim about the part that follows THEREFORE ?
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I understand that your problem is "identifying the conclusion". For most questions, establishing causality/argument will be a waste of time.

The conclusion is "the reason the author writes the argument". He wants to say something to you, give you his opinion on something (which he will support with data or reasoning. Everything around the conclusion is either context or premises. Summarise this argument for me in a sentence - what does the author want to say?

That not increasing the budget allocated to Pell grants is a bad move.
He goes on to tell you why - Because Pell grants improve access to higher education ... and without this access the gap between rich and poor will widen (he is reasoning with you why "not encouraging Pell grants" is a bad move).

Note that this is all GMAT questions require you to do. LSAT questions could be more involved but we here have it easy. Let us not complicate matters unnecessarily.
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Haven't forgotten about this! Just a bit stretched at the moment. Will get to it!
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14141111 - I think you posted in the wrong thread. Here is the answer to your CR question:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-greater-nu ... l#p2150189
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Hi karishma ,
Can you please help me with below question .

According to recent studies, people whose diet is unusually high in protein are more likely to suffer from insomnia than people whose diet contains moderate amounts of protein. It is therefore likely that a diet high in protein is a cause, though perhaps not the only cause, of insomnia.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn above?

1)Diets that are high in protein are often low in foods that help keep the immune system working effectively.
2)People whose diet is unusually high in protein often have other characteristics in common, some of which are
likely to cause insomnia.
3)Reducing the amount of protein in one's diet can be harmful.
4)People whose diets are unusually low in protein often experience insomnia.
5)Insomniacs who switched from high-protein diets to more moderate levels of protein intake have reported
that the change was so unpleasant that it worsened their insomnia.