is there any genral and easy approach for these Qs in CR

Question

GMATaddict · Answer

According to the CR Bible, this is what you should do to approach such questions (I find this method very easy and convenient).

For each contending question, you should provide polar opposite answers. The correct question will either strengthen or weaken the conclusion of the argument, depending on the answer you provide. The wrong answers will have little effect on the validity of the conclusion. The bible added that, for the sake of time, you should use this method only on potential contenders, not on all choices.

Example (this is a paraphrase of the example provided by the CR Bible):

Safety is crucial when doing "XXX". Product "X" was tested by the "National XXX Association". Therefore, when you buy product "X", you know you're buying a safe product.

Which of the following questions would be most useful in assessing the validity of the conclusion above?

(A) Do consumers consider safety as an important factor?
(B) How much does product X cost?
(C) How did product X perform during the safety test of the "National XXX Association"?

You now provide opposing or extreme answers to each of these questions.

(A) Yes, they consider safety a very important factor; no, they don't care at all.
Whether the answer is a yes or no, it does not affect the conclusion. Consumers may think safety is an important factor, but that does not necessarily mean product X is safe or unsafe. On the other hand, consumers may not care at all, but that also does not undermine or strengthen the conclusion that product X is safe.
(B) Product X costs $2.90; or, product X costs $29 million + yearly maintenance fees.
As you can see, the extreme answers to this question did not reveal anything about the validity of the conclusion, we still don't know how safe or dangerous product X is.

(C) Product X had a superb performance during the safety test, you can't possibly hurt yourself using product X even if you tried; alternatively, during the test, product X was such a dangerous hazard that it killed a tester when she touched it.
Now we've stumbled on the right question. The two polar opposite answers to this question either strengthened or weakened the conclusion.

Hopefully this helps.

is there any genral and easy approach for these Qs in CR

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