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what is the best approach to ace Critical reasoning?

JoohiKumar

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Updated on: 27 Jan 2019, 03:07

Originally posted by JoohiKumar on 26 Jan 2019, 13:19.
Last edited by JoohiKumar on 27 Jan 2019, 03:07, edited 1 time in total.

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I've been practising Verbal alot lately and came to know about my weakness in Critical Reasoning. Can anyone please help me find the best approach to get cr questions right.

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bebs

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26 Jan 2019, 17:53

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JoohiKumar I think you should report this question on the general forum.

JoohiKumar

I've been practising Verbal alot lately and came to know about my weakness in Critical Reasoning. Can anyone please help me find the best approach to get cr questions right.

DisciplinedPrep

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27 Jan 2019, 10:54

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Hi there, I was in the same boat as you are now. Critical Reasoning was an absolute horror. This question type alone plummeted by overall verbal score to 28-32 range. I rigorously studied several books, yet achieved no significant improvement.

1. If you're comfortable with self-study, then you should read the book: Powerscore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible. Most of the top scores would recommend this book. However, this book is pretty heavy in concept, with close to 400 pages.

2. If you're looking for an Online course, then you must try EMPOWEgmat. The course absolutely catapulted by CR score, and I ended up scoring 97 percentile in CR on the actual GMAT. Had I performed better on SC, apparently my strongest section, I would have comfortably scored V40.

All the best with your GMAT preparation.

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27 Jan 2019, 23:23

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Hi Joohi, few broad points:

• In Critical Reasoning questions, separate the Premise (fact) from the Conclusion (the main point).

• At least a basic understanding of causal relationships and the various ways of attacking the causal relationships, comes in handy.

• One needs to appreciate that a common thread runs across most Critical questions. For example, most Assumptions questions could also double up as Strengthen the conclusion, while in most cases, the opposite of Strengthen the conclusion is Weaken the conclusion.

• For the most part, additional practice on LSAT questions does not help. LSAT tests advanced level Logical reasoning questions, but GMAT Critical Reasoning questions do not require formal know-how of Logical reasoning. Hence, limit your practice to official questions only.

• In most questions, you need to be continuously keep the Conclusion in mind (especially in Strengthen the conclusion, weaken the Conclusion, Assumption, and Evaluate the Argument). The correct answer choice will closely relate to the conclusion. Depending upon the exact question, the correct answer choice will either bridge the gap between the premise and conclusion, provide evidence to support the conclusion, or provide evidence to refute the conclusion

ScottTargetTestPrep

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03 Feb 2019, 10:27

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I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. To improve in Critical Reasoning, you first need to master the individual topics: Strengthen the Argument, Weaken the Argument, Resolve the Paradox, etc. As you learn about each question type, do focused practice so you can track your skill in answering each type. If, for example, you get a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? You must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.

Another major mistake that people make when training for CR is that they do practice questions too fast. To get Critical Reasoning questions correct, you have to see exactly what's going on in the passages and answer choices, and you likely won't learn to do so by spending a few minutes on each question. At this stage of your training, you may need to spend as many as fifteen minutes on each question, learning to see what there is to see. Here is a way to look at this process: If you get a new job in a field in which you are not experienced, you may not be as fast as the other people working with you, but you know you have a job to do and you make sure you learn all the angles, so that you do the job well, if not as quickly as those around you. Rushing through the job and doing it incorrectly would not make sense. Then, as you gain more experience, you learn to do the same job more quickly. Think of Critical Reasoning questions similarly. Your job is to do what? To get through questions quickly? Not really. Your job is to get correct answers.

So, first you have to learn to get correct answers, generally at least 10 to 15 in a row consistently, and more in a row would be better. That is your job, and if it takes you fifteen minutes per question to get correct answers consistently, then so be it. Only after you have learned to get correct answers consistently can you work on speeding up. Working quickly but not doing your job is useless. Better to work slowly and learn to do your job well. You can be sure that with experience, you will learn to speed up, and then you will still be doing your job well, i.e., getting correct answers consistently.

Finally, a key aspect of getting correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions is noticing the key differences between trap choices and correct answers. Trap choices can sound temptingly correct but don't get the job done. The logic of what a trap choice says simply doesn't fit what the question is asking you to find. So, to get better at your job, learn to see the key differences between trap choices and correct answers.

Feel free to reach out with further questions.

Good luck!

akela

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06 Feb 2019, 08:46

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Hi JoohiKumar,

Welcome to gmatclub!

Also check here:
Critical Reasoning Megathread - 2018 Edition!

Hope this helps!

nikhilasharma

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01 Sep 2023, 05:46

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I am also struggling with critical reasoning.

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nikhilasharma

I am also struggling with critical reasoning.

Consider checking out Manhattan-Prep's 6th Edition for CR. If you find assumptions questions slippery, learning the negation technique may be helpful as well. You could also check out the specific gmatclub links for the questions you got incorrect/struggle with to see some of the posted solutions.

CR tips

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Hi there,

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