GMAT Verbal: Intro to assumptions in CR questions (Level: Beginner)
For assumption questions, it is important to first make sense of the premise. Specifically, you need to isolate what is the difficulty or a pitfall in the logic or plan of the premise. “Will a particular statistic, on which the conclusion/plan depends be difficult to find or be difficult to obtain reliably?”, for example. To …
GMAT Verbal: Is the premise conclusionable?
I ran into a fairly standard Critical Reasoning question today with a student. While discussing a good approach to answering the question, I stumbled upon a nuanced strategy that I’d like to share with ya’ll. With certain Critical Reasoning premises, we can make very solid determinations about goodness or badness of a situation and even …
GMAT Verbal: Should you use outside information on Critical Reasoning questions?
My students often ask to confirm that you are not supposed to use “outside knowledge” for Critical Reasoning questions. This is patently wrong. There are things you know about the world and how it works, that you must use to make reasonable assumptions and draw reasonable conclusions. What you cannot do is to use your …
GMAT Verbal: Answer Choice Tenuousness On More Difficult Critical Reasoning Questions (Level: Advanced)
Here’s a little something for my Critical Reasoning ninjas. It is fairly straightforward to breakdown the logical reasoning process for simple CR questions — thank you every GMAT book ever published. The process hits rough pavement, however, once you get to the 700+ level questions. Luckily, I have a batch of fresh GMAT asphalt (stretching …
GMAT Verbal Tip: Lessons from the Matrix — Causality in Critical Reasoning
In “Matrix: Reloaded,” the Merovingian says: “You see there is only one constant. One universal. It is the only real truth. Causality. Action, reaction. Cause and effect… We are all victims of causality. I drank too much wine, I must take a piss. Cause and effect.” Mero would have done very well on GMAT’s critical …