Critical Reasoning Flashcards
What is the objective of an argument?
To establish the conclusion
Foundation
What is the definition of an argument?
Foundation
A line of reasoning advanced to advocate a point
Foundation
What is the point advocated?
Foundation
The conclusion
Foundation
What are the reasons to support the point?
Foundation
Premises
Foundation
Only … lead to a conclusion
Foundation
Premises
What is the definition of a conclusion?
Foundation
The main point that is advocated
To find the conclusion you can ask?
Foundation
- What is the main point advocated?
- What does the author want you to believe?
What is the definition of a premise?
Foun dation
Any piece of information, evidence, viewpoint, rules etc that the author uses to support the conclusion
Context decides if the statement is a…
Foun dation
Premise or a conclusion
Give examples of premise indicators
Foundation
- Since
- Due to
- Because
- For
- Given that
- etc
Give examples of conclusion indicators
Foundation
- Therefore
- Hence
- It shows that
- It follows that
- It can be concluded that
- Thus
- So
- Etc
4
What is the process to identify a conclusion?
Foundation
- Actively read the passage
- Ask questions - what is the main point and what does the author want you to believe?
- Look for indicators
- ABC Test
When do you use the ABC test?
Foundation
When there are multiple indicators or no indicators
What are the questions for the ABC test?
Foundation
Is A because of C or is C because of A?
Who can state the conclusion? And what is the exception?
Foundation
Only the author UNLESS the question explicitly states the third party as having made the conclusion
What is a counter premise?
Foundation
A statement that presents information that goes against the conclusion
What is an intermediate conclusion?
Foundation
A derived statement in the argument (not fact)
What are the rules of something that can be challenged?
Foundation
- It can be doubted
- The truth value is not certain
- It cannot be taken at face value
GMAT CR tests what?
Foundations
Reasoning not knowledge
4
What can be challenged in an argument?
Foundations
- Derived Information
- Reasoning
- Conclusion or Interim Conclusion
- Anything said by a third party
Profitability is…
Standard Knowledge
Profit/Sales
Profit is
Standard Knowledge
Sales - Cost
Where can the conclusion be placed in the argument?
Foundations
Anywhere
Can you have multiple intermediate conclusions?
Foundations
Yes
How many conclusions can be included in an argument?
Foundations
Only one
If the passage is true then the inference…
Inference
Must always be true
What is the impact of the word ‘only’ in a sentence?
Inference
Only does not mean all or every of a category - it just means no other category
E.g. multistorey or single storey buildings
What is the impact of the word ‘all’ in a sentence?
Inference
All means each or every - it does not affect ‘other’ categories
E.g. multistorey or single storey buildings
What is the meaning of ‘some’?
Inference
Any # from 1 to All
What is the meaning of ‘most’?
Inference
It means >50% to All
What is the meaning of ‘few’?
Inference
A handful
E.g. 2 3 or 4 out of 100
What is the meaning of ‘many’?
Inference
3 to All
What does it mean when the word ‘the’ is included in the premise?
Inference
‘The’ implies a total number
What is the meaning of the word ‘moreover’?
Inference
A continuation of one chain of thought
In other words the chain of thought is from the same person
What is the 3 step process to solving inference questions?
Inference
- Understand and analyse the passage
- Review each choice
- Analyse each choice
What are the 3 things to watch out for when analysing the passage? I.e. the mistakes not to make
Inference
- Make sure to capture the author’s intent in the argument
- Do not infer specific information in generic terms
- Do not distort elements of the passage
What is the tool that is used to analyse the passages in CR Inference?
Inference
Visualisation
What are the 4 characteristics of an assumption?
Assumptions
- It must be true for the conclusion to hold true
- It is not stated
- It cannot be infered
- It is new information
How many assumptions can be included in the passage?
Assumptions
Multiple
By understanding the logic of the argument we can…
Assumptions
Derive the assumptions
What is the prethinking process?
Assumption
A way of deriving the assumption by analysing the logic of the argument
What are the 3 core skills for CR assumption questions?
Assumptions
- Understand the passage
- Pre-think the assumption
- Analyse the answer choices
What is the primary question used in pre-thinking?
Assumptions
In what scenario does the author’s conclusion break?
Once you identify the scenario that breaks the conclusion, what do you do to find the assumptions?
Assumptions
Reverse the scenario
What are the 3 things to watch out for when an argument has 2 entities in an assumption question?
Assumptions
- The correct choice is not always a reword of the assumption
- Are the two entities linked?
- If they are linked are they dependent or competition?
Can the assumption be derived from an entity not in the passage?
Assumptions
Yes - it can be derived from an inference
Where a comparison is assumed by the author make sure to understand what?
Assumptions
What is explicit and what is not explicit
When you see the word ‘average’ in a passage…
Consider the extremes to check if the word ‘average’ impacts anything
