Introduction to Critical Reasoning Flashcards
Identify the Assumption
Identify an assumtion upon which an argument depends on
- Which of the following is an assumptions logically necessary for coming to the conclusion of the above argument?
Weaken the argument
Weakens/hurt the argument
- Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument above?
Strengthen the Argument
That would help an argument or support the conclusion: Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the hypothesis?
Resolve a paradox
Find a statement that would resolve what appears to be (but is not actually) a paradox
paradox = contradiction
Inference
Find an unwritten conclusion that must be true given what a passage says
-> If the statement above are true, which of the following can be inferred from them?
Find a Conclusion
Ask us to find a conclusion that is supported by a passage
-> If the statement above are true, which of the following is most strongly supported by them?
Evaluate the argument
Determine whether an answer choice is well constructed or not
-> In evaluating the argument, it would be most useful to establish which of the following?
Logical Flaws
Flaws in the reasoning
-> Which of the following best describes the error of reasoning contained in the argument above?
Complete the passage
Find an answer that best completes an uncompleted passage
Method of reasoning
Identify the way in which a passage is logically organized or structured
-> The author develops the argument by
Determine the functions
-> In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
GMAT not a word matching game
We will not score high by choosing an answer that includes the word that appears in the passage
What is GMAT critical reasoning about
- vision
- attention to details
- skills in the use of logic
- avoiding falling into mental traps and cognitive biases
- emphasizing careful, clear-thinking and minimizing shallow
- good judgement
- execution of best practices
Most GMAT critical reasoning based on
Argument
-> Argument = a series of statement that logically explain a point of view
Understand how an argument is structured
- The conclusion
- The Evidence
- The Assumption
- The Background Information
Conclusion
Sentence that states the argument’s point of view
= when author puts conclusion she is presenting what she believes in
= comes in the forms of ideas, viewpoints, recommendations, suggestions and plans of action
Conclusion key word
- therefore
- in conclusion
- so
- clearly
- hence
- this shows that
- it can be concluded that
- should
- ought to be
- must
- as a result
- thus
- consequently
- as a consequence
- accordingly
- it follows that
- for this reason
Don’t expect conclusion to be in the end
Although quite often an argument’s conclusion is found at the end of the passage, the truth is that it can be found anywhere within the passage -> so don’t expect conclusion to be the last sentence of the passage
Understand author’s intent/conclusion
To effectively answer a critical reasoning question that is based on an argument, we must relentlessly seek out and understand the argument’s conclusion
Evidence or premises
support the conclusion and are used to build the argument
Fact
never an opinion
In answering critical reasoning
never argue with evidence presented
Background Information
Always come in forms of statements of fact and they get us up to speed to understand the argument
Assumption
unstated piece of information that must be true if the logic of the arguments is to work
Conclusion
(any background info) + Evidence + Assumptions
A few
not many, but more than one
Several
three or more but not many
Some
more than one, but possibly all
Many
large number of but many is not necessary most
Most
more than 50%
Majority
more than 50%
Solely
Only
At least one
one or more
Exclusively
only
Uniquely
only -> connected to only one person or thing
Always
all the time
GO through all the choices
Even if you think you found the correct answer, we should go through all the five options before choosing a correct answer
Only one right answer
In critical reasoning, there will be only one truly correct answer for every questions and the difference between the correct answer and the “runner-up” will be significant
Don’t prethink
by pre-thinking, it will limit your ability to become skilled at critical reasoning questions
- > you will try to find answer that will match with your pre-thinking thought and if it doesn’t then you will overlook it
- > cognitive bias
Don’t eliminate answer choice because of the presence of one word
people eliminate choices that includes “some” because they assume that a choice that uses “some” says something too vague to be a correct answer
Read very word
Don’t skim through
Passage that brings new information
Robotically eliminate choices that bring new answer choice is wrong (for inference you don’t want new info but things like weaken the argument and so on -> you need new info)
When answering critical reasoning
Address habits that leads to choosing incorrect answers - missed important details - pre-think and so on - use TTP's error log
Don’t need advanced or specialized answer
Choice that would require having advanced or specialized knowledge in any particular area is incorrect
