GMAT Critical Reasoning strategies
Critical Reasoning questions test your ability to analyze an argument, identify its assumptions, and determine what would strengthen or weaken it. Every CR question follows the same structure: a short passage presents an argument, and a question asks you to evaluate it. These strategies cover how to break down the argument, how to identify the assumption, and how to answer each question type.
The core principle: find the argument
Every CR passage contains a conclusion and one or more premises that support it. The conclusion is the claim the author makes. The premises are the evidence offered for that claim. Your first step on every CR question is to identify the conclusion before you read the question stem. Look for conclusion markers: 'therefore', 'thus', 'so', 'it follows that', 'which means that'. If you cannot find a marker, ask yourself: what is the author trying to convince me of? That is the conclusion. Everything else is a premise.
The assumption: the bridge between premise and conclusion
An assumption is an unstated premise that the argument needs to be true. Without the assumption, the conclusion does not follow from the premises. Finding the assumption is the key to answering strengthen, weaken, and assumption questions. To find the assumption, ask: what would have to be true for the conclusion to follow from the premises? If the answer is 'a specific thing must be true', that is the assumption.
The most common trap
Answering the question you expected, not the one asked
Many CR passages set up what looks like a strengthen question but actually ask you to weaken, or vice versa. The answer choices include the answer to the question you expected because the test writers know this mistake. Always read the question stem after reading the passage, and before reading the answer choices.
Step-by-step strategy
When to use: every Critical Reasoning question.
- 1Read the passage. Identify the conclusion and the premises.
- 2Read the question stem. Know exactly what it asks before you look at the choices.
- 3Identify the assumption. Ask: what must be true for the conclusion to follow?
- 4Eliminate choices that do not affect the argument. The correct answer either strengthens, weakens, or exposes the assumption.
Worked example
A company claims that switching to a four-day workweek will increase productivity because employees will be more rested. The argument assumes that employees will use the extra day off to rest, not to work another job or handle chores. If the question asks you to weaken the argument, the correct answer would show that employees spend the extra day on other work, not rest. If it asks you to strengthen, the correct answer would show that employees actually do rest more on the extra day.
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