Tanvir Ahmed

SUST

Critical reasoning question

Critical Reasoning questions will always require students to select one correct answer from the
five options. There will primarily be the following question types that will be tested by the GRE

1. Assumption
2. Strengthen
3. Weaken
4. Flaw
5. Explain
6. Bold faced

How to approach these questions

1. Assumption:
A. An assumption is basically the unstated evidence that must be true for the argument’s
conclusion to be true.
B. For the assumption questions you must take the author’s conclusion to be absolutely
one hundred percent true.
C. Know that since this an assumption question, there has to be some piece of evidence
missing from the argument.
D. If stuck between two or more options try the negation rules. For example:
Maria studied 3 months for the GRE. Therefore she will score in the top 10%.

In this mini-argument, the premise is that Maria studied 3 months. From this a
conclusion is drawn: she will score in the top 10%. What is the assumption here? That
one only needs study for 3 months to score in the top 10%.
Without this assumption, we cannot draw a valid conclusion. The key to answering an
assumption question correctly is to identify what is an assumption, and what is not an
assumption. If you negate an answer choice and it does not do anything to the
conclusion, then you know that answer choice is not an assumption the argument
depends on. Look at the answers below:

1. Studying for three months automatically means a student will score in the top
10% on the GRE.
2. Using prep materials is the only way to score in the top 10%.
Let’s negate both of these answer choices to see what happens.

1. Studying for three months does NOT automatically mean a student will score in
the top 10%.
2. Using prep materials is NOT the only way to score in the top 10%.
 By negating (A), the argument falls apart. If studying for three months does not
automatically mean scoring in the top 10%, then the conclusion above that Maria will
score in the 10% cannot be validly drawn.

By negating (B), we do not affect the conclusion, so we know that answer choice (B)
is not an assumption the argument depends on.
2. Strengthen
A. Try to predict the assumption because the strengthener will, in some way, be linked to
this.
B. Remember to take into consideration the evidence as well; don’t just strengthen the
conclusion isolation.
3. Weaken
A. Try to predict the assumption because the weakener will, in some way, try to convince
you that this assumption may not valid.
B. Remember that an option will never weaken the argument by questioning its evidence
or by trying to negate its evidence.
4. Flaw/vulnerable question
A. The flaw will always question the assumption. It will raise doubts in your mind as to
what if the assumption was not true. For example:
Ronald scored 600 on the GMAT while Derek scored 338 on the GRE. So Ronald
performed much better than Derek did.
Which of the following is the most serious flaw in the argument?
1. The argument does not take into account the possibility that Ronald’s score could
be a fluke.
2. The argument does not take into account the past academic records of Ronald and
Derek.
3. The argument discounts the possibility that the GRE and the GMAT may have
different scoring scales.

Here the correct answer is option 3. Because it does not take into account the
possibility that the GRE and the GMAT may have different scoring scales.

B. Remember not to confuse a flaw with an option that weakens the argument. If
contrasted, go with the option that is directly connected to the argument’s assumption.

5. Explain questions
A. Identify the discrepancy in the argument before looking at the options.
B. Never explain just one side of the stimulus (main body of the argument). The correct
answer has to explain both sides of the contradiction.
C. Never deny the evidence
 D. The answer to an explain question will always be a new point that somehow explains
the contradiction in the stimulus, so don’t eliminate an option just because it contains
terms that have not been mentioned in the stimulus.
6. Bold faced questions
A. List of common roles played by the bold parts
1. Final conclusion: This is the point that argument is trying to make.
2. Intermediate conclusion: This often contrasts with the final conclusion.
3. Counterpoints: This is a statement that opposes something stated earlier in the
argument.
4. Background information: This provides some context for the issue described in
the argument.
5. Prediction: This will always be an opinion and talk about something happening in
the future.
6. Objection: Questions or doubts something stated in the arguments.

B. Read the bold parts and try to identify the relation between them.
C. Quickly scan through all the options eliminating ones which are incorrect. For
example, if you have identified that the first bold part is evidence, any option that
states that the first bold part is a conclusion can immediately be eliminated.
D. Once you have narrowed down your choice to two or three, go through every word of
the options and try to spot something that contradicts what is stated in the arguments.

Source: Aristotle GRE verbal grail