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There are many typical concepts in various

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GRE, GMAT, CAT, MAT, SAT,
IELTS, TOEFL etc..
Sometimes you need more than just
practice
i andd that
h more is i totall concept
clarity. EXPERIENCE
Knowledge Icon wishes to enhance concept THE KI
clarity
l it on certain
t i characteristic
h t i ti topics…
t pi UNIQUE
This week’s topic is Critical Reasoning… LEARNING

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
KNOW ABOUT CRITICAL REASONING
You can think
Y hi k off critical
i i l reasoning
i questions
i as, essentially,
i ll mini
i i
reading comprehension questions. These questions tend to follow
passages that are one paragraph in length. These questions
primarily test the analytical and critical thinking skills of the
candidates. The critical reading section needs you to think logically.
Questions on critical reasoning constitute about one- third of the
total questions in the verbal section of the GMAT. There are
around 12- 14 questions on critical reasoning asked in the GMAT
exam.
An argument is a sequence of two or more
phrases, clauses, sentences or statements, one of which is a claim or
conclusion, which follows the premises. Let us take a single sentence
to understand the concept of critical reasoning in the simplest way
possible.

CRITICAL REASONING QUESTION TYPES

Explain Flaw
Assumption
9% 3%
12%
Inference
17%
Strengthen
20%

Weaken
39%

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
 FOR EXAMPLE:

“There is no use going to the market

today as it is Sunday.”
Now, let us analyze this:

The first part of the sentence,

There is no use going to the market today…
“There today…” is called a
conclusion. This conclusion is based on the premise “….as it was
a Sunday.”

Taken together,
g , the ppremise and the conclusion form the
argument. Now, the underlying assumption is that- on
Sunday, the markets remain closed. There can be other valid
reasons as well. One point to note here is that this is an
Inference based argument. It is the inference that links the
conclusion to the premise.

These three important terms that constitute an argument can

be explained as follows. It is very important to identify the
premise andd the
h conclusion
l and
d then
h dod some brainstorming
b to
find out the assumptions on which the whole argument is based.

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
SOLVED EXAMPLE

Q. Automation, the trademark of a modern economy, is essential to maximizing a

country's economic production while minimizing its costs. Health care executives want to
increase revenues while reducing costs. Consequently, they propose significantly greater
automation of health care. Yet, this should be rejected. Radical automation of health care
would cause p patients to lose trust in the system
y as the health care theyy would receive would
lack the in-person care that studies show patients desire.

Which of the following expresses the main point of the argument?

A) Health care should not be heavily automated
B) Patients desire customized in-person care
C) Trends
T d in i the
th generall economy do
d nott apply
l to
t the
th health
h lth care iindustry
d t
D) Health care executives are becoming too greedy
E) Due to economic forces, automation of health care is eventually inevitable

ANSWER WITH EXPLANATION:

CORRECT ANSWER: A
When a question asks about the "main point," it is asking for the conclusion
(i.e., thesis) of an argument. In answering this question, it is essential to separate the
conclusion from the premises that support and lead up to the conclusion.
The argument can be broken up sentence-by-sentence and dissected, enabling us to
ascertain the role that each sentence plays in the overall argument.

Breakdown by Argument
There are five major points:
(1) automation maximizes profit
(2) health care executives want to maximize profit
(2b) as a result of 2, health care executives propose automation
((3)) 2b should be rejected
j
(3b) reasoning for 2b being rejected is decline in quality of care
Every point leads to and supports point 3, which is the conclusion of the argument.

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q1. A fruit known as amla in certain parts of Asia is an excellent source of vitamin C. A small quantity of the fruit
grated and added to salads provides almost all the daily requirement of this vitamin. However, the fruit is very sour. A
new process designed to remove most of the sour taste will make the fruit acceptable to American tastes. We are
therefore starting to grow this fruit for sale in the United States.
The argument above assumes all of the following except
A. Americans generally won’t eat very sour foods
B. The new process does not remove a significant part of the vitamin content
C
C. Th a market
That k exists
i for
f a new source off vitamin
i i C
D. The fruit can be used only in salads
E. Apart from being sour there are no other objections to eating this fruit

Q2 . It is often thought that our own modern age is unique in having a large number of people who live into old age. It
has frequently been assumed that plagues, wars, and harsh working conditions killed off most people in previous ages
before they could reach old age. However, recent research shows that in 17th century Europe, for example, people over
sixty comprised 10 percent of the population.
population The studies also revealed that although infant mortality remained high
until the 20th century in Europe, people who survived to adulthood could expect to live to be old.
The portions in boldface play which of the following roles in the argument above?
A. The first is a conclusion that the author supports. The second is data that contradicts that conclusion.
B. The first is a finding that the author contests. The second is a finding that the author accepts.
C. The first is an assumption that the author thinks is invalid. The second is data that validates that assumption.
D. The first is a position that the author opposes. The second is a finding that supports the author’s position.
E
E. The first is a position that the author opposes.
opposes The second is an assumption which,
which if valid,
valid negates the author
author’ss
view.

Q 3. Critics of strict ‘‘promotional gates’’ at the grade school level point to a recent study comparing students forced to
repeat a grade with those promoted despite failing scores on an unscheduled, experimental competency test. Since
there was no significant difference between the two groups scores on a second test administered after completion of the
next higher grade level, these critics argue that the retention policy has failed in its expressed purpose of improving
students’ basic skills.
students
Which of the following best expresses the argument made by critics of promotional gates ?
A. Anxiety over performance on standardized tests often hinders a student’s ability to master challenging new
material.
B. A student’s true intellectual development cannot be gauged by his score on a standardized competency test.
C. The psychological damage a child suffers by repeating a grade outweighs the potential intellectual benefits of a
second chance at learning.
D. Strict requirements
q for p
promotion do not lead to harder work and ggreater mastery y of fundamentals amongg students
fearful of being held back.
E. Socioeconomic factors as well as test scores influenced whether a given student in the study was promoted or forced
to repeat a grade.

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q4 . All German philosophers, except for Marx, are idealists.
From which of the following can the statement above be most properly inferred ?

A. Except for Marx, if someone is an idealist philosopher, then he or she is German.

B. Marx is the only non-German philosopher who is an idealist.
C. If a German is an idealist, then he or she is a philosopher, as long as he or she is not Marx.
D. Marx is not an idealist German philosopher.
E. Aside from the philosopher Marx, if someone is a German philosopher, then he or she is an idealist.

Q5. This editorial cannot be a good argument because it is barely literate. Run-on sentences, slang, and perfectly
dreadful grammar appear regularly throughout. Anything that poorly written cannot be making very much sense.
Which of the following identifies an assumption in the argument above ?

A. This editorial was written by someone other than the usual editor.
B. Generally speaking, very few editorials are poor in style or grammar.
g g of an argument
C. The language g is indicative of its validity.
y
D. Generally speaking, the majority of editorials are poor in style and grammar.
E. The author of the editorial purposely uses poor grammar to disguise what he knows is a bad argument.

Q6. The number of people diagnosed with dengue fever (which is contracted from the bite of an infected mosquito) in
North India this year is twice the number diagnosed last year. The authorities have concluded that measures to control
the mosquito population have failed in this region.
All of the following, if true, would cast doubt on the authorities conclusion except.

A. more causes are now reported because of increases in administrative efficiency

B. a very high proportion of the cases were in people who had recently returned from neighboring countries
C. an effective diagnostic test was introduced about nine months ago
D. the disease is prevalent only in some industrialized areas which have shown a dramatic increase in population due to
migration
E. the incidence (number of cases per thousand ) of malaria, also contracted from mosquito bites, has increased.

Q 7. Insurance company allows people to prepay their endowment insurance at current rates. The policyholder then
pays the premium every year. People should participate in the program as a means of decreasing the cost for their
living after retirement.
Which of the following, if true, is the most appropriate reason for people NOT to participate in the program ?

A. Peoples are unsure about which insurance company they will choose after retirement.
B Th
B. The amount off money accumulatedl db by putting
i theh prepayment ffunds d iin an interest-bearing
i b i account today d will ill be
b
greater than the total cost of insurance when they retire.
C. The annual cost of premium is expected to increase at a faster rate than the annual increase in the cost of living.
D. Some of the insurance companies are contemplating large increases in premium next year.
E. The prepayment plan would not cover the cost of hospitalization.

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT
 PRACTICE QUESTIONS
Q 8. A Politician wrote the following:”I realize there are some shortcomings to the questionnaire method.
However, since I send a copy of the questionnaire to every home in the district, I believe the result are quite
representative….I thinks the numbers received are so large that it is quite accurate even though the survey is not done
scientifically.’’

The writer of the above statement makes which of the following assumption:

A M
A. Most peoplel who
h received
i d the
h questionnaire
i i have
h replied.
li d
B. Most of the people in district live in homes.
C. The questionnaires method of data collection is unscientific.
D. The large number of replies means that a high Proportion of those sampled have replied.
E. A large, absolute number of replies is synonymous with accuracy.

Q 9. In 1950,Transylvania earned $ 1 million in tourist revenue ,By 1970,tourist revenue doubled and in 1980,it
reached the sum of $4 million.
million

Each of the following, if true, may explain the trend in tourist revenue expect:

A. The number of tourists has increased from 1950 to 1980.

B. Average expenditure per tourist has increased.
C. Average stay per tourist has increased.
D The number of total hotel rooms has increased.
D. increased
E. The average price of tourist price of tourist service has increased.

Q 10. Scientists believe they have discovered the wreck of the USS Harvard, sunk by Japanese torpedoes during World
War II. Their conclusions are drawn from underwater searches by mini-submarines of the area about 4 miles west of
Midway Island in the Pacific Ocean during what started out as off shore oil platform accident procedures. There are
some military historians that are skeptical about the scientists claim, on the basis that sophisticated sonar equipment
has not identified the ship as, indeed, the Harvard.

Which of the following, if true, would weaken the historians’ arguments ?

A. Through searching by divers and bathyscopes has not located the wreck.
B. Three other ships were sunk in this area during World War II.
C. The ship’s last known position was 20 miles east of Midway.
D. The use of sonar only
y enables the user to identify
y the shape
p and dimension of a wreck.
E. It is not known whether the Harvard suffered much structural damage before being sunk.

CRTICAL REASONING
IN GMAT