Advanced Reasoning

    Critical Reasoning

    Strengthen or weaken arguments

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    Critical Reasoning tests your ability to analyze arguments — identifying premises, conclusions, assumptions, and evaluating what strengthens or weakens them.

    What is Critical Reasoning?

    You're given a short passage containing an argument, and asked to identify what strengthens, weakens, or is assumed by the argument. This requires understanding the logical structure of arguments.

    Why is it Important?

    Critical Reasoning is a premium topic in CAT, GMAT, and GRE, testing the highest level of analytical ability.

    Key Techniques

    • Identify the conclusion (main claim) and premises (supporting evidence)
    • Find the gap between premises and conclusion — that's the assumption
    • To strengthen: fill the gap or add supporting evidence
    • To weaken: attack the assumption or show alternatives

    Common Patterns

    •Strengthen the argument
    •Weaken the argument
    •Identify the assumption
    •Inference from the passage
    •Paradox resolution

    💡 Pro Tips

    1.Always identify conclusion first, then premises

    2.The correct answer for "strengthen" must make the conclusion MORE likely, not certain

    3.Eliminate answers that are out of scope

    📋 Exams Where Asked

    CATGMATGREXATCLATLSAT

    Frequently Asked Questions

    How to identify the conclusion of an argument?

    Look for indicator words: "therefore", "hence", "thus", "so", "consequently". The conclusion is what the author is trying to prove; premises are the evidence used to prove it.

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