Q1.What is Critical Reasoning?
Critical Reasoning is an analytical way of thinking about issues for
analysing and evaluating information gathered from observation and
experience in order to come to certain conclusions. Critical Reasoning
clarifies goals, examines assumptions, discerns hidden values,
evaluates evidence and assesses conclusions. 'Critical' as used in the
expression 'critical reasoning' denotes the importance of thinking to
an issue, question or problem of concern. 'Critical' in this context
does not mean 'disapproval' or 'negative.'
Q2. Why is CR important?
Critical thinking can occur whenever one judges, decides, or solves a
problem; in general, whenever one must figure out what to believe or
what to do, and do so in a reasonable and reflective way. In many
competitive examinations, CR questions are important as they help to
test the ability to think in a rational manner. In the exam you are
provided a hypothetical situation and the exam tests you on how well
you understand what you are reading. The strength of your logical
powers are tested through these questions. CR questions could play a
significant role this year's CAT with its VA+ LR mix.
Q3. What skills are required for CR?
The list of core critical thinking skills includes observation,
interpretation, analysis, inference, evaluation and explanation,A
person involved in CR must consider the following
Evidence through observation
Context
Relevant criteria for making the judgment
Applicable methods for forming the judgment
One must be disposed to engage with problems and arrive at decisions
using the above skills.
Q4. How can one prepare oneself for CR questions?
Theoretically - developing the skills discussed above would help one
with CR in real life as well as examination situations.With the CAT in
mind - CR questions are one of the easiest to practise as there is a
lot of online material available for preparation. CR is one of the
three types of question in the verbal portion of the GMAT and hence
there are plenty of sites which provide material related to CR
questions as the GMAT itself is an online exam. A good way to prepare
for the CR questions would be to get familiar with the different type
of CR questions.
Q5. Why should one get familiar with different types of CR questions?
*It saves time for you inside the examination hall if you are already
familiar with the different types of questions
*It reduces errors - When you are familiar with the various types of
critical reasoning questions, you are less likely to make careless
mistakes.
Q6. How should one approach CR questions?
CR questions need to be tackled in a structured manner.The following
steps can serve as a guide -
a. Identify arguments: In the context of CR -argument means a
statement. It states certain observations based on premises and
conclusions. Premises are those facts that help to support the
conclusion in an argument. Sometimes there is a gap between the
premises and the conclusions. This gap can be filled with an
assumption.
Premises + Assumptions = Conclusions
The following words/phrases may be used to identify conclusions.
We can infer that
So
This shows that
Therefore
Hence
It follows that
This indicates that
Consequently
The following words/phrases may be used to identify Premises
The reason is that
In view of
Since
Evidence
Because
It follows from
We may infer from
On the basis of
b.Understand the different types of arguments - Deductive / Inductive:
Deductive Arguments - There is a strong connection between the
premises and the conclusion. If the premises are true then the
conclusion is true. Inductive Arguments - These are based on
experiences/experiments and here the connection between premise and
conclusion may not be very strong - i.e. if the premise is true then
there is a chance that the conclusion is true. Such types of arguments
can be weakened or strengthened with additional data.
c. Rephrase the argument in your own words: All CR questions can be
broken down into two parts (i) the stimulus - which provides the
premises and conclusion and (ii) the question stem which asks you to
carry out a task.When you finish reading the stimulus, try to
summarize in your mind what the argument in the stimulus is about
(premises, conclusions, and assumptions). When you put the argument in
your own words, you can usually identify where the question is heading
and what kind of queries could come.Once you put it into your own
words, the question becomes much easier to understand.
d. Evaluate the strength/validity of an argument: Some of the
following points could be used to check this validity.
Check for any circular reasoning. (Unproved assertion used to prove
another unproved claim)
Check if the conclusion has been drawn from a sample that is not big
enough to warrant the conclusion
Check if there is a faulty extension of an analogy. ( Because two
things/people are alike in various ways, that it is likely they will
share another quality)
Check if there is any 'non sequitor ' reasoning .( Conclusion does not
follow from the premise)
Q7. What are the different types of CR questions?
CR questions can come in many varied forms. The most common types of
questions are described as follows -
1. Questions that ask you to arrive at a conclusion/inference
2. Questions that ask you to identify an assumption
3. Questions that ask you to strengthen/ weaken an argument
4. Questions that ask you to detect a flaw in the argument
5. Questions that ask you to identify a paradox/contradiction/inconsistency
6 .Questions that ask you to identify a parallel situation
Q8. What are the techniques for tackling the above type of CR
questions? What are the different forms in which these questions may
be asked?
Questions that ask you to arrive at a conclusion/inference. These
questions require you to choose the answer that is a summary of the
argument, The summary is a logical ending of the chain of reasoning
started in the stimulus argument.Thus once you are abale to form a
logical chain using the premises to arrive at the conclusion your task
is accomplished.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
If the above statements are true, which of the following must be true?
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the statements above?
The statements above, if true, best support which of the following conclusions?
The author is arguing that
Which of the following conclusions can most properly be drawn from the
information above?
Questions that ask you to identify an assumption - As we said earlier
sometimes there may be a gap between the premises and the
conclusion.Your task is to fill this gap with the assumption and for
this purpose you have to identify the correct assumption. The correct
answer will provide the missing link.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
The conclusion logically depends on which of the following assumptions?
What additional premise is required to support the above conclusion?
The conclusion drawn in the first sentence depends on which of the
following assumptions?
The conclusion of the above argument cannot be true unless which of
the following is true?
Questions that ask you to strengthen/ weaken an argument
Identify the conclusion of the argument. Then identify the stated
evidence.Next, look for missing links that must be completed in order
to create a strong chain of reasoning. If you are looking for the
choice that weakens the argument, you need an answer choice that makes
that assumption less likely to be true. Conversely, if you are trying
to strengthen the argument, you need a choice that makes the
assumption more likely to be true.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
Which of the following, if true, would most seriously undermine the
conclusion drawn in the passage?
Which of the following, if true, would most significantly strengthen
the conclusion drawn?
Which of the following, if true, would cast the most doubt on the
accuracy of the claim?
Which of the following, if true, would most support the claims above?
Which of the following, if it were discovered, would be pertinent
evidence against the contentions above?
Each of the following, if true, weakens the conclusion above EXCEPT
Questions that ask you to detect a flaw in the argument
Another type of question that you will encounter asks you to identify
a flaw in the stimulus argument. The question tells you that there is
a problem with the logic of the argument. You just have to choose the
answer that describes the flaw.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
Which of the following points to the most serious logical flaw in the
authors argument?
The argument is flawed in that it ignores the possibility that
Which of the following indicates a flaw in the reasoning above?
Questions that ask you to identify a paradox/contradiction/inconsistency
Sometimes there is a visible contradiction in the situation described
in the question argument. Two assertions which both seem to be true
but are in direct conflict with each other.You have to identify the
source of this consistency or a reason which could have contributed to
this paradox.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the seeming
discrepancy described above?
Which of the following, if true, most helps to resolve the apparent paradox?
Questions that ask you to identify a parallel situation
In this type of question you will be given a particular situation in
the argument. You have to study the different aspects of the situation
and from among the answer choices select the situation which can be
described as a parallel to the problem situation. In other words you
have to find the argument that is analogous to the given argument in
that it includes the same relationship between the evidence presented
and the conclusion.
The different forms in which these questions may be asked:
Which of the following arguments proceeds in the same way as the above argument?
Which of the following conclusions is supported in the same way as the
above conclusion?
Which of the following has the most similar structure to the argument above?
Each of the following is similar in structure to the above EXCEPT
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