8 FAQs on Critical Reasoning questions in MBA entrance tests

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

Tanveer Ahmed is an alumnus of St Xaviers College, Kolkata and currently works with a people search firm as a recruiter. He is a visiting faculty with T.I.M.E. and also coaches and mentors CAT hopefuls online in the intricacies of the English language. (On LinkedIn)

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