CR outline

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CR outline

Understand the structure of arguments
There are three main parts to an argument:
The Conclusion: This is what the author is trying to convinced us of.
The Premises: These are the pieces of evidence the author gives to support the conclusion.
The Assumptions: These are unstated ideas or evidence without which the entire conclusion might be invalid.

It is essential that you always read the question first. The question contains important clues that will tell you what to look for as you read the passage.

Scope is the single most valuable tool to eliminate answer choices in CR questions.
“This answer choice goes too far, too extreme, too narrow, too broad.”
“That choice  is out of the scope of the argument, or has nothing to do with the author’s points’’

You must read actively, not passively, on the GMAT. Active readers are always thinking critically, forming reactions as they go along.

Question types:

1. Find-the-conclusion questions
“what is the conclusion in the passage above?”

premise, premise, premise, conclusion
or
conclusion, premise, premise, premise.

Structural signposts:
Therefore, thus, so, clearly, hence, implies, indicates that: often signal Conclusions.
A statement that can not stand alone.
Because, since, in view of, given that : precede premises

2.Supply-your-own-conclusion questions
“What conclusion is best supported by the passage above?”

Conclusions are supported by all the evidence in the passage. A statement that follows from only one of the premises will not be the conclusions.

Be wary of answer choices that go further than the scope of the original argument.

3. Assumption questions:
“The passage above assumes that…”

---Causal assumptions: whenever you spot a cause being suggested for an effect, ask yourself whether there might be an alternate cause.
---Analogy assumptions: whenever you see a comparison in a CR passage, you should ask yourself: Are these two situations really comparable?
---Statistical assumptions: whenever you see statistics in an argument, always be sure to ask yourself:  Are the statistics representative?

If you see an answer choice that comes straight from the passage, it is not correct.

Employ Denial Test: Simply deny or negate the statement and see if the argument falls apart. If it does, that choice is a necessary assumption. If, on the other hand, the argument is unaffected, the choice is wrong.

If you find an idea-an important word-in the conclusion, but not in the evidence, then you’ve found an assumption.

4. Strengthen-the-argument questions:
“which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the conclusion drawn above?”
Deal with an argument that has a gap in its logic: find this gap and fix it with additional information.
The answer to many strengthen-the-argument questions provides additional support by affirming the truth of an assumption or by presenting more persuasive evidence.

5. Weaken-the-argument questions:
“which of the following, if true, would most seriously weaken the conclusion drawn above?”
You should look to see whether the argument is causal, statistical, or analogical.
deal with unstated premises and a logical gap: all you have to do is expose it.
The answer to many weaken-the-argument questions is the one that reveals an author’s assumption to be unreasonable.


6. Inference questions:
“which of the following can best be inferred from the passage above?”
“Which of the following statements is best supported by the information above?”
“The author of the passage would most likely agree with which one of the following?”

A good inference will not go beyond the scope or read too much into particular detail.
The difference between an inference and an assumption is that the conclusion’s validity doesn’t logically depend on an inference, as it does on a necessary assumption.
A valid inference is merely something that must be true if the statement in the passage are true; it’s an extension of the argument rather than a necessary part of it.
They might ask you to make inferences about one or more of the premises.
Denial test works for inferences as well as for assumptions: A valid inference always makes more sense than its opposite.


7. Resolve-the-paradox questions:
“Which of the following best resolves the apparent contradiction in the passage above?”
Find the answer choice that allows both of the facts from the passage to be true.

8. Mimic-the reasoning questions:
“Which of the following most resembles the method used by the author to make the point above?”
Recognize the reasoning in a passage and follow the same line of reasoning in one of the answer choices.
Eg.
(If A, then B) therefore(if not B, then not A)
(if A, then B)(if B, then not A)
(if A, then B) (if always A, then always B)

pippi

有道理啊!
正在我逻辑条理不清晰时看到这篇帖子,对CR的感觉像被梳理了一遍!
3Q,3Q