The GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions

The Critical Reasoning Questions

Different Types of Critical Reasoning Questions

There are approximately seven types of critical reasoning questions, they are:

1.  Support /Strengthen typeOppose / Weaken type
2. Assumption based
3. Logical patterns type
4. Analyze the passages type
5. Explanation type
6. Other types

The Support or Strengthen type

A few examples of the support or strengthen questions on the GMAT critical reasoning section are as follows:

• Which of the following, if correct, would strengthen the author’s conclusions about the topic?
• Which of the following, if true, will support the author’s argument in the paragraph?

If you see the words strengthen, support, credibility or words that express similar meanings, then the question is of the first type.

The Oppose or Weaken type

A few examples of the oppose or weaken type of questions are:

• Which of the following answer choices, if true, nullifies the author’s conclusion?
• Which of the following, if true, weakens the author’s conclusion?

If you spot words like weaken, nullifies, opposes or other words with similar meanings, the the question is of the oppose or weaken type.

The Assumption type

Some examples of the assumption questions are:

· The author’s conclusion is based on which of the following assumptions?

• The conclusion is dependent on which of the following to be true?

If the words assumption, depends or words that are similar in meaning appear, then you are dealing with a assumption type question.

The Logic Pattern type

Some examples of the logic pattern questions are:

• The passage uses which of the following types of argument to support its conclusion?
• The author nullifies the police’s conclusion by:

There are no specific words to identify this type of questions. You have to carefully analyze to reach the conclusion.

The Analysis type

A few examples of the analysis questions are:

• According to the passage which of the statements must be true?
• Which of the following can be inferred from the information in the passage?

Here also, there are no trigger words. Only understanding the concept will let you identify the type.

The Explanation type

Examples of the explanation questions are:

• Which of the following explains the conflict in the passage?
• Which of the following, if true, best explains the theory described above?

Here the keywords needed to spot the type include explain or resolve.

Other types

There are a few other types of questions that appear not so often in the exam. They are:

• Which of the following additional information can be used to test the passage’s conclusion?
• Which of the following passages is similar in structure to the passage above?

Since these questions do no appear frequently, there is no need to worry about them too much.