thinking for cr

devansh_god · Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 10:08 pm Post subject: thinking for cr

hi all,

lets start this thread, where we will discuss all types of strategies of attacking and THINKING in the cr part of the gmat.....
must confess........ this is the greatest fear right now as far as i am concerned......... Sad

anyone willing to help.......??? 8)

beatthegmat · Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 8:51 pm Post subject: Critical Reasoning Strategy

Here's an excerpt from my Day 66 Blog Post. It describes the approach I took to attack CR questions:

I was quite pleased today to score a 95% hit rate on my set of 40 Official Guide Critical Reasoning problems. Here's how I attack a typical Critical Reasoning question:

Read the question prompt and WRITE DOWN the question type (weaken, assumption, etc.)
Read the CR passage actively, noting the location of the conclusion and premises.
Look at answer choices and immediately eliminate choices that are out of scope, moving top to bottom. Remember, the CR passage provides a limited set of information. There tends to be a lot of answer choices with out-of-scope information.
Review answer choices that are left and pick the one that best answers the question.

I have a pretty simple approach but it seems effective. The only thing that is really giving me problems with regard to critical reading is stamina. I tend to take longer in answering these questions, and reading passage after passage actively is very tiring. But it's all getting better with practice.

Anyone else like to share his/her strategy? Thanks!

aim-wsc · Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 12:59 pm Post subject: CR study started/// be in touch

i hv just started my CR
heres some tricks to save the time
** dont waste time to read the other ( remaining) options once you are sure about your answer choice.
unlike the sentence correction you don t hv to be extra cautious and read all answer choices.

** again you dont hv to take a note ( this is my personal opinion)

CR is purely based on instincts and apptitute.
either you kno the answer or you dont
........
and if you dont then
**you should practise. should try to solve all OG problems.

that saves much time. use that time to read passage carefully.

personally i make mistakes in CR when i do it fast hurriedly.
**so slow down. think. think again. and shoot.

you can also try this radical strategy
** read the question first. this way you will make up your mind

capri · Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 1:53 pm Post subject:

Great approach ! Thanks for sharing Smile

frozen_GMAT · Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 1:08 am Post subject:

Well .. i don't think your instincs play a very good role typically in answering the CR question .. just becoz of the way GMAT questions are written.. the test author likes to attack you with some answers that seem very genuine if not given enough attention ... there are strategies for each and every type of question that appear frquently in GMAT ( assumption based, inference based and others) ..we should follow those ..
say for assumption based questions which include assumption,weakening and strengthning ,,you just have to look out for the conclusion and then c which option favours or goes against that conclusion ..similarly for inference based question just look out for premises and c for an option that includes all those inferences.
__fRoZeN__

TestPundit Anurag

Instincts, gut feel, intuition, or whatever else we may call it...it comes from deep rooted experiences, in this case with the English language.

If you have had an excellent English teacher AND you kept abreast of the language over the years, your gut feel or instinct should lead you t right answer...or you would hope so. But what if along the way, the collquial usage (which conflicts with correct grammar and which GMAT considers wrong) got into your gut. Now you have a contaminated gut feel. For instance: can you tell me what is wrong with the following two sentences:

1. Think different! (slogan of a cult brand - Apple)
2. Barry Bonds hit the ball good today. (heard on national news)

I will then tell you why you should not, especially if you have time to prepare for the GMAT, blindly trust your instincts.

Anurag Mairal, Ph.D.

aim-wsc · Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 11:04 pm Post subject: trying to answer

i read it somewhere, the shortest sentence is: 'GO'
Thinking of 'think different' as a sentence, 'APPLE (as a company) THINKS DIFFERENT.' is OK.
but 'think different' alone cant be correct.
'THINK DIFFERENTLY' can be a solution.

though i m not sure of latter ... let me try.
'BARRY BONDS HIT THE BALL NICELY TODAY' sounds better.
what do u say, sir?

TestPundit Anurag · Posted: Thu Jun 01, 2006 6:38 pm Post subject:

You are close on both the answers.

In "different" is an adjective and "think" is a verb. You need an adverb here. Differently is the right answer.

Similiarly, good is an ajective that is "trying" to modify the verb "hit". We should use an adverb...something like "well" or "nicely" (your choice) will work.

You can find very simple but common errors like that in daily usage (colloquial language) in the U.S. (where these questions are written) and elsewhere in the world. Watch out for them. Don't go by the "gut feel" or "instinct" in such cases because they will mislead you.

More questions on this thread are welcome. Posting from Dusseldorf, Germany.

Anurag Mairal, Ph.D.

aim-wsc · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 7:04 am Post subject: Re: thinking for cr

isisalaska · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 7:48 am Post subject:

Totally agree with TestPundit Anurag
I hear in my office ALL THE TIME "I am good", no, you are not good (well maybe you are a good person Wink

)you are well
Terrible...
Also, what about for non-native speaker people?
About CR I will ALWAYS read all the options, you never know, sorry Jonny I cannot agree with you on this one Smile

aim-wsc · Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2007 8:09 am Post subject: