BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0563 reviews
Newsweek Readers’ Choice Awards 2026 winner: Target Test Prep, #1 Test Prep
NEWSWEEK READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS 2026

Target Test Prep was voted #1 Best Test Prep in the 2026 Newsweek Readers’ Choice™ Awards.

GMATLiveTeach Starts Oct 17
Chris Peckover, Target Test Prep GMAT expert
LIVE ONLINE CLASSES

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

with Chris Peckover, 100th-Percentile GMAT Scorer

Oct 17 · Chris Peckover
Sat · 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET
Oct 20 · Chris Peckover
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Oct 25 · Josh Braslow
Sun · 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes + 6 months of TTP OnDemand
  • Attend the first class for free
  • Every class is recorded, so you never fall behind
View classes & enroll
Limited seats availableTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeachOnDemand 5 seats left Start anytime
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Self-paced EA prep. Study on your schedule.

Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

165+ EA score guarantee
$05-day trial no automatic billing
Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll Start free 5-day trial
Limited cohort · enrollment openTrial includes full course accessTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

Answer explanation please

Expert replies
by Rastis » Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:36 am
In a certain university course, some of the students took their own handwritten notes on the lectures, while others studied from a printed set of notes written by the course instructor; no student used both kinds of notes. The students who took their own notes performed substantially better on the course exams than did those who used the notes written by the instructor. Clearly, the students' own notes must have been more complete or easier to understand than the instructor's, or else the students who took their own notes were simply those who were more motivated to do well in the course.

Which of the following statements, if true, most weakens the argument in the passage above?

a) In other classes at the same university, students who both wrote their own notes and used the pre-printed instructor notes were among the highest-performing students on class exams.

b) The exams were not written by the course instructor.

c) Studies have shown that the physical act of note-taking aids in the recall of what is noted, even for those who never review the notes.

d) The instructor's notes were written in language that was so florid and wordy as to make the points difficult for students to comprehend.

e) Students in the course were not allowed to refer to any notes, whether their own or the instructor's, while taking the course exams.
Join the discussion
Source: — Critical Reasoning |

by [email protected] » Thu Sep 25, 2014 5:51 pm
Hi Rastis,

This CR prompt is based on the idea of "causality" - the idea that X causes Y to happen. When you're weakening a causal argument, there are a couple of different options, but the most common option on the GMAT is to say that SOMETHING ELSE caused Y to happen (it wasn't X).

The Facts:
-In a University Course, students either took their own notes or used ones provided by the instructor.
-Students who took their own notes performed substantially better on course exams than those who used the notes from the instructor.

The Conclusion:
-The students who took their own notes did a more complete job of taking notes, or the notes were easier to understand (than the instructor's, or the students who took their own notes were more motivated to do well.

The Logic:
The argument here is that any of the 3 above factors (more complete notes, easier to understand notes, more motivated students) can be used to explain why the students who took their own notes performed better than those who used the instructor's notes.

We want to weaken this causal idea, so we need an answer that gives us a DIFFERENT REASON for why those students performed better. Answer C is the only answer that gives us another reason (notice how it also refers to the students who would have taken their own notes).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
Image
Join the discussion

by vivekvijayan » Tue Sep 30, 2014 7:37 pm
Hi Rich,

I had a doubt. Doesn't C show that the students who took the notes were more motivated as they took the effort of writing those notes?

Vivek
Join the discussion