CR questions can be tricky, especially if you don't have a concrete strategy. You can't just treat these like shorter RC passages, in which you read and respond to given information. You must actively DECONSTRUCT the arguments, and find the chain of logic.
Here is how you should approach CR questions:
1. Identify the question type. Different question types require different ways of thinking. Here is a breakdown of major question types:
"Assumption Family" questions - these arguments all contain an assumption (missing information / logical flaws / a disconnect between premise and conclusion).
a) Find the Assumption - find the piece of information (the assumption) would be necessary for the conclusion to hold
b) Strengthen - find the piece of new information that would make that assumption more likely to be true.
c) Weaken - find the piece of new information that would make the assumption less likely to be true.
d) Evaluate the Argument - find the question for which a "yes" answer would strengthen and a "no" answer would weaken (or vice versa).
Structure-Based Family - these questions ask you to identify what roles different parts of the argument are playing: conclusion, premise, or counterpoint.
Inference questions - these ask what must follow logically from the given information. Here, be sure not to add any new information or make assumptions.
Discrepancy questions - these ask you to resolve an apparent paradox between two pieces of information. Pick the new piece of information that allows both paradoxical premises to hold true.
2. Deconstruct the Argument.
Don't passively take in the information. Evaluate each statement, and see how they logically fit together. For Assumption Family questions, try to identify what information is missing that would be necessary to the argument.
3. State your Goal.
Don't jump straight from the argument to answer choices. Take the time to think of what might answer the given question - construct an answer in your own words.
4. Work from Wrong to Right.
Don't focus on finding the perfect answer - your perfect answer might not be there. Instead, work to eliminate answers that don't logically fit the question.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
