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Critical Reasoning: Best Book? Confused which to follow??!!

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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Mar 25, 2014 9:05 am
I would not probably make this suggestion for any topic other than Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension, but have you tried some official GMAT critical reasoning questions?

Before you start to make things overly complicated (which the Powerscore Bible book will certainly do) try some questions. Critical reasoning does not require any special rules or formulas, just read the stimulus and try to answer the questions and see how it goes.

If it does not go as well as you would like, the problem is likely your focus. In other words, you may not know exactly what to focus on in the stimulus and in the answer choices.

At Veritas we do break the questions down into the big question types like Strengthen, Weaken, Assumption, Inference, Paradox, Plan, Bold-faced, and Most Useful to know (in order to Evaluate). Yet the reason that we break those questions down into categories is to help you to place your focus.

For example, the Inference type of question has more of an emphasis on the answer choices. The correct answer "must be true" based on the information in the stimulus. On the other hand for a strengthen question the emphasis is on the conclusion and what I call the MIP (see the article below).

My advice is to keep it simple first so don't start with PowerScore Bible. And whatever material you are using PLEASE view it through this lens:

You have all of the intellect and all of the tools necessary to answer any Critical Reasoning question. The books that you use to learn CR should help you to know where to place your FOCUS. That is all that you really need from them.

Just to help you get started here are three articles that talk about where to place your focus for strengthen questions and Plan questions and on how to see critical reasoning like an expert does:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... duncan-way

https://www.veritasprep.com/blog/2013/0 ... an-expert/

https://www.businessweek.com/articles/20 ... -questions
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by ThomasLHall » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:18 pm
I see where David is coming from, but think that techniques/strategies are helpful for CR. It is very important to learn how to break down arguments into their parts (support, conclusion, etc.) and how to see flaws in arguments for this section. Both books are good, but I recommend MGMAT.

Also, pick one book and stick with it. You do not want to cross strategies, as that will be confusing. And focus a great deal on practice and review. Learn some strategies and then practice on problems that test them and review those problems carefully. GMAT Clarity has schedules that implement this type of practice on Verbal smoothly.
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by Divya Ann Chacko » Tue Mar 25, 2014 3:55 pm
Thank you for both of your suggestions.
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by [email protected] » Wed Mar 26, 2014 12:18 am
Hi Divya Ann Chacko,

What materials have you been using to study? Have you taken any practice CATs? If so, what have your Scaled Scores been for the Quant and Verbal sections?

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by Divya Ann Chacko » Thu Mar 27, 2014 7:40 am
I am using MGMAT books and official guide 13th edition...I didn't take tests fully ...but I took individually...for critical reasoning, I have power score.... But my cr is poor....
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by [email protected] » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:24 pm
Hi Divya Ann Chacko,

It's important to take a full-length practice CAT to establish your baseline score and give you a sense of how you perform against the timer and how you handle the endurance aspect of the GMAT. Even though some of your skills might not be great yet, it's still important to take that practice test.

While you admit that you're not great at CR, that question type might not be the biggest problem. Until we see a score breakdown, we won't know for sure.

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by Divya Ann Chacko » Thu Mar 27, 2014 5:48 pm
Yeah ...sure.....thank you for your kind reply....the main problem is I am afraid to take the test. Since I haven't even gone through many of the topics, I am really afraid to take a test....how can I get rid of that...??? I have finished studying the concepts in Maths and sentence correction. But I am not into critical reasoning, reading comprehension, AWA and integrated reasoning. A test contains every thing...so how can I get a feeling of appearing a test without preparing all the above..??? I hope you can help me for that....
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by [email protected] » Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:04 pm
Hi Divya Ann Chacko,

While it's understandable that there will be some material that you're not familiar with when you take your first practice CAT, it's just a PRACTICE CAT. The results can't hurt you, they can only help. Right now, we're interested in gathering information about your ability; the best way to assess your ability on any given day is with a practice CAT.

When someone decides to exercise heavily to get in shape, they shouldn't be afraid to step on a scale for the first time. That first weighing gives that person information about his/her starting weight and a way to measure his/her progress. It's just a starting value, but it's essential to the overall process.

There are plenty of CATs available (for free or at a reasonable price), so you should not consider this "wasting" a CAT. Just about everyone "screws up" their first CAT in some way - it's okay. You'll learn a lot more from making those mistakes than you realize; those experiences are essential for overall improvement.

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by Divya Ann Chacko » Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:31 pm
Thank you for your reply....I am going to try that. Thank you rich
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