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Need some help in CR section

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Need some help in CR section

by Param800 » Thu Oct 24, 2013 7:48 am
Hello everyone,

For CR section I am focusing all my energy on PowerScore CR Bible. The way I am practising is that I first complete one chapter from the book and then solve some questions for practice. For instance, I covered Must to be True question type and started practising few problems from different sources such as OG and GMAT forms. The problem which I am facing is that I am really getting depressed by my performance. I usually get 50 % questions right and for the rest I just get stuck in 2 options and then always choose the wrong one. I tend to fall in the " Shell Game trap" or sometimes I can't decide why those 2 final contenders are wrong. I pick the option which is best among the two good answers. But, I know that it doesn't work like that. There should always a reason to discard the option.
I am getting really depressed because I know all the concepts for that section but still I get half of the questions wrong.

What should I do ? Will practice increase my confidence ? Or is it just a time-waste and I should focus on SC more?

I really want to get a good GMAT score and after studying so much and seeing that I get only 50%, I really want to throw my laptop away and maybe then beat someone..lol...Sorry, but this CR stuff is making me crazy !!

Any help would be really appreciated.
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by [email protected] » Thu Oct 24, 2013 12:49 pm
Hi Param800,

There are a variety of options (books, courses, tutors, etc.) that exist to help you prepare for the GMAT. The ultimate value of an of those options is based on whether it helps you to improve or not. If this book isn't helping you, then maybe you need to use a different resource. By your own admission, however you're approaching CR questions is only helping you to get half the questions correct. So maybe a different approach would help you to improve.

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by David@VeritasPrep » Fri Oct 25, 2013 11:41 am
The key to Critical Reasoning - and the key to the verbal section as a whole - is the proper focus. You need to "narrow your focus" on the Critical Reasoning section. What do I mean by this? I mean that you need to learn to pick up the key words and concepts that point you in the right direction,as well as those words in the answer choices that let you know that the particular answer is wrong.

Here are things you need to look out for:

1) Shifts in wording. This is very important. When you see that the argument is talking about the number of cars for sale and the conclusion shift to the number of cars that have been sold you note that these are not the same. The correct answer is very likely based on this shift.

2) Adjectives, adverbs, absolutes -- in other words, things they did not have to say! If the argument says that "All Males Play Tennis and John is a Male" I am not at all impressed with a conclusion of "John plays tennis." This is not interesting because there is nothing for the answer choice to do! But what if the conclusion says "John ONLY plays tennis." As in, he does not play any other sports. Aha! Now we know what to focus on. We need something that links this up - something like "Tennis players are too busy to play any other sport."

3) Look at the answer choices for words that eliminate those. For example, on inference questions you probably know that "all" and "none" are much harder to prove and do not appear in the correct answer very often. The same words are also very likely wrong on assumption answers. Things like this can you help out a lot.

4) Watch out for your own knowledge. Stick to the argument! If the test writers can get you to answer based on your own knowledge then you have fallen into their trap.

5) If you can put the conclusion and the evidence together and focus on those things, rather than focusing too much on the background information, you will be well on your way. Here is an article I wrote about this https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... duncan-way

Do not over complicate critical reasoning or the verbal section. "Paint by numbers" is what you want! Make verbal easier, think less and recognize more and you will be on your way!
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by Param800 » Sat Oct 26, 2013 10:46 am
Thank You David. You are really awesome !! Thanks
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