Eliminate Only Answers You’re Sure Are Wrong First

Usually, in a Critical Reasoning question, 3 of the 5 answer choices are pretty clearly incorrect. Those 3 clearly incorrect choices are the ones you’ll want to eliminate in your first pass through the answer choices. By first eliminating answer choices that are obviously not correct, you “narrow the field” and allow yourself to focus on the remaining 2 or 3 answers, which are usually more difficult to process and evaluate.

The important thing to remember is that eliminating answer choices that are clearly incorrect is vastly different from eliminating choices that you’re unsure about. In this first pass, you’ll want to keep those choices you think might be wrong but you’re unsure, or those answers that seem a little sketchy but could go either way. Keeping those choices will give you a chance to evaluate them more closely.

Furthermore, you may be surprised to learn that test-takers often eliminate the correct answer to a CR first! Why? Because the correct answer to a CR question often says something that is not obviously connected to the argument. So, if you’re unsure about an answer choice because you can’t immediately connect it to the argument, but you’re not 100% sure that it’s wrong, you’re better off hanging onto it to evaluate it further.

Additionally, if you’re having trouble finding an answer choice that works, remember that you can always revisit choices that you’ve eliminated. It may be that you mistakenly eliminated the correct answer.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep