In CR Questions, Rely on Pinpoint Logic Instead of “Gut Instinct”
A major part of being certain that a CR answer choice is incorrect is using clear, strong logic instead of “gut instinct.” In other words, you must be able to pinpoint exactly why an incorrect answer is incorrect, rather than basing your decisions on a vague idea that something “seems off” or “doesn’t seem like it would be right.”
In the same way that you shouldn’t allow your “gut” to decide which answers are wrong, you shouldn’t allow it to choose the correct answer either. In fact, a fundamental error that many test-takers make is to merely reread the 2 final choices they have to decide between and rely on gut instinct to choose which is correct. Even if they’ve employed sound logic up to that point, it’s almost as if these test-takers give up in the end because they just want to be done with the question.
If you want to win a race, you can’t collapse 10 feet before the finish line. Likewise, if you want to earn a high GMAT Focus Verbal score, you can’t simply “leave it up to fate” when you’re down to 2 answers in a question. On the contrary, that is precisely the time to really turn on your critical-thinking skills and higher-order logic and relentlessly seek out the correct answer.
The truth is, relying on your gut is no better than flipping a coin. Your gut can make up all sorts of stories and jump to all kinds of conclusions that are not supported by the information in the passage. The GMAT question-writers know this. The question-writers know that your gut is more likely to select trap choices written to seem correct than to select actual correct answers. They have set their traps to take advantage of the fact that when you rely on instinct, you abandon logical reasoning.
Warmest regards,
Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep
