towerSpider wrote:powerscore to read stimulus first, AND THEN question stem but manhattan says opposite. which one you choose? and what would be your reasoning. in my case, i would go with manhattan.

What works best for you?
The reason MGMAT suggest to read que stem first is, sometime the conclusion is there in Question stem. And thats our prime objective in CR question to identify Conclusion.

I agree that ultimately what works best for you is going to be the correct method, however my preference is to read the stimulus first.

Since the questions ultimately relate to the passage, I know I'm going to have to understand it thoroughly no matter what - so I like to dive in right away. There is often more than one question for each CR, so you might as well have a strong understanding of the passage first.

With a lengthy passage, as in Reading Comprehension, you need to grasp the passage first. A strong understanding of the passage will give you the answers to key questions such as the global ones before you even read the stem. Strategic reading will even tell you what the questions are likely to be.

However, with short Critical Reasoning stimuli, you need to know what you are looking for before you read the paragraph. Otherwise you will end up going back and rereading the stimulus, which is a waste of time.