Critical Reasoning

I am getting 97% of the CR questions in the OG right. However, it takes me an average of 2:30 minutes to answer each question and that is really awful. I am using the following strategy to answer the questions and I'm not sure how would I improve my pacing in these questions:

1. I read the question stem first.
2. I read the argument passage next. (sometimes I need to read it another time before going to the next step)
3. I try to come up with some ideas. i.e. what are the hidden assumptions, how would the discrepancy be resolved?
4. I read the answer choices one by one and I eliminate each one that does not make sense. In this step sometimes I am compelled to read some choices again to make a final decision.

anyone?

Hi kashefian,

Here are some ideas that may help speed up your response time.

First off your methodology looks fine. I personally read the passage first and then the question stem, however, I have heard that this is more of a personal preference and it shouldn't effect your performance.

It is important to understand that with GMAT CR questions there is only one correct answer. One answer will be 100% correct and the other four will be 100% incorrect. It may sometimes seem like some of the answers are "kind of" correct, but this just means that you are overlooking something. Each incorrect answer will have a specific flaw that makes it impossible for it to be considered correct. It never comes down to a judgment call with GMAT CR questions. One is 100% correct. Four are 100% incorrect.

With that said, when you practice CR questions don't stop after you have found the right answer. Go through each of the wrong answers and determine exactly why it is incorrect. Find the specific reasons why that particular answer is different from the correct answer and why it doesn't work. I do this on every CR question I do (especially the ones I get wrong). At first I did it for my own enjoyment but I quickly noticed that it really does make a difference. It gets you in the habit of isolating the differences between answers. You quickly learn to spot the differences and determine what are the flaws.

If you are getting a lot of questions correct but you are taking too long, I suspect that it is because you are getting stuck on a couple of similar answers. Just remember that it is impossible for two answers to be correct and it will never come down to a judgment call. There is always a hidden flaw in one of the answers that will make it incorrect beyond a doubt.

Hope this helps...

I found a small flaw which kills your time. I would suggest the below steps to solve a CR:

1. Read the question stem first (All passages included)
2. Read the options
3. If the options are not clear or you are not able to understand which one should it be : Then think of assumptions, etc.

I think your option 3 might kill some time :'(

kashefian wrote:I am getting 97% of the CR questions in the OG right. However, it takes me an average of 2:30 minutes to answer each question and that is really awful. I am using the following strategy to answer the questions and I'm not sure how would I improve my pacing in these questions:

1. I read the question stem first.
2. I read the argument passage next. (sometimes I need to read it another time before going to the next step)
3. I try to come up with some ideas. i.e. what are the hidden assumptions, how would the discrepancy be resolved?
4. I read the answer choices one by one and I eliminate each one that does not make sense. In this step sometimes I am compelled to read some choices again to make a final decision.