Do Not Attempt to “Pre-Think” Answers in Critical Reasoning Questions

A gimmicky CR strategy that is all too common in GMAT Focus circles is to attempt to “pre-think” the answer to a question. In other words, a test-taker reads the passage, reads the question stem, and then tries to guess what the correct answer will be without reading the answer choices. This is a rookie maneuver.

When test-takers pre-think, they fall into a number of extremely well-researched cognitive biases. These biases can make determining the correct answer to a CR question significantly harder, and at the same time, make falling into a trap much easier.

GMAT Focus question-writers have MASSIVE amounts of data on the mistakes that test-takers are likely to make when they pre-think answers. This data very surely is used to create trap answers that many “pre-thinkers” fall into.

Here at Target Test Prep, we too have large amounts of data on how students incorrectly “pre-think” answers to practice questions. And yes, to better prepare our students for challenges of the GMAT Focus, we use this data to engineer trap answer choices in our CR practice questions.

Remember, CR questions test your ability to analyze the logic of an argument or plan, not your ability to find a justification for your preconceived notion of what the answer should be.

More to the point, why waste your valuable time trying to guess what the answer will be when the actual 5 answer choices are right there in front of you? Skip the unnecessary task of pre-thinking an answer and simply read through the answer choices presented.

Warmest regards,

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder & CEO, Target Test Prep