critical reasoning solving time

[Manjareev]

how much time is good for solving a critical reasoning question? i take around 2mintutes. i know its too long. what are your views about this?

[Bill@VeritasPrep]

Two minutes isn't bad, but you can certainly get faster. What is your usual strategy when you see a CR question?

[Manjareev]

Well on simple note I just put myself in the question and ask the reasoning behind this. It usually worked for me.

[Bill@VeritasPrep]

Do you read the question stem first? It is a big time saver...it allows you to look for exactly what you need when you read the stimulus.

[Manjareev]

It's difficult for me to read the question stem first because my whole understanding process gets converted into zigzag. In every sentence there are some words which usually retain in my mind when approaching the next sentence. I pick some important words to relate the reasoning/logical which has to be understood.

[Bill@VeritasPrep]

It takes some getting used to, but reading the stem first helps. For example, if the stem asks us to strengthen the argument, we know that we have to identify the conclusion first. We can then go back and look for key words (as you do) in the existing premises to figure out what we need from the correct answer.

[Manjareev]

ok i will definitely try this thing for sure. according to you how much time is ideal for solving a CR question?

[Bill@VeritasPrep]

I think 90 seconds is a realistic target for most students, though you can certainly get even faster with enough practice.

[Manjareev]

i had set my target to 1min 20sec. so lets see how it will be in shape. thanks for your guidance. Thank you so much Sir.

[patanjali.purpose]

It takes some getting used to, but reading the stem first helps. For example, if the stem asks us to strengthen the argument, we know that we have to identify the conclusion first. We can then go back and look for key words (as you do) in the existing premises to figure out what we need from the correct answer.

Bill,

Could you elaborate on your point. I think I am missing something important.

regards,

[Bill@VeritasPrep]

It takes some getting used to, but reading the stem first helps. For example, if the stem asks us to strengthen the argument, we know that we have to identify the conclusion first. We can then go back and look for key words (as you do) in the existing premises to figure out what we need from the correct answer.

Bill,

Could you elaborate on your point. I think I am missing something important.

regards,

We face several different question types with in Critical Reasoning; the three most common are Strengthen, Weaken,and Inference.

With Strengthen and Weaken, the stimulus provides a complete argument: a conclusion and some premises used to draw that conclusion. Inference stems only provide premises (it is our job to supply the conclusion).

By knowing which type of question we're facing before we read the stimulus, we can focus our efforts. For Strengthen and Weaken, we need to identify the conclusion so we know what we're trying to support or undermine. For Inference, we have to find relationships between the premises to figure out what must be true.

Reading the stimulus without knowing what we're supposed to do with the information provided tends to be more time-consuming.