Critical Reasoning
Critical Reasoning arguments are just that, arguments. The author is trying to convince
you of some conclusion by supporting it with premises. Once you become adept at
spotting the different parts of the argument in context with the question type, you will
likely be able to anticipate the answer long before looking at the possible choices.
 Read the question first
 Read carefully, do not skim
 Identify parts of the argument



Premises
Conclusion
Assumptions or gaps
 Read all the answer choices
 Eliminate answer choices that



Are outside the scope
Go too far
Are too extreme !!!However….!!!
In an effort to save money, a country’s government is considering
reducing its military spending. However, without military contracts,
crucial industries in that country face bankruptcy, which could disrupt
the economy. Thus, the same government that is reducing its military
spending will eventually have to provide these industries with money
for peace time research and development.
Which of the following states the conclusion of the passage above?
A) The necessity of providing money to keep crucial industries from
going bankrupt will discourage the government from reducing
its military budget.
B) If the government decreases its military budget, it will eventually
be forced to increase its military budget to its former level.
C) The industries that receive research and development money will
be successful in their efforts to convert to peacetime
manufacturing.
D) In the event of war, this country would be unprepared for military
conflict.
E) Reducing military spending to save money will result in some
increases in other types of spending.
 Familiarize yourself with the eight major question types
1.
Find the conclusion
 It’s already there, just find it
 Watch out for a restated premise
 Eliminate the extreme
1
Keys to finding a Conclusion

Keys to finding a Premise
Also look for a sentence that can’t stand alone
When young students first look at modernist abstract painting, their
eyes are assailed by a seemingly meaningless mass of squiggles. It is
only after a study of the history of art and the forces which led up to
abstraction that it is possible to appreciate the intellectual sophistication
of modern art. Thus, a high-school study of modern art should always
begin with a study of the history of art.
Which of the following is the main point of the passage above?
A) To understand the history of art, it is necessary to study modern
art.
B) Young students are unable to fully appreciate the complexities of
modern art.
C) An understanding of art is essential to an understanding of modern
art.
D) To understand abstract art, students must first study the history of
art.
E) A high-school study of modern art will have little relevance to
students who lack a historical perspective.
2.
Supply your own conclusion
 This is why you read the question first
 The answer must be supported by all the evidence
 Avoid choices which restate the passage
 Eliminate the extreme
Fewer elected officials are supporting environmental legislation this
year than at any time in the last decade. In a study of thirty elected
officials, only five were actively campaigning for new environmental
legislation. This comes at a time when the public’s concern for the
environment is growing by leaps and bounds.
Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the passage
above?
A) More elected officials are needed to support environmental
legislation.
B) Elected officials have lost touch with the concerns of the public.
C) The five elected officials who actively campaigned for new
environmental legislation should be congratulated.
D) If the environment is to be saved, elected officials must support
environmental legislation.
E) If elected officials are truly to represent their constituents, many of
them must increase their support of environmental legislation.
2
3.
Assumption
 The answer is never stated in the passage
 Could list a number of assumptions, but the correct answer will be necessary and will support
the conclusion of the passage
 Eliminate the extreme
 There must be a link in the logic. If something new is introduced in the conclusion, it must be
supported by the premises.
Ronald Reagan ate too many jellybeans. Therefore he was a bad president.
Ronald Reagan was responsible for a huge national debt. Therefore, he was a bad president.
Many people believe that gold and platinum are the most valuable
commodities. To the true entrepreneur, however, gold and platinum are
less valuable than opportunities that can enable him to further enrich
himself. Therefore, in the world of high finance, information is the
most valuable commodity.
The author of the passage above makes which of the following
assumptions?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Gold and platinum are not the most valuable commodities.
Entrepreneurs are not like most people.
The value of information is incalculably high.
Information about business opportunities is accurate and will lead
to increases in wealth.
E) Only entrepreneurs feel that information is the most valuable
commodity.
4.
Strengthen the argument
 The answer is not stated in the passage
 Must support the conclusion
It has recently been proposed that we adopt an all-volunteer army. This
policy was tried on a limited basis several years ago, and was a
miserable failure. The level of education of the volunteers was
unacceptably low, while levels of drug use and crime soared among
army personnel. Can we trust our national defense to a volunteer
army? The answer is clearly “No.”
Which of the following statements, if true, most strengthens the
author’s claim that an all-volunteer army should not be implemented?
A) The general level of education has risen since the first time an allvolunteer army was tried.
B) The proposal was made by an organization called Citizens for
Peace.
C) The first attempt to create a volunteer army was carried out
according to the same plan now under proposal and under the
same conditions as those that exist today.
D) A volunteer army would be less expensive than an army that relies
on the draft.
E) The size of the army needed today is smaller than that needed
when a volunteer army was first tried.
3
5.
Weaken the argument
 The answer is not stated in the passage
 Identify the conclusion, the answer will weaken it
The recent turnaround of the LEX Corporation is a splendid example of
how an astute chief executive officer can rechannel a company’s assets
toward profitability. With the new CEO at the helm, LEX has gone, in
only three business quarters, from a 10 million dollar operating loss to a
22 million dollar operating gain.
A major flaw in the reasoning of the passage above is that
A) the passage assumes that the new CEO was the only factor that
affected the corporation’s recent success
B) the recent success of the corporation may be only temporary
C) the chief executive officer may be drawing a salary and bonus that
will set a damaging precedent for this and other corporations
D) the author does not define “profitability”
E) rechanneling assets is only a short-term solution
6.
Inference
 Have little to do with the conclusion, it’s more directed towards the premises
 Eliminate the extreme
In film and videotape, it is possible to induce viewers to project their
feelings onto characters on the screen. In one study, when a camera
shot of a woman’s face was preceded by a shot of a baby in a crib, the
audience thought the woman’s face was registering happiness. When
the same shot of the woman’s face was preceded by a shot of a lion
running toward the camera, the audience thought the woman’s face was
registering fear. Television news teams must be careful to avoid such
manipulation of their viewers.
Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A) Television news teams have abused their position of trust in the
past.
B) The expression on the woman’s face was, in actuality, blank.
C) A camera shot of a baby in a crib provoked feelings of happiness
in the audience.
D) Audiences should strive to be less gullible.
E) The technique for manipulating audiences described in the passage
would work with film or videotape.
4
7.
Resolve the paradox
 Take two seemingly contradictory facts and make it possible for both to be true
In 1994, TipTop Airlines reported an increase in the total number of
passengers it carried from the year before, but a decrease in total
revenues – even though prices for its tickets on all routes remained
unchanged during the two-year period.
Which of the following, if true, best reconciles the apparent paradox
described above?
A)
B)
C)
D)
TipTop Airlines was a victim of a mild recession in 1994.
Total passenger miles were up on 1994.
Fuel costs remained constant during the two-year period.
Passengers traveled shorter (and thus less expensive) distances in
1994.
E) TipTop did not buy any new airplanes or equipment in 1994.
8.
Mimic the reasoning
 Look for the pattern (e.g. P→Q)
World-class marathon runners do not run more than six miles a day
when they are training. Therefore, if you run more than six miles a
day, you are not world-class.
Which of the following statements supports its conclusion in the same
manner as the argument above?
A) Sprinters always run in the morning. If it is morning, and you see
someone running, it will not be a sprinter.
B) Paint never dries in less than three hours. If it dries in less than
three hours, it is not paint.
C) Little League games are more fun for the parents than for the
children who actually play. Therefore, the parents should be
made to play.
D) If a car starts in the morning, chances are it will start again that
evening. Our car always starts in the morning, and it always
starts in the evening as well.
E) If you sleep less than four hours a night, you may be doing
yourself a disservice. Studies have shown that the most
valuable sleep occurs in the fifth hour.
5
 Cause and effect

Just because something precedes or is associated with something else, doesn’t mean it was
the cause
Since the increase in rainfall, there has been an increase in the harvest of wheat. Therefore
the more rain we have, the more bushels of wheat we can produce.
Every time I walk my dog, it rains. Therefore, walking my dog must be the cause of the rain.

Sometimes, however, they will tell you that something is a cause. In this case do not assume
that nothing else can cause it as well
Choose the equivalent to “If Steve studies, then he will pass his test.”
A)
B)
C)
D)

If Steve doesn’t study, then he will not pass his test.
If Steve passed his test, then he studied.
If Steve didn’t pass his test, then he didn’t study.
Steve studied and didn’t pass his test.
An understanding of Formal Logic can sometimes be beneficial
Equivalent
Negation
P→Q
P→Q
Reading skills among high school students in Gotham have been
steadily declining, which and only be the result of overcrowding in
schools.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument
expressed above?
A) The high school system in Gotham succeeds in giving students a
good education at considerably less cost than do most systems.
B) Several cities have found that overcrowding in the schools is not
always associated with lower reading scores.
C) Gotham schools have a greater teacher—to-student ratio than most
other school systems.
D) Students’ reading skills have not declined in other cities where the
high schools are just as crowded as those of Gotham.
E) Schools are not overcrowded in many cities where high school
reading scores have declined more than they have in Gotham.
6