Different Types of Wrong Answers for GRE Critical Reading Questions

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Before launching into the six different types of Critical Reasoning questions mentioned in this series, you should familiarize yourself with how best to approach them.

Let’s take the following sample. The part in italics is called the argument. The question below the argument is called the question (that part’s easy!).

The Malbec grape, originally grown in France, has become the main varietal in Argentina. This is surprising because most Malbec grown in Argentina is grown at high altitudes, whereas the Malbec grape once was grown at low altitudes. Therefore, Argentinian winegrowers should grow the Malbec grape at low elevations.

Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the conclusion of the argument?

(A)  The Bordeaux grape is the most popular grape in France but is rarely, if ever, grown in Argentina.

(B)  Some varietals are unable to grow at high altitudes.

(C)  The soil at high altitudes is filled with nutrients that help the Malbec grape grow.

(D) The Malbec vine is susceptible to phylloxera, a plant louse that only grows at low altitudes.

(E)  Malbec has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity, and can be found in many different countries.

Step #1 – Identify the parts of the argument

An argument is built on premises. Premises are facts on which the conclusion rests.  That is, without the premises, the conclusion could not be validly drawn.

In the argument above the premises are as follows:

Premise 1: The Malbec grape in Argentina is grown at high elevations.

Premise 2: The Malbec grape was originally grown in low elevations in France.

The conclusion is based on these two premises. The conclusion is usually easy to spot, because it typically uses ‘therefore’ or ‘thus’ to begin a sentence.

Conclusion:  Therefore, Argentinian winegrowers should grow Malbec grape at low elevations.

Step #2 – Simplify

Once you’ve gotten the hang of spotting the premises and conclusion, you should get in the habit of simplifying the argument. After all, the argument has a lot of verbiage and usually contains words that are foreign or difficult to pronounce.

In addition to abbreviation (Malbec grape can be shortened to M.G.), make sure to also simplify how the argument arrives at the conclusion:

M.G. originally grown low altitudes; in A. grown high altitudes; therefore, M.G. should be grown at low altitudes in A.

If you are just starting off, you should definitely write down your simplification of the argument. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you can simplify the argument in your head.

So what is the point of simplifying the argument? Well, when you do steps #3 and #4, not having to constantly refer back to the argument, but having a working sense of the argument in your head, will help you answer the question more quickly and accurately.

Step #3 – Anticipate the answer

To anticipate the answer, you of course have to read the question. The better you understand the different question types, the easier it will be to anticipate the answer.

By anticipating the answer, I don’t mean to come up with an answer hoping for an exact match with the correct answer. That most likely is not going to happen. Rather, in anticipating the answer you have to ask yourself: What must the correct answer do? In the case here, the correct answer must provide a reason why growing the Malbec grape at low elevations is a bad idea.

Step #4 – Know what makes an answer choice wrong

In looking for the correct answer, you should always have a sense of why the wrong answers are wrong. Luckily, wrong answers typically fall into one of several buckets.

Out of Scope

This is another way of saying irrelevant. Basically, the answer choice, while providing interesting information, doesn’t directly bear on what is being asked. For the Malbec argument, an Out of Scope answer choice could mention other grape varieties, other countries, are anything relating to the wine industry (while of course omitting any mention of the Malbec grape and Argentina).

Does the Opposite

This wrong answer choice only applies to certain types of Critical Reasoning questions. In the case with weaken/strengthen, the type the Malbec grape question falls into, an answer choice that strengthens a ‘weaken question’ or an answer choice that weakens a ‘strengthen question’ is doing the opposite. These can be tempting because they are definitely relevant to the argument. So be on our guard.

Now let’s see if we can correctly identify the wrong answers (and, of course, choose the right one!).

Close But not Quite

The trickiest of the batch, this wrong answer type is definitely not Out of Scope. It sort of provides an answer. Remember, however, that you are looking for the best answer.

The Close but not Quite usually requires you to make some assumptions in order to make the answer truly work. So, when you are confronted by an answer choice, and think, ‘Well that kind of works, if I assume…’ then you are usally dealing with a Close but not Quite.

(A)  The Bordeaux grape is the most popular grape in France but is rarely, if ever, grown in Argentina.

Out of Scope – We are focusing on the Malbec grape.

(B)  Some varietals are unable to grow at high altitudes.

Out of Scope – Again, we are focusing on the Malbec grape and no not care about other types of wine/varietals.

(C)  The soil at high altitudes is filled with nutrients that help the Malbec grape grow.

This is by far the most tempting wrong answer, and unsurprisingly falls into the Close But not Quite category. Answer (C) gives us a reason why the Malbec grape can also flourish at higher elevations. However, just because it CAN grow at high elevations, doesn’t mean it can’t grow, and perhaps even flourish better, at low elevations.

We want a strong answer that gels with our Anticipation of the Answer: Why moving the Malbec grape to low elevations would be a bad idea. Close but not Quite.

(D) The Malbec vine is susceptible to phylloxera, a plant louse that destroys the grape and only grows at low altitudes

Answer: Here we have a great reason why the Malbec grape cannot be grown at low altitudes: The phylloxera will destroy the grape.

(E)  Malbec grows best near the ocean, because the amount of relative humidity found here helps the grape flourish.

Here we have a reason that would strengthen the argument. That is, moving the Malbec grape to low elevations would be a good idea. Does the Opposite.

Takeaway

The Critical Reasoning question is a difficult question type. Make sure to follow the steps above so you can avoid being confused for either the argument or the answer choices.