GMAT Critical Reasoning

First, a GMAT Critical Reasoning practice question. 1) The Spotted Mole is a rodent that burrows underground and eats all forms of vegetable matter.   Farmers are concerned that this mole could eat some of their commercial fruits, planted in above-ground planters and bins.   The farmers need not worry about the Mole, though, because throughout the […]

More Than One Way Often the strongest ways to attack an argument is to undermine one of its pivotal assumptions: that’s something I discussed in this post: Arguments and Assumptions on-the GMAT. Other ways of attacking an argument include: a) questioning the evidence cited, and/or questioning the starting point b) showing argument leads to an […]

First of all, a few practice GMAT Critical Reasoning questions of this particular genre. 1) Studies have shown that highway drivers are less likely to drive at speeds greater than the posted speed limit if houses or buildings are in some way visible from the road.  Assuming similar car, road and traffic conditions, highway drivers […]

First, four GMAT CR practice questions of this genre. 1) The blue-tipped Puffer is a migratory bird that is found along the coast of this state in summer months.  The Puffers enjoy the seeds of Thomson’s Mulberry trees; because these trees are plentiful in the state’s Coastal Park, traditionally many blue-tipped puffers would be found […]

Many students find GMAT CR challenging. In addition to learning the individual strategies, there is also the challenging of processing these questions efficiently and not allowing each one to develop into a tremendous time sink. How does one increase one’s overall speed on GMAT Critical Reasoning?

Hello! 🙂 Before you dive into your thanksgiving meal this year, take a pause and learn about 2 real-world terms that just might show up on your GMAT test: sample size and statistical significance! After you’ve watched the video, you can also head over to this blog post to learn more about statistical significance, too. […]

Does any official GMAT Critical Reasoning question demand outside knowledge?  The frustrating answer to this question is: for the most part, no, but in a way, yes.  I will explain.   Self-contained It is absolutely true that if a GMAT CR question concerns, say, toxins in wood smoke, you need to know absolutely nothing about […]

Hello! Welcome to the third installment in the “Real World Matters” series. This one features a quick introduction to the American court system (you can learn more about it here!). After you’ve watched it, you’ll be ready to dissect GMAT passages with this topic a little quicker than before. 🙂 Here’s a still of the final […]

First, a few practice GMAT Critical Reasoning questions of this genre. 1) Homeowner Representative: Statistics show that burglar often target houses that appear unoccupied.  Therefore, when home owners away from their homes for several days, we recommend that they leave lights on, to give the impression that the house is occupied. Crime Expert: The same […]

This is the last post in the series of articles on real-life facts you need to know for GMAT Critical Reasoning. Here’s the full list: Economics: Supply and Demand Economics: Labor and Wages Economics: Inflation, unemployment, and interest rates Law: “beyond any reasonable doubt” Statistics: Statistical significance Statistical significance Most research in the natural and […]

This is the fourth post in the series of articles on real-life facts you need to know for GMAT Critical Reasoning. Here’s the full list: Economics: Supply and Demand Economics: Labor and Wages Economics: Inflation, unemployment, and interest rates Law: “beyond any reasonable doubt” Statistics: Statistical significance “beyond any reasonable doubt” In any decision in […]

This is the third post in the series of articles on real-life facts you need to know for GMAT Critical Reasoning. Here’s the full list: Economics: Supply and Demand Economics: Labor and Wages Economics: Inflation, unemployment, and interest rates Law: “beyond any reasonable doubt” Statistics: Statistical significance Inflation, unemployment, and interest rates Again, this fact […]

This is the second post in the series of articles on real-life facts you need to know for GMAT Critical Reasoning. Here’s the full list: Economics: Supply and Demand Economics: Labor and Wages Economics: Inflation, unemployment, and interest rates Law: “beyond any reasonable doubt” Statistics: Statistical significance Labor and Wages In some ways, this is […]

For the GMAT Verbal section, on Critical Reading and Reading Comprehension, you are not expected to have specialized expertise in the topics they discuss.  Sometimes, though, it is particularly helpful to have general real world knowledge.  If you make a habit of reading regularly— either a good newspaper (the New York Times, the Wall Street […]

Understand the task in this common GMAT Critical Reasoning question type.    Practice question Before reading the blog, try this question: 1) Which of the following most logically completes the passage? Recidivism is the return to criminal behavior, and consequently a return to prison, of a former prisoner who has already served in incarceration for […]

Master this fiendishly tricky variety of Critical Reasoning question on the GMAT! The philosopher Zeno of Elia (490-430 BCE) was famous for his mind-bending paradoxes.  One of them went like this: Suppose there were a race between Achilles (famed as the fastest runner in ancient Greece) and a tortoise, and the tortoise was given a […]

For many, one advantage of taking the GMAT over the Revised GRE is that they do not have to cram such polysyllabic franken-words as juxtaposition, tendentiousness, and didacticism. That doesn’t mean that a shaky grasp of vocabulary will hold you in good stead come time for the GMAT. There are certain words you must know, […]