{"id":2186,"date":"2012-07-17T09:00:35","date_gmt":"2012-07-17T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?p=2186"},"modified":"2012-06-28T16:23:52","modified_gmt":"2012-06-28T23:23:52","slug":"gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Critical Reasoning is one of the more difficult sections on the GMAT to teach. A difficult section then invites a variety of methods, including the use of GMAT books<\/a>, to hack it. And while I am only one tutor out of potentially thousands, I simply do not think Manhattan GMAT\u2019s approach to teaching Critical Reasoning is effective.<\/p>\n

I could of course divorce my personal experiences and instead judge the MGMAT Critical Reasoning book on its ability to clearly convey core principles while providing a stable foundation (it does a decent job). But, I have not had success using its methods of drawing diagrams to map out the question, and therefore I find it difficult to endorse this book. That is not to say that you, as a GMAT student, will necessarily feel the same.<\/p>\n

So my advice is to try using the MGMAT Critical Reasoning methods on official content. If its strategies work, that\u2019s great. If not, know that you have other options. For instance, Kaplan has a far more straightforward\u2014and in my opinion\u2014effective approach to approaching Critical Reading questions.<\/p>\n

Notice in the preceding paragraph, I mentioned official material. I did not feel that much of the content on the MGMAT reflected actual GMAT Critical Reasoning questions very accurately. It\u2019s hard to put my finger on why\u2014perhaps it is simply the way in which the argument is written and the language employed in the answer choices (I don\u2019t think the answer choices are as misleading as those found in actual GMAT questions).<\/p>\n

So if you feel the MGMAT Critical Reasoning guide is a good fit for you, go ahead and learn its strategies, and even tackle some of its practice questions. But make sure you supplement your learning by applying the MGMAT strategies to actual questions. Again, if you start to notice that the diagramming and general strategies don\u2019t apply well to actual questions, then remember there are always other approaches to Critical Reasoning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Critical Reasoning is one of the more difficult sections on the GMAT to teach. A difficult section then invites a variety of methods, including the use of GMAT books, to hack it. And while I am only one tutor out of potentially thousands, I simply do not think Manhattan GMAT\u2019s approach to teaching Critical Reasoning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13210],"class_list":["post-2186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Critical Reasoning is one of the more difficult sections on the GMAT to teach. A difficult section then invites a variety of methods, including the use of GMAT books, to hack it. And while I am only one tutor out of potentially thousands, I simply do not think Manhattan GMAT\u2019s approach to teaching Critical Reasoning […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-06-28T23:23:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Lele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@chrismagoosh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshGMAT\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Lele\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chris Lele\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546\"},\"headline\":\"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\"},\"wordCount\":340,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"GMAT Books\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\",\"name\":\"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam\",\"description\":\"Everything you need to know about the GMAT\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png\",\"width\":265,\"height\":60,\"caption\":\"Magoosh\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546\",\"name\":\"Chris Lele\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/0acb1b2097fd77b56ab6475c9b41cb27\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Lele\"},\"description\":\"Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News, GMAC, and Business Because.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\",\"ttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"GRE\",\"GMAT\",\"SAT\",\"ACT\",\"MCAT (CARS)\",\"LSAT\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Principal Curriculum Manager\",\"worksFor\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/chris\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide","og_description":"Critical Reasoning is one of the more difficult sections on the GMAT to teach. A difficult section then invites a variety of methods, including the use of GMAT books, to hack it. And while I am only one tutor out of potentially thousands, I simply do not think Manhattan GMAT\u2019s approach to teaching Critical Reasoning […]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/","article_published_time":"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-06-28T23:23:52+00:00","author":"Chris Lele","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@chrismagoosh","twitter_site":"@MagooshGMAT","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Lele","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/"},"author":{"name":"Chris Lele","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546"},"headline":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide","datePublished":"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/"},"wordCount":340,"commentCount":6,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"articleSection":["GMAT Books"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/","name":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide - Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-07-17T16:00:35+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/gmat-book-review-manhattan-gmat-critical-reasoning-guide\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GMAT Book Review: Manhattan GMAT, Critical Reasoning Guide"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2014 GMAT\u00ae Exam","description":"Everything you need to know about the GMAT","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#organization","name":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/files\/2019\/04\/Magoosh-logo-purple-60h.png","width":265,"height":60,"caption":"Magoosh"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshGMAT\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/MagooshGMAT"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/3b6630b4f786513b81a860849cffd546","name":"Chris Lele","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/0acb1b2097fd77b56ab6475c9b41cb27","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Lele"},"description":"Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News, GMAC, and Business Because.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/","ttps:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0","https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w"],"knowsAbout":["GRE","GMAT","SAT","ACT","MCAT (CARS)","LSAT"],"jobTitle":"Principal Curriculum Manager","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/author\/chris\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13210,"user_id":10,"is_guest":0,"slug":"chris","display_name":"Chris Lele","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/39381a6b4ab74cd4c87c7e678683c33c3b18f1e14f6f0ac762a946185968952b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Lele","first_name":"Chris","description":"Chris Lele is the Principal Curriculum Manager (and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Vocabulary-Builder-Workbook-Activities-Must-Know\/dp\/193975481X\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">vocabulary wizard<\/a>) at Magoosh. Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He's been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mba.com\/exams-and-exam-prep\/gmat-exam\/why-take-the-gmat-in-2021-when-many-schools-are-test-optional\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GMAC<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessbecause.com\/news\/gmat\/3263\/mba-admissions-gre-challenges-gmat\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Business Because<\/a>.\r\n\r\n\r\nIn his time at Magoosh, Chris has taught countless students how to tackle the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/GRE-Prep-Magoosh\/dp\/1939418917\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> GRE<\/a>, GMAT, SAT, ACT, MCAT (CARS), and LSAT exams with confidence. Some of his students have even gone on to get near-perfect scores. You can find Chris on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCZ4sGYJ6l0cgnVNIHY8GY6w\">YouTube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/chris-lele-095005a0\"> LinkedIn<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/chrismagoosh\">Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ChrisLeleMagoosh1\/\">Facebook<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2186\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2186"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}