GMAT Critical Reasoning Strategy

Below excerpt taken from PowerScore Bible forms a cohesive strategy to attack any kind of Critical Reasoning Questions.

Objective 1:

Determine whether the stimulus contains an argument or it is only a set of factual statements.

Objective 2:

If the stimulus contains an argument, identify the conclusion of the argument. If the stimulus contains a fact set, examine each fact.

Objective 3:

If the stimulus contains an argument, determine if the argument is strong or weak.

Objective 4:

Read closely and know precisely what the author said. So not generalize!

Objective 5:

Carefully read and identify the question stem. Do not assume that certain words are automatically associated with set of questions types.

Objective 6:

Prephrase:after reading the question stem, take a moment to mentally formulate your answer to the question stem.

Objective 7:

Always read each of the five answer choices.

Objective 8:

Separate the answer choices into contenders and Losers. After you complete this process, review the contenders and decide which answer is the correct one.

Objective 9:

If all five answer choices appears to be Losers, return to the stumulus and re-evaluate the argument.