Master GMAT Critical Reasoning: Time-Saving Strategy [Video]

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GMAT Critical Reasoning questions come in a variety of different flavors — strengthen, weaken, evaluate, complete, etc. However, the vast majority of Critical Reasoning GMAT questions center around one thing: identifying the conclusion of the argument. Because of this, the conclusion is the most important part of the passage.

In this video, we’ll go over a strategy for mastering GMAT Critical Reasoning questions that will help you hone in on the most important parts of Critical Reasoning passages for faster and more effective reading.

First, we’ll learn that keyword skimming is one of the best GMAT Critical Reasoning tips. We’ll discuss the two types of keywords that are used to signal conclusions on Critical Reasoning GMAT passages: cause and effect keywords (“since”, “because”, “therefore”, “so”, “as a consequence”, etc.) and more traditional conclusion keywords (“clearly”, “conclusion”, etc.).

Then, we’ll walk through the strategy for approaching GMAT Critical Reasoning passages:

1. Skim for a cause and effect or conclusion keyword
2. Read the sentence it’s in (that’s our conclusion)
3. Read the rest of the argument as necessary based on the question

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We’ll look at how this strategy can be applied across a few real Critical Reasoning GMAT questions, pointing out how different passages have different structures.

Finally, we’ll look at some of the other applications of keyword skimming on the GMAT, in both GMAT Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension passages.

Watch the video to learn more!

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Happy GMAT Critical Reasoning studies!

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Author: Erika John

Erika graduated from the University of Washington and got a 99th-percentile score on the GMAT. With years of experience teaching standardized test prep and directing a private tutoring academy, Erika is passionate about giving students the tools they need to succeed in cracking the GMAT and GRE.