Now that you have a good idea about how to approach critical reasoning on the GMAT, its time to learn some best practice techniques to help you achieve the tangible score improvement that I know you’ve all been craving. The best practice technique that I’m going to show you today is called – diagramming.
Diagramming is a very useful strategy to identify the three components of an argument. During the actual test, a combination of fatigue and long CR passages can confuse the test taker. Overcome this obstacle by diagramming the passage as you read; this will help to document the logical flow of the passage and to focus your attention.
Critical Reasoning 3 Step Diagram Method:
- Note keywords in each sentence as you read through the passage. Use a separate line for each sentence and main thought. Important keywords to note are: numbers, names, dates, places, quantities.
- Next to each line, write E if it is evidence, C if it is the conclusion
- Number each line in their logical order. Arguments should always flow in the direction of evidence -> conclusion.
Example
Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while another survives; it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed. It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or none at all.
Diagram
1E       Study auto accident reveal – majority one occupant is killed – one survives
2EÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Passenger killed
4CÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Ironic passenger suffer from driver carelessness
3EÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Driver minor injuries
Key Takeaways
Start today and use the diagram technique shown above on every critical reasoning question you encounter. Diagramming will help you organize the logic behind the argument and also help focus your attention as you read to reduce the chance of careless errors.
Special notice – since this is a new and unfamiliar process, it’s completely normal to need extra time to solve a CR problem. In fact, it may even take twice as long to solve a CR problem using the techniques shown today. However, don’t give up. There will always be a learning curve to overcome when you begin a new process. As you continue to practice, you will get much faster using the method shown. And as you continue to progress and refine your technique, you should notice a dramatic improvement in your CR accuracy. Diagramming becomes much more important as you approach higher level difficulty problems, so make sure you develop good habits early on and diagram all of your problems.
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