GRE Critical Reasoning: 6 Key Tips for Mastery

Last Updated on March 8, 2024

Critical Reasoning (CR) questions, which are sometimes called “paragraph argument” questions, are a type of GRE Reading Comprehension question that challenges your thinking skills across a wide range of situations that require critical analysis, logical reasoning, and attention to detail. In fact, some test-takers find Critical Reasoning GRE questions to be the trickiest questions in the GRE Verbal section. So, to master GRE CR, you must become skilled in analyzing arguments and handling answer choices that are cleverly worded to trick, trap, and confuse you.

Critical Reasoning (CR) questions are a type of GRE Reading Comprehension question that challenges your thinking skills across a wide range of situations that require critical analysis, logical reasoning, and attention to detail.

In this article, we’ll cover 6 key tips that you can use to master GRE Critical Reasoning. First, however, let’s review some Critical Reasoning basics and the different GRE CR question types.

• The Basics of GRE Critical Reasoning
• GRE Critical Reasoning Question Types
• Tip 1: Read the Passage First
• Tip 2: Learn to Identify the Parts of an Argument
  • Evidence or Premises
  • Assumptions
  • Conclusion
• Tip 3: Do Not Seek to “Pre-Think” the Answers to Critical Reasoning Questions
• Tip 4: Critical Reasoning Incorrect Answer Choices Use Our Cognitive Biases Against Us
• Tip 5: Support Your Choices with Solid Logic
• Tip 6: Do GRE Critical Reasoning Practice Questions Untimed
• GRE Critical Reasoning: Key Takeaways
• What’s Next?

Let’s begin by discussing the nuts and bolts of Critical Reasoning on the GRE.

The Basics of GRE Critical Reasoning

First, let’s get straight how many Critical Reasoning questions are on the GRE. Of the 27 Verbal Reasoning questions you see on the GRE, 1 or 2 will be Critical Reasoning questions. In addition, you may see a couple of Critical Reasoning-style questions asked about some of the more standard Reading Comprehension passages. All of the Critical Reasoning questions that appear on the GRE are designed to test your skill in making and analyzing arguments and plans.

KEY FACT:

GRE Critical Reasoning questions are designed to test your skill in making and analyzing arguments and plans.

Each Critical Reasoning question starts with a stimulus, usually a short passage of about 70 words or fewer, followed by a question about the passage. Then, the answer choices will appear in one of two formats: you’ll see either 5 answer choices, of which 1 will be the correct answer to the question, or 3 answer choices, of which 1, 2, or 3 will correctly answer the question. Regardless of whether the answer choices are in the 5-choice format or the 3-choice format, your task is essentially the same: to determine whether each choice you are faced with is logically related to the stimulus in the way defined by the question.

The passages in GRE Critical Reasoning questions discuss subjects such as business, science, government, and history, to name a few, but you don’t need any specialized knowledge of such subjects in order to answer CR questions. The only information you may need other than that presented by the passages will be information that is considered “common knowledge.”

For example, to correctly answer a CR question, you might need to know that revenue is the money a company receives from customers, but you would not need to know what accelerated depreciation is. The first is common knowledge, while the second is specialized accounting knowledge.

Simply put, CR questions do not test your level of knowledge; they test your skill in logically analyzing information presented to you. So, what you need for correctly answering CR questions is skill in the use of logic, along with attention to detail and an ability to avoid mental traps.

KEY FACT:

CR questions do not test your level of knowledge; they test your skill in logically analyzing information presented to you.

Now that we know the basics of CR questions and what CR questions on the GRE test, let’s take a look at the various types of CR questions.

GRE Critical Reasoning Question Types

There are 7 major Critical Reasoning GRE question types:

1. Identify the Assumption: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that states an assumption upon which the argument depends.
2. Weaken the Argument: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that presents a fact that would weaken the argument or cast doubt on the conclusion. 
3. Strengthen the Argument: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that presents a fact that would strengthen the argument or support the conclusion.
4. Inference: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that states a conclusion that follows from the information presented in the passage.
5. Resolve the Paradox: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that presents a fact that would resolve or explain a situation that appears to be paradoxical. 
6. Complete the Passage: Questions of this type ask you to find the answer choice that best completes an uncompleted passage.
7. Boldface: Questions of this type ask you to determine what roles parts of a passage play in an argument.  

Of these 7 question types, the first 3 — Assumption, Weaken, and Strengthen — are the ones that appear most often on the GRE. However, you never know what mix of questions you’ll see on test day. So, it’s important to be prepared to handle questions of any type. The good news is that answering CR questions of any of these types takes the same basic set of skills: analyzing arguments, understanding what the questions are asking, and telling the difference between tempting incorrect choices and correct answers.

KEY FACT:

Answering CR questions of any type takes the same basic set of skills: analyzing arguments, understanding what the questions are asking, and telling the difference between tempting incorrect choices and correct answers.

Now, let’s take a look at some key GRE Critical Reasoning tips. 

Tip 1: Read the Passage First

Many people wonder whether it’s best to read the passage first or the question stem first when answering a GRE Critical Reasoning question. My strong suggestion is that you read the passage first, and here’s why.

Understanding the passage is the foundation of correctly answering the question. If you don’t understand the passage, the probability that you’ll answer the question correctly is pretty slim. On the other hand, if you totally understand the passage, the best answer choice may be quite obvious. In fact, I’ve seen students’ Critical Reasoning performance improve radically just because they started making a point of fully understanding the passages. So, when you’re answering a CR question, complete understanding of the passage is a priority.

Accordingly, when you’re reading the passage, you don’t want to be distracted by anything, such as the question stem. If you read the question stem before reading the passage, you’ll be reading the passage with the question stem in mind, rather than simply doing your best to fully understand the passage. As a result, you may miss key details of the passage that you would have picked up on had you read the passage without the question stem in mind. 

Here’s the thing: you can read and understand a given argument perfectly well without reading the question first. After all, you don’t need to know that you’ll have to, for instance, weaken the argument, in order to recognize that you are reading an argument that works in a certain way.

Also, you may waste precious time by reading the question stem first because you will likely have to read the question stem again after you’ve read the passage to make sure that you’re answering the correct question as you go through the answer choices.

So, my advice is, for best results, when you’re answering a Critical Reasoning question, read the passage first.

TTP PRO TIP:

Reading the passage first when you answer a CR question helps ensure that you fully understand and pick up on the key details of the passage.

Tip 2: Learn to Identify the Parts of an Argument

Arguments are made up of the following key elements:

• evidence or premises, which are facts that form the foundation of the argument

• assumptions, which are unstated or unwritten facts on which the argument depends

• a conclusion, which is supported by the evidence

• A CR passage may also include some background information that provides context for the argument. For example, “In the nation of Centralia, cyclists outnumber automobile drivers ten to one.”

We can think of an argument as if it were a math equation:

(any background info) + Evidence + Assumption = Conclusion

Learning to identify these key parts of an argument in a passage can make a big difference in your Critical Reasoning performance. By understanding which parts of the argument are which, you’ll put yourself in a better position to determine how the answer choices relate to the argument. 

If, for instance, you have to find a choice that strengthens the support for the conclusion of an argument, you’ll be in a much better position to find that choice if you understand exactly what the conclusion of the argument is than you will be if you only have a general idea of the point of the argument.

With that in mind, let’s discuss the elements of an argument in a bit more depth.

Evidence or Premises

Most, though not all, Critical Reasoning passages will include some evidence, or premises. Premises are statements of fact that support the argument’s conclusion. They’re the reasons the author of the argument gives for believing that the conclusion is true.

Now, a key thing to understand about the premises in Critical Reasoning arguments is the following. In the real world, we might question whether statements made by someone in support of a conclusion are true. In the world of CR, the premises are considered facts.
In other words, we always consider the premises in a GRE Critical Reasoning argument true.

KEY FACT:

The premises in a GRE CR argument are always considered statements of fact.

Assumptions

Whereas the premises of an argument are directly stated in the passage, assumptions never are. Rather, assumptions are unwritten facts that must be true in order for an argument to work.

For example, in the simple argument, “Children like to play. Therefore, Sally must like to play,” a key unwritten assumption is that Sally is a child. After all, if Sally is not a child, then the fact that children like to play is not a good reason to believe that Sally must like to play. Without that assumption the argument doesn’t work. 

So, we can think of assumptions as the glue that holds an argument together. Although unwritten, the assumptions connect the argument’s evidence to its conclusion.

KEY FACT:

Assumptions are unwritten pieces of information that must be true in order for an argument’s evidence to support its conclusion.

Conclusion

The conclusion of an argument is the statement or claim that follows from the premises. Of all the parts of an argument, the conclusion is the most important one to identify, because the conclusion is the main point of the argument. In other words, the purpose of the argument is to support the conclusion, and as a result, identifying the conclusion is generally essential to efficiently and correctly answering a CR question.

KEY FACT:

Identifying the conclusion of the argument is essential to efficiently and correctly answering a CR question.

There are two things we can do to identify a conclusion. One is to look for conclusion keywords such as “therefore,” “thus,” “so,” “clearly,” or “must.” A sentence that includes these keywords is usually, though not always, the conclusion of the argument.

The second way to identify the conclusion is to look for a statement that is supported by the other statements in the passage. The main conclusion of an argument will always be supported by any evidence that is provided and won’t support anything else said by the passage.

So, for example, in our simple argument from before, “Children like to play. Therefore, Sally must like to play,” we can see that the sentence “Therefore, Sally must like to play,” includes the conclusion keywords “therefore” and “must” and is supported by the other sentence, “Children like to play.”

KEY FACT:

To identify the main conclusion of an argument, look for conclusion keywords and for a statement that is supported by the other statements.

Let’s apply what we have just discussed to the following CR question. As you go through the passage, try to identify the premises and conclusion. The correct answer is an assumption upon which the argument depends.

The passage consists of two sentences. At the beginning of the second sentence, we see the conclusion keyword “so,” allowing us to determine that the first sentence must be a premise that supports the second sentence. 

Premise: Given the amount of sunlight in our area of the world, even if the roof of the average house were completely covered with solar panels, the planes would provide only about two-thirds of the electrical power used by the appliances a house typically has. 

Conclusion: In our area of the world, rooftop solar will never be the sole source of electrical power for houses. 

Note that the conclusion is a prediction: “…rooftop solar will never be the sole source…”

In making a prediction, the author of the argument assumes that nothing will change to make the prediction incorrect. 

Choice (A) highlights just such a change. If appliances will be redesigned to use half the power that they currently do, then solar panels providing two-thirds of current power needs could be the sole source of power for houses. 
The conclusion would no longer follow from the evidence. For the prediction to come true, we must know that this change will not happen.

From this example, we can see how helpful it is to be able to identify the evidence, conclusion, and assumptions that make up an argument in a CR passage. So, as you prepare for GRE CR, focus on learning to identify the key parts of the arguments you see.

TTP PRO TIP:

As you prepare for GRE CR, focus on learning to identify the key parts of the arguments you see.

Tip 3: Do Not Seek to “Pre-Think” the Answers to Critical Reasoning Questions

A gimmicky GRE Critical Reasoning strategy that you may have heard about is “pre-thinking” the answers to the questions. Pre-thinking involves seeking to come up with or guess the answer to a CR question after reading the passage and question stem but before reading the answer choices.

The rationale for pre-thinking is that it will help you to understand the passage and identify the correct answer to the question. The truth is that pre-thinking is a rookie maneuver that can sabotage your performance, and here’s why.

For one thing, pre-thinking takes time. As you know, when taking the GRE, we have to use time efficiently, and taking the extra step of pre-thinking answer choices uses up some of our precious time. Now, of course, if pre-thinking were a surefire way of arriving at the correct answer to a CR question, then it would be a worthwhile use of time.

However, pre-thinking is not at all a surefire way of arriving at the correct answer to a CR question. After all, if we pre-think, we’ll come up with one possible answer to the question. Of course, there are many other possible answers, so there’s a good chance that one of those other possibilities will be the correct answer. In many cases, time spent pre-thinking is almost totally wasted.

Secondly, if we pre-think an answer, that pre-thought answer can distract us as we’re going through the answer choices. Imagine that you’re going through the choices with an answer in mind, but none of the choices match it. Rather than simply reading the choices and deciding which is best, you’re comparing the choices with your pre-thought answer without making much progress. Then, of course, you’ll have to go through the choices again without considering your pre-thought answer to find the one that actually works. Great …

Finally, and worst of all, is the possibility that an incorrect answer is similar enough to your pre-though answer that you get tricked into choosing that incorrect answer. In such a case, pre-thinking will have totally sabotaged your performance.

The bottom line is that there’s no good reason to waste time trying to guess what the answer to a CR question will be when the five answer choices are right there in front of you on the screen. So, your move is to read the passage thoroughly, read the question stem, and then skip pre-thinking and go straight to the answer choices.

TTP PRO TIP:

Don’t try to pre-think the correct answers to Critical Reasoning questions. Doing so is a waste of time and can even lead to choosing an incorrect answer.

Tip 4: Critical Reasoning Incorrect Answer Choices Use Our Cognitive Biases Against Us

The incorrect choices in Critical Reasoning questions are written to use our cognitive biases against us. In other words, they’re worded to feel correct if we read them without thinking too much about exactly what they say.

For instance, in a CR question about “incompetent politicians,” an incorrect choice may say something about “corruption.” It’s not by accident that the question-writers put the word “corruption” in an incorrect answer. They know that we associate corruption with politicians and therefore will be biased toward selecting that choice even though it’s incorrect.

Why do question writers do this? Because the point of Critical Reasoning questions is to test whether we’re skilled in the use of logic and paying attention to what we’re reading. If we’re using logic and paying attention, we won’t fall for these trap choices. On the other hand, if we’re rushing through the questions without carefully analyzing how the choices relate logically to the argument, we’ll fall for trap choices and get questions incorrect.

So, the key takeaway here is the following. When answering CR questions, we should maintain awareness that incorrect choices are written to appeal to our biases and resist the urge to go with a choice without carefully considering whether it actually does what the correct answer must do.

TTP PRO TIP:

To avoid falling for trap choices written to appeal to your cognitive biases, resist the urge to select a choice without carefully considering whether it actually does what the correct answer must do.

Tip 5: Support Your Choices with Solid Logic

We’ve just seen that, if we allow our cognitive biases to influence our choices, we can easily end up falling for an incorrect choice in a Critical Reasoning question. So, let’s discuss a little more what we should do instead. Here’s the key idea: to consistently get CR questions correct, rather than rely on anything vague, we should support every move we make with solid logic.

To see why, let’s say that the conclusion in a CR question is that a certain plan will succeed and that the correct answer must support that conclusion. Relying on something vague would be going with an answer choice that simply says something generally positive about the plan, such as that the mayor likes the plan or that the plan won’t damage natural habitats. Do those statements actually support the conclusion that the plan will work? Maybe, or maybe not. The point is that, regardless of whether such a choice is actually correct, since our reason for choosing the choice is so vague, we don’t really know, do we?

Thus, if we use such a process for answering CR questions, we’ll have hit or miss results. Sometimes we’ll get questions correct and feel as if we’re doing the right thing, and other times we’ll miss them and not be sure what went wrong.

On the other hand, if we carefully use solid logical reasoning, we’ll know exactly why we’re eliminating incorrect choices and choosing correct answers, and we’ll consistently get CR questions correct. So, you can see the value of using solid logic to support every move you make when answering CR questions.

TTP PRO TIP:

To consistently and reliably get GRE Critical Reasoning questions correct, seek to use solid logic, rather than vague reasons, to support every move you make.

Tip 6: Do GRE Critical Reasoning Practice Questions Untimed

Since they’re aware that they will have an average of 1.5 minutes to answer each GRE Verbal question, many people preparing for the GRE reason that they should restrict themselves to spending about 1.5 minutes on each practice question. However, the truth is that using that approach does not work well at all. 

In fact, I talk regularly with people who are wondering why their Critical Reasoning performance is not improving, and when I ask, almost all of these people tell me that they are doing all their CR practice timed. Here’s why that approach doesn’t work.

As we’ve discussed, to master Critical Reasoning, you have to learn to see what’s going on in the questions and use solid logical thinking to arrive at correct answers. However, when you do all your practice questions timed, you don’t give yourself enough time to develop those key GRE Critical Reasoning skills. Rather, you rush through questions, get many incorrect, and then read explanations that tell you what you should have seen and done. The issue is that reading explanations doesn’t result in your developing skill in answering CR questions.

If you’re surprised by this idea, think of it this way. CR is essentially a reasoning game. Would you expect to become good at playing any other game by losing the game and then reading explanations of how to play the game? No, right? To learn to play a game, you have to practice and learn to win, and CR is no different. 

To master CR, you have to practice going through the motions that result in success, and the best way to do that is to do GRE Critical Reasoning practice questions untimed to give yourself time to succeed. In fact, this goes for every aspect of GRE prep. Whether we’re learning to answer GRE Quant questions, Text Completion questions, or any other type of GRE question, we’ll learn fastest and become the most skilled if we give ourselves time to learn to succeed. 

Then, once you’ve learned how to play the CR game, you can work on speeding up. By the way, if you practice effectively, you’ll speed up naturally. After all, you’ll become so skilled at answering CR questions that you’ll naturally answer them more and more quickly.

TTP PRO TIP:

To master GRE Critical Reasoning, do practice questions untimed. Once you’ve gained the skills you need to consistently answer CR questions correctly, you can work on answering the questions at test pace.

By using the approaches I’ve laid out in this article, you can master Critical Reasoning  and shine on test day.

GRE Critical Reasoning: Key Takeaways

In this article, we’ve discussed 6 key tips to improving your performance on GRE Critical Reasoning questions. 

1. Read the passage before reading the question stem. 
2. Learn to identify the parts of an argument: background information, evidence/premises, assumptions, and conclusions. 
3. Do not pre-think answers. Pre-thinking wastes time and can even lead us to trap answer choices.
4. Maintain awareness of your cognitive biases and make sure that the answer you select actually does what you need the correct answer to do.
5. Support your choices with solid logic, not vague reasons.
6. Practice CR questions untimed to give yourself time to learn to succeed.

What’s Next?

For more information on improving your GRE Verbal performance, check out this post on how to ace GRE verbal. You might also be interested in learning how to improve your accuracy or how to increase your speed.

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