Month: May 2015

Critical Reasoning – The Assumption Question 1

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The Assumption Question is a Critical Reasoning Question Type on the GMAT® that gives test-takers a certain amount of trouble (the most troublesome being the Boldfaced Question Type). Test-takers often say that they have trouble in attaining a certain level of consistency on this question type. In this post we shall look at a standard operating procedure that will help you increase your accuracy level and choose the right option when faced with two seemingly correct options.

Sentence Correction – Usage 1

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This is a common and seemingly easily resolvable grammatical conundrum — when does one use which and when does one use that? Most test-takers who have prepared for GMAT® Sentence Correction will have this answer at the tip of their tongues — essential/restrictive and non-essential/non-restrictive clause. What they mean is that which is used to state information that is not essential while that is used to state essential information. A easier way to remember this is by looking at the pair of sentences below: 1. These are the keys to the fourth car in the parking row, which is black. 2. These are the keys to the fourth car in the parking row that is black. From the first sentence you would get the keys to the fourth car in the parking row; the sentence gives you some additional information, namely that it is black in colour; even without this information you could have known which car you have the keys to — the fourth car in the row.

Critical Reasoning – The Conclusion Question 2

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In the previous Critical Reasoning post we discussed one specific kind of logic that is tested on the Conclusion Question Type. In this post we will take a look at the only other type of standard logic tested on the conclusion questions. If you are able to understand apply the technique to solve these two logical structures, most conclusion questions should be a breeze. Let us take a GMAT Critical Reasoning question to examine this further. Although aspirin has been proven to eliminate moderate fever associated with some illnesses, many doctors no longer routinely recommend its use for this purpose. A moderate fever stimulates the activity of the body’s disease-fighting white blood cells and also inhibits the growth of many strains of disease-causing bacteria.

Will there be experimental questions on the GMAT?

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All life is an experiment, the more experiments you make the better – Ralph Waldo Emerson The short answer to this question — yes. Now let’s get to the long answer. As we have discussed before in one of the earliest posts on this blog, the GMAT is an adaptive test. The Quant and Verbal sections will start with test-takers being posed a question of moderate difficulty and will proceed based on the test-taker’s response to that question. Depending upon whether the test-taker answers it correctly or incorrectly, the subsequent question will be easier or tougher.