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Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 12:17 AM

Today’s article comes from another founding father of TathaGat, Mr. Kumar Abhishek, popularly known as‘Kumar’ and hands down the best verbal instructor in Delhi. Though he is great fun in his classes, he is aterror if you cross his rules, i.e. forget to submit your weekly book reviews, come without flashcards or TheHindu newspaper in the class, or arrive late for your class. But if you follow all that, you would forget aboutthe time during his classes. He regales the students with his command in both Hindi and English. To quote astudent “kumar sir is tough only in the first few classes......then it's a smooth ride......and keeps the mood ofthe class light and interactive with his wisecracks and sudden outbursts of unadulterated hindi....like "meraabir balak kahan hai".........and "yatharth ka dharatal"........"prabal sambhavana" and many more…” Forthose who would like to know, his favourite words are “Bhasad” and “Hawabaz” which he can be seen quotingonce in every 5 sentences. Even his fan club on TG Town is known as ‘Bhasad’. Not to mention that he isextremely famous among his students. Once we were so full of reading his praises on the internet that westarted pulling his leg “Aap hi to kahin jakar nahin likhte rahte hain internet par apne bare mein?” :P Lol, but

he is too modest and too immersed in his books and movies to waste time on trifles.

This article is the first in the series that I have emotionally blackmailed him to write. Do post your questions and queries over here and I

shall pressure him to respond (‘pressure’ not ‘pressurize’ as he keeps on telling me) - Total Gadha

Critical Reasoning

CR has always remained a predominant area of all the aptitude tests across the globe. There are seven main questionstems under this domain.

You might be asked to

Find the Assumption

Infer

Conclude

Strengthen the Argument

Weaken the Argument

Summarise

Complete the Paragraph

Starting with this article, we shall try and take these stems piecemeal, beginning with ‘assumptions’.

But, before we begin handling the question stems, it is important to turn a few pages backwards, and understand somebasic terms in logic.

The entire realm of logic thrives on the word Argument. An argument is NOT a verbal scuffle between persons. Thenormal, day-to-day connotation that we have come to attach with the term grossly misleads us into thinking that if twopersons are fighting, with a heated exchange of words, they are ‘arguing’. This is sheer sacrilege!!

For example:

X: Avatar is a good film.Y: No, it is not!X: Yes, it is!Y: No, it is not!

is NOT an argument. It is a small exemplary piece of communication between fools. (Ah!! And one sees so MANY of sucharguments everywhere!!)

Now, compare the following with the previous:

X: Avatar is a good film.Y: No, it is not!X: Yes, it is! It grossed the maximum revenue ever in the history of all films.

Y: No, it is not! Revenue cannot be the single criterion to decide a film’s ‘goodness’. (Yes, there IS such a word, in case

Y: No, it is not! Revenue cannot be the single criterion to decide a film’s ‘goodness’. (Yes, there IS such a word, in caseyou are wondering.)

Now, THIS is classic argumentation. You see, the difference between the two exchanges is that, while the previousexchange merely lobs ‘opinions’ (read conclusions, in logic), the latter supports the conclusions with ‘reasons’ (readpremises). Hence, for an argument to exist, we require a conclusion which is based upon at least one premise. Mereexchange of continual opinions CANNOT be termed argumentation.

Therefore,

Argument= Premise/s + Conclusion.

Having understood the structure of an argument, let us examine some more examples.

Argument 1.

Ravi is a good boy because he helps others.

Argument 2.

India is the best country for it is the largest democracy of the world.

Argument 3.

TG is the best educational website available because its sole focus is the welfare of students.

Understand that the non-italicised parts are conclusions, and the italicised ones are the premises.

(Exercise - Can you think of ways to undermine/strengthen the aforementioned arguments?)

These are examples of one-lined arguments. While solving questions, you will come across longer arguments.

It is easy to figure out how to separate the conclusion from the premises. When you read the statements of theargument, try to ask “why do you say so”, to the statements. For example, in A1, if we ask ‘why do you say so’ to thestatement ‘Ravi is a good boy’, the latter part answers satisfactorily. Hence the statement that answers the why is thereason or premise. Whereas, the statement to which we posed the question, becomes the conclusion. If, on the otherhand, you ask the ‘why do you say so’ to ‘he helps others’, the former part cannot answer.

You can do this as an exercise with longer questions. And, it is important to get this first step correct if you want tosolve questions at a fast pace. I am attaching some long questions here. Try to figure out which statements are thepremises, and which the conclusion. I shall help you with the first two.

Ex. 1

Mr. Janeck: I don’t believe Stevenson will win the election for governor. Few voters are willing to elect abusinessman with no political experience to such a responsible public office.

Ms. Siuzdak: You’re wrong. The experience of running a major corporation is a valuable preparation for the task ofrunning a state government.

In this conversation, Mr Janeck’s conclusion is that ‘Stevenson will not win the election’. When asked ‘why do you sayso’, the latter part of her conversation provides the basis for the former opinion.

Similarly, in Ms. Siuzdak’s argument, the conclusion is that Mr. Janeck’s opinion is wrong. Her premise is statedimmediately afterwards.

Ex. 2

At one time, European and Japanese companies tried to imitate their American rivals. Today, American appliancemanufacturers import European scientists to lead their research staffs; American automakers design cars that mimicthe styling of German, Italian, and French imports; and American electronics firms boast in their advertising of“Japanese-style” devotion to quality and reliability. In the world of high technology, America has lost the battle forinternational prestige.

Here, the conclusion is - In the world of high technology, America has lost the battle for international prestige. Thepremises stated are examples from the ‘appliance’, ‘electronics’ and the ‘automakers’ sectors.

Your turn now!!

1.

Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile iskilled while another survives, it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed. It is ironic that the innocent passengershould suffer for the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or none at all.

2.

The earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct this, the United States must keep its resourceconsumption at present levels for many years to come.

3.

At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for converting

At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for convertingwood fibers into a plastic. According to the company, this new plastic can be used for, among other things, the hulls ofsmall sailboats. But what does the company think sailboat hulls used to be made of? Surely the mania for hightechnology can scarcely go further than this.

4.

In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of birdspecies seen in and around London has increased dramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in othermajor cities.

5.

Reva: Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change their attitude toward school and schoolwork won’t work.Take the program in West Virginia, for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the drivinglicenses of kids who left school. The program failed miserably.

Anne: It’s true that the West Virginia program failed, but many schools have devised incentive programs that havebeen very successful in improving attendance and reducing discipline problems.

(Provide premises and conclusions from both Reva’s and Anne’s statements.)

6.

The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately on the trucking industry. Trucks representonly about 10 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount to almost half thetaxes paid for highway upkeep and repair.

Although I started with the idea of tackling assumption based questions, I shall get back to them in upcoming articles.

Books To Refer:

Critical Reasoning GMAT Preparation Guide

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Dagny Taggart - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 08:32 AM

Hi Kumar Sir,

Good to have you here. Welcome to the Donkey Land.

Dagny

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by aniket garg - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 10:15 AM

Hi kumar sir

I always loved attending your classes at TG. They were simply the best . And now that you'll be posting online , it'll be great .

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vijayshree menon - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 10:50 AM

Hi Kumar Sir,

Really a very good article.

Answers :

Answers :

1. Conclusion: It is ironic that the innocent passenger suffers for the driver’s carelessness

Premise : As per the study , it is the passengers , who face the fatalities and not the driver.

2. Conclusion : the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levels for many years to come.

Premise : The earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast

3. Comclusion: the mania for high technology

Premise : at an enormous research cost, manufacturing process for converting wood fibers into a plastic, that can alsomake smal boat hulls

4. ( easy one ) Conclusion : Increase in the the number of bird species in London.

Premise : Strict air-pollution regulations on local industry

5 Reva's Conclusion: Extraneous incentives to teenagers wont change thier attitude towards school and school work

Reva's Premise : E.g of The program involving revoking of the driving licenses of kids who left school in west virgina toreduce the school dropouts

Anne's Conclusion : Incentive programs are effective in changing the attitude of teens towards school work

Anne's Premise : incentive programs that have been very successful in improving attendance and reducingdiscipline problems

6 . Conclusion : The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately on the trucking industry

Premise : Though Trucks represent only about 10 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads.they end up paying more Taxes

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by arun gaurav - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 02:32 PM

hello sir...you are out standing sir...although i attended your one class.. but, i am big fan of you now....

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by kumar swambhu - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 04:57 PM

this article is like water for the thirsty ones . hoping for the rain

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Nidhi Garg - Sunday, 4 April 2010, 11:08 PM

THANKS...

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Himanshu Jaggi - Monday, 5 April 2010, 10:01 AM

Hi Kumar Sir,

Good to see you here..! Nice article..

Thanks

Himanshu

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Disha Ahuja - Monday, 5 April 2010, 10:39 AM

Hi Sir,

I wanted to ask/ confirm that many a times in an argument the conclusion is not explicitly mentioned however the premise helps us identifyit.

For instance,

For instance,

Anne in example 5 doesnt explicitly say that she supports the incentive program, but she means it.

Am I correct?? ;)

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Anubhav Das - Monday, 5 April 2010, 11:54 AM

Truly an "ENLIGHTENING" session....thanks Kumar sir..

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Monday, 5 April 2010, 12:32 PM

@ Vijayshree: Bull's eye!!! Absolutely Correct!!

@ Disha: Yes Disha, you are right! And by the way, the correct expression is "many a time". With 'many a' determiner, the noun and the verb tofollow take a singular form. e.g.

Many a man has attempted to tame nature.Many an apple has turned bad this winter. et al..

@ Arun: 'Outstanding' is one word Arun.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vivek singh - Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 12:52 AM

This is really a very good material for people who are preparing for CAT............... Thanks for the article, and I am hoping some more articleson this topic ..........

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by aditya singh - Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 04:19 PM

Beautiful article!!!

Simply brilliant!

Thank you very much sir!

Some how prep materials and books seem to complicate things more than what is needed .

The simplicity with which everything was explained here is amazing!

Thank you once again sir.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vineet Pardasaney - Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 08:20 PM

Its for the First time i realised what an argument is actually all about....Now, i wonder what my boss used to do with me was a verbal scuffle andnot an argument for sure!!! lol

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vijayshree menon - Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 09:08 PM

@ vineet : I wonder If there any scuffle at all .... Many a time ,there is no dailogue , its just the monologue delivered by the boss ;)

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Manika Tandon - Tuesday, 6 April 2010, 11:58 PM

Hehehehehe...

welcome aboard Kumar...

The description couldn't have been better TG... 'Bhasad' & 'hawabaaz'... :D

The description couldn't have been better TG... 'Bhasad' & 'hawabaaz'... :D

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Malkesh Adesra - Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 02:29 AM

A helpful article.

@Kumar Sir: "... it is a small exemplary piece of communication between fools."

Isn't the conclusion about fool prejudiced ?

The statement, "...is NOT an argument" is true and thats all the conclusion we can have from this, nothing about the fools.

I have heard 'exact' same statements between two of my friends...8 or 9 years old. None of them are fool by any standard.

Thanks for the tips.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vinay mudgil - Wednesday, 7 April 2010, 06:21 PM

I found this as a very simple & effective article. Below are my answers.....

1.

Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while anothersurvives, 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.

Premise -- Studies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed whileanother survives, it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed.

Conclision -- It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuriesor none at all.

2.

The earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct this, the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levelsfor many years to come.

Conclision --To correct this, the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levels for many years to come.Premise --The earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast.

3.

At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for converting wood fibers into a plastic.According to the company, this new plastic can be used for, among other things, the hulls of small sailboats. But what does the company thinksailboat hulls used to be made of? Surely the mania for high technology can scarcely go further than this.

Premise --According to the company, this new plastic can be used for, among other things, the hulls of small sailboats. But what does thecompany think sailboat hulls used to be made of? Surely the mania for high technology can scarcely go further than this.

Conclision --At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for converting wood fibers intoa plastic.

4.

In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird species seen in and aroundLondon has increased dramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities.

Premise --the number of bird species seen in and around London has increased dramaticallyConclision --London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry

5.

Reva: Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change their attitude toward school and schoolwork won’t work. Take the program inWest Virginia, for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the driving licenses of kids who left school. The programfailed miserably.

Premise --where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the driving licenses of kids who left schoolConclision -- The program failed miserably AND Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change their attitude toward school andschoolwork won’t work.

Anne: It’s true that the West Virginia program failed, but many schools have devised incentive programs that have been very successful inimproving attendance and reducing discipline problems.

Premise --West Virginia program failedConclision --many schools have devised incentive programs that have been very successful in improving attendance and reducing disciplineproblems.

6.

The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately on the trucking industry. Trucks represent only about 10 percent of

the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount to almost half the taxes paid for highway upkeep and repair.

the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount to almost half the taxes paid for highway upkeep and repair.

Premise --Trucks represent only about 10 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount to almost halfthe taxes paid for highway upkeep and repair.Conclision --The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately on the trucking industry.

Are my answers correct ?

Thanks !!!

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by S Singla - Thursday, 8 April 2010, 01:29 AM

Hi Sir, So finally here, congrats !!!

I was hoping that your first article would be about Rashmirathi.But, it seems logic is your favorite genre.

Really miss the classes

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Thursday, 8 April 2010, 03:15 AM

@Sanchay: Oye kab result aa raha hai tera?

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Thursday, 8 April 2010, 03:17 AM

@Vinay: Hi Vinay, Plz check Vijayshree's answers...they are bang on target.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by vinay mudgil - Thursday, 8 April 2010, 09:00 AM

Thank you Abhishiek.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by venkat iyer - Friday, 9 April 2010, 12:34 AM

4.

In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of birdspecies seen in and around London has increased dramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in othermajor cities.

Here shouldn't the conclusion be:

Air pollution laws should be imposed in major cities similar to that in London.

Premise:In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number ofbird species seen in and around London has increased dramatically

I seriously think this shud be the answer instead of the one posted by Ms menon.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Prashanti U. - Friday, 9 April 2010, 01:53 PM

I think the answer for question 4 should be the one provided by Mr.Iyer.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Friday, 9 April 2010, 05:01 PM

@Venkat: You are right Venkat. My mistake. Had gone through the answers rather hurriedly. Apologies.

@Venkat: You are right Venkat. My mistake. Had gone through the answers rather hurriedly. Apologies.

@Vijayshree: Kindly modify this answer. The correct conclusion in this argument is the one provide by Venkat. Apologies.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by S Singla - Saturday, 10 April 2010, 03:16 AM

Sir, aap industry me ho, I really dont have any idea.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Prashant Sahni - Thursday, 15 April 2010, 09:46 PM

Dear Sir, once in the text you have used the following sentence:-

"Try to figure out which statements are the premises, and which the conclusion"

Is it correct? Shouldn't you say "...and which ARE the conclusion". Doesn't it seem a little awkward? Or at least there should be comma between'which' and 'the'.

Awaiting your reply,

A yatharth's dharatal pe standing hawabaz...

Prashant Sahni...Valentine's Day Batch.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Kumar Abhishek - Friday, 16 April 2010, 02:20 PM

Hi Prashant

Your query is quite justified, since there seems to be an agreement problem here. If it were a stand-alone sentence, I would be as concerned.But, in the flow of the passage it is completely standard and formal usage. So, even though the verb for 'conclusion' (if used separately) should

be 'is', in THIS sentence, there is no need to modify it. Standard Dickensian usage!

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Aspirend Achieve - Tuesday, 20 April 2010, 10:06 AM

Hi Sir,

This is really a superb article...you explained the thing in a very easy way.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Alan Kumar - Wednesday, 21 April 2010, 07:20 PM

Hi Kumar Sir,

Its really a nice article , in fact i love TG site's everything.

According to my knowledge, i am posting what i felt is right. Please correct me if am wrong anywhere. I really need to Verbal for GMAT.

1. It is ironic that the innocent passenger should suffer for the driver’s carelessness, while the driver often suffers only minor injuries or noneat all.-- ConclusionStudies of fatal automobile accidents reveal that, in the majority of cases in which one occupant of an automobile is killed while anothersurvives, it is the passenger, not the driver, who is killed.-- premise

2. the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levels for many years to come.--ConclusionThe earth’s resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct this--Premise

3. At an enormous research cost, a leading chemical company has developed a manufacturing process for converting wood fibers into aplastic. According to the company, this new plastic can be used for, among other things, the hulls of small sailboats. But what does thecompany think sailboat hulls used to be made of? - Premise

Surely the mania for high technology can scarcely go further than this - Conclusion

4. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities - Conclusion

In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird species seen in and aroundLondon has increased dramatically - Premise

5. Reva: Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change their attitude toward school and schoolwork won’t work. -Conclusion

Take the program in West Virginia , for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the driving licenses of kids who

Take the program in West Virginia , for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rate by revoking the driving licenses of kids wholeft school. The program failed miserably.- Premise

Anne: It’s true that the West Virginia program failed, but many schools have devised incentive programs that have been very successful inimproving attendance and reducing discipline problems - Conclusion

No premise in Anne's case.

6. The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately on the trucking industry. - Conclusion

Trucks represent only about 10 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount to almost half thetaxes paid for highway upkeep and repair - Premise

Thanks,

Alankar

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by gaurav midha - Thursday, 6 May 2010, 01:15 AM

Hi Kumar Abhishek, First of all Thanx for the awesome article.I have gained a lot from this article.

I would just like to say Hats off to you.........and hope that you will never stop sharing your knowledge.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by zoiks guy - Monday, 10 May 2010, 11:31 PM

Hi Sir,

Its a really nice article, I must say. However, I am curious about two things:

1. TG has used the word 'pressure' and not 'pressurize'. I could not understand why.

2. You wrote "TG is the best educational website available because its sole focus is the welfare of students." Here, do

you think the bold part should be 'its sole focus is ON the welfare'?

Please correct where I am mistaken here.

TIAJaggy

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Total Gadha - Tuesday, 11 May 2010, 04:26 AM

Hi Zoiks,

The word 'pressure' when used as a verb means: to force (someone) toward a particular end; influence: They pressuredhim into accepting the contract.

Total Gadha

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by swati saxena - Wednesday, 12 May 2010, 12:43 AM

Hi Sir,

I came across one of the lines used in the post

"TG is the best educational website available because its sole focus is the welfare of students."

Should'nt it be sole focus is on the welfare of the students?

Is the correct usage focus is or focus is on or are both correct.

Thanks.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by kasturi gvl - Wednesday, 20 October 2010, 09:57 PM

Hello Sir,

I have a doubt in a reasoning question from CAT 92:

We have planned development with a view to raising standard of living of our teeming millions. Hence our economicdevelopment is inspired by social justice.Q Which of the following will weaken the argument?(a) Without economic development standard of living cannot be raised.(b) Social justice implies economic prosperity.(c) Development cannot be planned.(d) None of these.

The answer is given to be (c) although it is negating the premise which is the first sentence ("planned development").

Kindly clarify.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Surendran Chandravathanan - Wednesday, 3 November 2010, 02:28 AM

Hi Kasturi,

Here, the conclusion is "Development is inspired by social justice". The reason (premise) being "Development is planned".

Now, as per the question, the option C clearly weakens the conclusion. I mean it's the opposite of the existing premise.

Hope you have understood now. Perhaps, you would have overlooked the question.

Regards,

Suren

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Nikhil Sinha - Monday, 15 November 2010, 11:42 AM

Hi Kumar/TG Sir/ Dagny Maam, My cat is on 22nd, so would request if someone could kindly look into the below questions of CR,I have

answered all of them, but am confused in some of them.... Please correct me wherever I am wrong. 1.Studies of fatal automobile accidentsreveal 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 injuriesor none at all. "It is ironic..." forms the conclusion, whereas the "Studies fatal automobile accidents..." forms the premise to support it. 2. Theearth’s resources are being depleted much too fast. To correct this, the United States must keep its resource consumption at present levels formany years to come. "The earth's resources.."- Premise "To correct this..." - Conclusion. 3. At an enormous research cost, a leading chemicalcompany has developed a manufacturing process for converting wood fibers into a plastic. According to the company, this new plastic can beused for, among other things, the hulls of small sailboats. But what does the company think sailboat hulls used to be made of? Surely themania for high technology can scarcely go further than this. "At an enormous research cost.... But what does the company think sailboat hullsused to be made of? " - Seems to me the premise (posing a question to the company's claim to conclude later on as the madness fortechnology ...not sure though!) "Surely, the mania..." -forms the conclusion that "it" could not get worse... 4. In the years since the city ofLondon imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird species seen in and around London has increaseddramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities. " In the years...."- forms the premise. "Similar air-pollutionrules.." conclusion, supported by example of the city of London. ? 5. Reva: Using extraneous incentives to get teenagers to change theirattitude toward school and schoolwork won’t work. Take the program in West Virginia, for instance, where they tried to reduce their dropout rateby revoking the driving licenses of kids who left school. The program failed miserably. Anne: It’s true that the West Virginia program failed, butmany schools have devised incentive programs that have been very successful in improving attendance and reducing discipline problems.(Provide premises and conclusions from both Reva’s and Anne’s statements.) "Using extraneous.. won't work" - Conclusion 1 "Take theprogram....failed miserably" - premise 1. "It is true that the west Virginia... many schools have devised incentive programs" - forms theConclusion 2 "..that have been very successful.."- premise 2.? 6. The burden of maintaining the U.S. highway system falls disproportionately onthe trucking industry. Trucks represent only about 10 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads. Yet road use taxes assessed on trucks amount toalmost half the taxes paid for highway upkeep and repair. "The burden of maintaining ..." -conclusion "Road use taxes assessed on trucksamount to ..." premise. Question: Can the "Truck represent only about 10% of the vehicles on US roads" be considered a part of the premise?

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Nikhil Sinha - Monday, 15 November 2010, 11:44 AM

And sorry for the bad alignment of the above post

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by swati karki - Wednesday, 17 November 2010, 12:22 AM

though i got correct ans for other questions bt sir i am confused about this one

"In the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird species seen in and aroundLondon has increased dramatically. Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities."

what i thought was

for the premise n the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industrythe conclusion is :-the number of bird species seen in and around London has increased dramatically

and for the premise n the years since the city of London imposed strict air-pollution regulations on local industry, the number of bird speciesseen in and around London has increased dramatically.conclusion is:-Similar air-pollution rules should be imposed in other major cities.

anyways must say the article is superb no doubt TG provides best of the material for the MBA aspirants.

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by akshay jain - Wednesday, 20 April 2011, 12:06 AM

hey nice article..

I have doubt in a question. plz hve a look.

As an experienced labor organizer and the former head of one of the nation’s most powerful labor unions, Grayson is an excellent choice tochair the new council on business-labor relations.

(A) The new council must have the support of the nation’s labor leaders if it is to succeed.(B) During his years as a labor leader, Grayson established a record of good relations with business leaders. (C) The chair of the new council must be a person who can communicate directly with the leaders of the nation’s largest labor unions.(D) Most of the other members of the new council will be representatives of business management interests.(E) An understanding of the needs and problems of labor is the only qualification necessary for the job of chairing the new council.

I am a bit confused in B and E. Plz clarify..

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by Anjali Gaba - Wednesday, 20 April 2011, 12:27 PM

what is your doubt

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by tgdel206 tg - Friday, 13 May 2011, 10:02 AM

Hi Akshay,

I think Option B should be the right answer as the statement states the choice to chair the new council on business-labor RELATIONS in general.However, option E limits the relations ' by an understanding of the needs and problems of labor"

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by ritesh dahiya - Thursday, 14 July 2011, 12:05 PM

very good article sir, this helps me a lot..thank you sir..sir i didn't get the aane conc and premise plz explain..

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Re: Critical Reasoning Basics- 1by I will WIN - Wednesday, 28 September 2011, 06:02 AM

Nice article. Very helpful. :D

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