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Ten Main Question Types on Critical Reasoning on GMAT

Use this video to familiarize yourself with Ten Main Question Types on Critical Reasoning on GMAT. These are frequently asked questions and will help you solve problems in the Verbal Section on GMAT.

Ten Main Question Types on Critical Reasoning on GMAT

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Ten Main Question Types on Critical Reasoning on GMAT


Critical reasoning is a rather nuanced and complex part of the GMAT, and its questions can often take a long time to understand. However, these questions can be broken down into ten main types, each with distinct answering requirements and properties. In this short article, we will cover the ten main types of questions found in GMAT critical reasoning. By understanding the different types of questions, well in advance, you will be able to identify the requirements of each question, more efficiently.

The Question Types


We will now list the ten main GMAT critical reasoning question types and their basic question structures.

  1. Assumption Questions - The typical assumption question is usually along the lines of:

    2. Which of the following is an assumption made in the argument?

    Or

    Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

  2. Strengthening Questions - The typical strengthening question is usually along the lines of:

    3. Which of the following statements, if true, would most significantly strengthen the argument drawn in the passage.

  3. Weakening Questions - The typical structure of a weakening question is:

    4. Which of the following statements, if true, would most significantly weaken the argument drawn in the passage.

    These three question types are the most common in GMAT critical reasoning.

  4. Explanation Questions - The typical structure of an explanation question is:

    5. Which of the following would reveal, most clearly, the absurdity of the conclusion drawn above? or

    Which of the following would best resolve the paradox in the passage above?

  5. Evaluation Questions - The typical structure of an evaluation question is:

    6. Which of the following will help in resolving the validity of the above argument?

  6. Inference Questions- The typical structure of an inference question is:

    7. Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statement above.

  7. Conclusion Questions - The typical structure for an inference question is along the lines of:

    8. The author's main point is that...

    or

    The author is arguing that...

    The final three types of questions are bit distinct, in that they are presented in different ways.

  8. Para Completion Questions - In the case of par completion questions an incomplete paragraph will be given to you, and you will have to select the most appropriate option to end it with. The typical question structure is:

    9. Which of the following best completes the passage?

  9. Dialogue Questions - Dialogue questions are much the same as the standard types of questions, but the passage takes the form of a dialogue between two individuals, and a question is given based on the paragraph.

  10. Boldfaced Questions - In boldfaced questions, a portion of the passage will be bolded and the question will be based on the role that the bolded section plays. The typical question structure is:

    11. In the argument above, the portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

    This article has deliberately been kept brief; for a more elaborate explanation, please refer to Experts' Global's Stage One Critical Reasoning videos.

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