Basic Concepts of Critical

Reasoning
By: Brijesh Pandey (Bodhee Prep)
What is critical reasoning?
• Critical Reasoning questions evaluate a test taker's ability to understand,
analyze, criticize, and complete arguments.
• Most Critical Reasoning questions focus on arguments, which are sets of
statements that present evidence and draw a conclusion on the basis of
that evidence.
• Usually arguments have two very important parts; the first is part is often
called the evidence (sometimes also referred to as ‘premise’), the second
part is called the conclusion.
• The arguments are contained in short passages taken from a variety of
sources, including letters to the editor, speeches, advertisements,
newspaper articles and editorials, informal discussions and conversations,
as well as articles in the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural
sciences
Examples of Critical Reasoning passages (1)
• The theory of military deterrence was based on a simple
psychological truth, that fear of retaliation makes a would-be
aggressor nation hesitate before attacking and is often sufficient to
deter it altogether from attacking. Clearly, then, to maintain military
deterrence, a nation would have to be believed to have retaliatory
power so great that a potential aggressor nation would have reason
to think that it could not defend itself against such retaliation.
Examples of Critical Reasoning passages (2)
• To the Editor:
In 1960, an astronomer proposed a mathematical model for determining
whether extraterrestrial life exists. It was based on the assumptions that life
as we know it could exist only on a planet and that many stars are, like our
Sun, orbited by planets. On the basis that there are nine planets in our solar
system and one of them has life as we know it, the astronomer predicted
that there are as many as one million extraterrestrial civilizations across all
solar systems. Yet astronomers to date have not detected even one planet
outside our solar system. This indicates that the astronomer’s model is
wrong, and life as we know it exists only on the planet Earth.
Clay Moltz
Examples of Critical Reasoning passages (3)
• A population of game ducks at a western lake contains 55 males to
every 45 females, while a population of game ducks at an eastern
lake contains 65 males for every 35 females. Among those ducks
that have not yet bred there are only slightly more males than
females, but among older ducks the number of males greatly
exceeds the number of females. Because there are appreciably
more males among adult ducks than among young ducks, we can
infer that the greater the disparity in overall sex ratios, the greater
the percentage of older male ducks in the population.
The Critical Reasoning Questions that have
come in CAT
• Summarize the passage (Parasummary)
• Complete the passage (Paracompletion)
• Fact, Inference, Judgdment
The critical reasoning type of questions that
have come in CAT Reading Comprehension
• weaken the argument/find the flaw in the argument
• strengthen the argument
• find the assumption
• draw inference/conclusion
1. Computer operating system software has become increasingly standardized. But when
a large business with multiple, linked computer systems uses identical operating system
software on all of its computers, a computer vandal who gains access to one computer
automatically has access to the data on all the computers. Using a program known as a
“virus,” the vandal can then destroy much of the data on all the computers. If such a
business introduced minor variations into its operating system software, unauthorized
access to all the computers at the same time could be virtually eliminated. Furthermore
variations in operating system software can be created without any loss of computer
compatibility to the business. Therefore, it is advisable for businesses to implement such
variations.
Which one of the following, if true, supports the conclusion in the passage?

(A) Standardization of computer operating system software has increased computer

compatibility among different businesses.
(B) Correcting any damage resulting from an invasion by a computer virus program is
more expensive than preventing the damage.
(C) It is not costly for a business to maintain incompatible computer operating systems.
(D) There are other kinds of destructive computer programs that do not depend on inter-
computer links.
(E) Not all businesses need to share date among their internal computer systems.
2. Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants has been temporarily stored on-
site, but this is not a satisfactory kind of place for long-range storage. Since no
suitable plan of safe permanent storage of such waste from the nation’s existing
and planned nuclear plants has been devised, some people propose that we
should stop trying to develop such a plan and instead should shut down all present
nuclear plants and build no new nuclear plants.
The proposal mentioned above falls short of offering a complete solution to the
problem it addresses because
(A) it would prevent the development of safe technologies for the producing
electric power
(B) it does not distinguish between nuclear plants that have, and plants that do not
have, a reputation for operating safely
(C) it does not provide for the permanent storage of already existing waste
(D) the generation of electric power from fossil fuels is relatively safe
(E) the risks of unsafe disposal of waste from nuclear power plants lie in the future,
but the benefits from such plants are in the present
3. Only 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies exist worldwide. Nowhere in the world are
fruit flies more taxonomically diverse than in the Hawaiian islands, which host some 500
species. A subset of fruit flies called the picture-winged drosophilids is represented in
Hawaii by 106 species. All of the fruit fly species now present in the Hawaiian archipelago
are thought to be the descendants of the same one or two ancestral females.
Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage?
(A) All of the picture-winged drosophilids in Hawaii are believed to be the descendants of
the same one or two ancestral female fruit flies.
(B) Picture-winged drosophilids are found only in the Hawaiian islands.
(C) All of the 1,000 to 2,000 species of fruit flies worldwide are believed to be the
descendants of one or two females.
(D) If 500 new species of fruit flies were discovered, then Hawaiian fruit flies would no
longer be the most taxonomically diverse
population.
(E) Some fruit flies originated in Hawaii and spread from there to other parts of the
world.
4. The most successful economies have been, and will continue to be, those that train as many
people as possible in the human skills required to research, to develop, and to apply new
technology. Japan is a model for this sort of training effort. Europe as a whole is in a weaker
position: there is a shortage of skilled labor trained to use the new technologies, and there are
not enough scientists able to develop and apply the technology. However, even in Japan there is
a shortage of technically qualified people, and, like most European countries, Japan has far too
many workers qualified to perform only menial tasks.
Which one of the following can be properly inferred from the passage?

(A) There is a greater worldwide shortage of research scientists than there is of engineers.
(B) Japan is not the best country against which to measure a country’s economic success.
(C) Japan’s successful economy depends upon an uncommonly narrow base of highly skilled
labor.
(D) To be economically more successful, Europe needs to train more people in the new
technologies.
(E) European countries have economies that are more successful than those of most other
countries.
5. Studies of brain lateralization in animals have purported to show that, whereas most
human beings are right-handed, about half of any given group of animals will be “left-
handed” (i.e., showing a preference for their left limbs) and half will be “right-handed.”
This finding is suspect, however; it has long been noted that dogs will almost always
“shake hands” with the right paw.
Which one of the following, if true, is the strongest defense against the counterexample
of dogs that “shake hands”?
(A) Dogs are observed to scratch themselves with the left leg as well as with the right leg.
(B) People who observe dogs “shaking hands” are observing a behavior that dogs perform
only with a front paw.
(C) Left-handed people sometimes feel inconvenienced or even stigmatized in a “right-
handed world,” but dogs face no analogous difficulties.
(D) Dogs that have lost a limb are able to compensate for the loss, regardless of whether
the limb was lost from the right or left side.
(E) In learning to perform tricks, dogs are influenced by the behavior of their trainers.
6. Parland’s alligator population has been declining in recent years, primarily because of
hunting. Alligators prey heavily on a species of freshwater fish that is highly valued as
food by Parlanders, who had hoped that the decline in the alligator population would
lead to an increase in the numbers of these fish available for human consumption. Yet the
population of this fish species has also declined, even though the annual number caught
for human consumption has not increased.

• Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the decline in the population of
the fish species?
A. The decline in the alligator population has meant that fishers can work in some parts
of lakes and rivers that were formerly too dangerous.
B. Many Parlanders who hunt alligators do so because of the high market price of
alligator skins, not because of the threat alligators pose to the fish population.
C. During Parland’s dry season, holes dug by alligators remain filled with water long
enough to provide a safe place for the eggs of this fish species to hatch.
D. In several neighboring countries through which Parland’s rivers also flow, alligators
are at risk of extinction as a result of extensive hunting
7. Hollywood restaurant is replacing some of its standard tables with tall tables and
stools. The restaurant already fills every available seat during its operating hours, and the
change in seating arrangements will not result in an increase in the restaurant's seating
capacity. Nonetheless, the restaurant's management expects revenue to increase as a
result of the seating change without any concurrent change in menu, prices, or operating
hours.

Which of the following, if true, provides the best reason for the expectation?

(A) One of the taller tables takes up less floor space than one of the standard tables.
(B) Diners seated on stools typically do not linger over dinner as long as diners seated at
standard tables.
(C) Since the restaurant will replace only some of its standard tables, it can continue to
accommodate customers who do not care for the taller tables.
(D) Few diners are likely to avoid the restaurant because of the new seating arrangement.
(E) The standard tables being replaced by tall tables would otherwise have to be replaced
with new standard tables at a greater expense.
8. Prolonged spells of hot, dry weather at the end of the grape-growing season typically
reduce a vineyard's yield, because the grapes stay relatively small. In years with such
weather, wine producers can make only a relatively small quantity of wine from a given
area of vineyards. Nonetheless, in regions where wine producers generally grow their
own grapes, analysts typically expect a long, hot, dry spell late in the growing season to
result in increased revenues for local wine producers.

Which of the following, if true, does most to justify the analysts' expectation?

(A) The lower a vineyard's yield, the less labor is required to harvest the grapes.
(B) Long, hot, dry spells at the beginning of the grape-growing season are rare, but they
can have a devastating effect on a vineyard's yield.
(C) Grapes grown for wine production are typically made into wine at or near the
vineyard in which they were grown.
(D) When hot, dry spells are followed by heavy rains, the rains frequently destroy grape
crops.
(E) Grapes that have matured in hot, dry weather make significantly better wine than
ordinary grapes.
9. A cost-effective solution to the problem of airport congestion is to provide high-speed
ground transportation between major cities lying 200 to 500 miles apart. The successful
implementation of this plan would cost far less than expanding existing airports and
would also reduce the number of airplanes clogging both airports and airways.

Which of the following, if true, could proponents of the plan above most appropriately
cite as a piece of evidence for the soundness of their plan?

(A) An effective high-speed ground-transportation system would require major repairs to

many highways and mass-transit improvements.
(B) One-half of all departing flights in the nation’s busiest airport head for a destination in
a major city 225 miles away.
(C) The majority of travelers departing from rural airports are flying to destinations in
cities over 600 miles away.
(D) Many new airports are being built in areas that are presently served by high-speed
ground-transportation systems.
(E) A large proportion of air travelers are vacationers who are taking long-distance flights.
10. Since the mayor’s publicity campaign for Greenville’s bus service began six months
ago, morning automobile traffic into the midtown area of the city has decreased seven
percent. During the same period, there has been an equivalent rise in the number of
persons riding buses into the midtown area. Obviously, the mayor’s publicity campaign
has convinced many people to leave their cars at home and ride the bus to work.

Which of the following, if true, casts the most serious doubt on the conclusion drawn
above?

(A) Fares for all bus routes in Greenville have risen an average of five percent during the
past six months.
(B) The mayor of Greenville rides the bus to City Hall in the city’s midtown area.
(C) Road reconstruction has greatly reduced the number of lanes available to commuters
in major streets leading to the midtown area during the past six months.
(D) The number of buses entering the midtown area of Greenville during the morning
hours is exactly the same now as it was one year ago.
(E) Surveys show that longtime bus riders are no more satisfied with the Greenville bus
service than they were before the mayor’s publicity campaign began
Correct Answers
1. B
2. C
3. A
4. D
5. E
6. C
7. B
8. E
9. B
10. C