The reason the math is easier on these problems is because the problem is made hard in other ways.  Word problems are considered hard because you have to convert a word problem into a math question.  This involves good reading skills and good critical reasoning skills.

Keep some of the following word problem translations in mind as you navigate some of the toughest word problems.

“Is” means “equal to”

“Is” is “=.”  If you see the word “is” in a word problem, have no fear.  It simply means “equals.”

The number of brown hats is 5% of the total number of hats.  Take “is” and make it “=” and get started! Now you have the number of brown hats = 5% of the total number of hats.

“Of” means “multiplied by”

In a question with fractions, you want to substitute the words “multiplied by” for the “of.”

What is 3/5 of 20?  To solve this problem, take the fraction and multiply it by the other number. So, what is 3/5 x 20?

“Per” means “divided by”

If you see a problem discussing rates, or using the word “per” be prepared to switch into fraction or division mode.  Per is another way of saying “divided by.”

A car travels 50 miles per hour.  The per is literally the line in a fraction.  50 miles/hour.

Note: Sometimes instead of “per” you will see the words “for every.”  For every boy, there are two girls.  So that means 1 boy divided by 2 girls.

Don’t fear word problems.  There are a limited number of word problem types.  Learn the basic approach for most of these, and work on your reading and logic when navigating the answer choices.  Once you have this vocabulary nailed down, and you study reading and logic, you will have a new perspective to word problems and be able to solve them without difficulty.

Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT prep courses starting around the world next week. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

Steve Odabashian received his BA in Economics from the University of Virginia and then went on to receive his JD at Villanova. He has worked in Tokyo as a foreign attorney, done pro bono work for the Committee of Seventy in several Philadelphia elections, and he is a well known pianist and comic entertainer in Philadelphia. Steve has been teaching for Veritas Prep since 2004.

Remember that an assumption is an induction that is not based on textual evidence from the passage. So how can you avoid making assumptions on the SAT? Well, you can ask yourself one magic question:

“Does the passage mention?”

Ask yourself this one key question every time you tackle an answer choice, and you will free yourself from making assumptions on the SAT!

Read the following SAT Passage excerpt:

It is a curious thing that so many people only go into a bookshop when they happen to need some particular book. Do they never drop in for a little innocent carouse and refreshment? There are some knightly souls who even go so far as to make their visits to bookshops a kind of chivalrous errantry at large. They go in not because they need any certain volume, but because they feel that there may be some book that needs them. Some wistful, little forgotten sheaf of loveliness, long pining away on an upper shelf—why not ride up, fling her across your charger (or your charge account), and gallop away. Be a little knightly, you book-lovers!

The lack of intelligence with which people use bookshops is,
 one supposes, no more flagrant than the lack of intelligence with which we use all the rest of the machinery of civilization. In this age, and particularly in this city, we haven’t time to be intelligent.

Now let’s answer the following question together:

The metaphor in lines 5-6 (“Some wistful . . . book-lovers”) serves to
:

(A) show that book reading can be just as much fun as horseback riding
(B) highlight the excitement bookstores can create
(C) direct readers to engage in an activity they may not typically choose
(D) offer insight into the reasoning behind book-lovers’ philosophy
(E) compare the difference between book-lovers and casual readers

Start by examining answer choice (A): Does the passage mention “horseback riding”? No. It mentions galloping away, but “horse” is nowhere to be found in the passage. Cross out answer choice (A).

Now let’s look at (B): Ask yourself, does the passage mention that “bookstores “create” excitement? No. There’s some excitement in the passage, but the passage doesn’t state that bookstores create this excitement. So we can eliminate (B).

(C) seems like a viable answer choice. But before we can select it, we must eliminate the other answer choices.

For answer choice (D), does the passage mention “the reasoning behind book-lovers’ philosophy”? No. There is no explanation to booklovers’ philosophy found in the passage. So get rid of answer choice (D).

Finally on (E), ask yourself does the passage mention a comparison “between book-lovers and casual readers”? No. In fact, this passage doesn’t mention “casual readers” at all. Cross out (E).

The passage actually does mention a suggestion to “engage in an activity” readers “may not typically choose”.

The correct answer is (C). 

Congratulations! You’ve now learned the magic question that will help you avoid assumptions on the SAT.

Plan on taking the SAT soon? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

Shaan Patel is the Director of SAT Programs at Veritas Prep, the author of McGraw-Hill’s best-selling book SAT 2400 in Just 7 Steps, and the owner of a perfect SAT score.

Click here to read the intro to this blog series! Send your admissions questions to timeout[at]veritasprep[dot]com.
–
Dear Trav,

First, may I offer my congratulations!  I know you may not feel like being congratulated for landing on a waitlist rather than being accepted to your dream school. But you weren’t denied, so the school is clearly interested.  In fact, every person on the waitlist is qualified to be a member of the class. An MBA Admissions Committee will never waitlist a candidate who they think is unqualified, so this certainly deserves congratulations.

Why do schools have a waitlist?

In knowing what you should do to get off the waitlist and onto the “Admitted” list, it’s important to understand why schools have a waitlist at all.  It’s not complicated, and you probably already understand.  Even the highest-ranked schools tell us that 75-80% of applicants are qualified to be a part of their class.  Their statistics fall within the typical range for admitted students, including GPA, GMAT score, years of work experience, and so forth.  However, they only admit 5-20% of applicants.  This means that they must select a small group of candidates from the large pool of applicants to admit, primarily based on subjective factors such as employ-ability,  clarity of the candidate’s vision, how they fit with the program offerings, and what they can uniquely contribute to the program compared to other admitted candidates.

A certain group of these qualified candidates are offered admission. However, every school knows that less than 100% of candidates offered admission will accept the offer.  This is the school’s admission yield.  The yield at Harvard Business School is about 90%.  At many other top programs, it’s somewhere around 60%.  Because this number changes a bit from year to year, the school also adds candidates to its waitlist.  Please note: these candidates are typically just as qualified to attend the school as those who were admitted. There simply isn’t enough room in the class to admit every qualified candidate.

For Round 1, schools will extend a certain number of offers and put several candidates on the waitlist.  At most MBA programs, the waitlisted candidates are considered along with the applicants from Round 2. Some members of the waitlist will be interviewed and accepted, some will be denied, and others will stay on the waitlist until consideration in Round 3.  This is a very frustrating process for the applicant.

Don’t transform into a crazy person!

There’s a careful balance that you need to achieve as a member of the waitlist between staying top-of-mind and becoming annoying.  With the confidence of knowing that the admissions committee has already designated you as someone who they would admit to the current class, don’t be overbearing! It’s a nerve-wracking experience, so some people start to do crazy things like calling the admissions office every day and sending multiple emails to as many email addresses as they can get their hands on.  Take a step back and try to see this from the admissions officer’s perspective. If you go to such lengths, you might only confirm in their minds that you are a certifiable nutcase.  Not ideal for gaining admission to one of the world’s highest respected educational institutions!

Schools with strict waitlist rules:

There are some schools, including Wharton, that specifically ask you NOT to reach out to the committee except to provide very specific updates.  For example, Wharton only will accept updates to your GMAT score, a new job, or additional coursework.  If a school has specifically told you NOT to provide other updates, you should follow their instructions.  There’s nothing more frustrating than giving someone some instructions and then having them disregard them because they think they know better. On the flip side, you certainly want to signal your continuing interest in the program and update the committee on the things you are doing to prepare to hit the ground running as an MBA.

If you really want to get into a school like this with very strict guidelines for the waitlist, then I would recommend that you do everything in your power to get in.  If that means studying three hours a day for the next four weeks to improve your GMAT score, then do it!  If that means enrolling in a Statistics, Micro/Macroeconomics, Calculus or Finance course to freshen up your quantitative skills and be able to hit the ground running on Day 1, then do it! (Although I would not go out and get a new job just to report it to the committee! If you get a promotion in your current job, be sure to let them know.) These programs are looking for driven individuals who are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.  Once you have something new to tell them, then be sure to communicate these updates to the admissions committee!

A few more tips for most schools’ waitlists:

Most programs are very willing to receive updates from waitlisted applicants and may even assign you to a Waitlist Advisor who will give you specific things that you can do to improve your chances.  For most programs, you may write an email reiterating your ongoing interest in the program.  If the program is truly your #1 dream school, you could mention that it remains your top choice and that you would be willing to accept an offer the same day it was extended and pay the tuition deposit immediately. If you’ve taken on additional responsibilities or projects at work, you could provide a quick update to your professional experience.  And if there is an area of your application that you know may need some additional support, you may often have an additional recommender write a letter of support to be included in your file.  For example, if you didn’t have an opportunity in your application to discuss extracurricular leadership opportunities outside of work, you could have a supervisor in one of these activities write a letter on your behalf.  Or if your work history jumps all over the place, you could have another professional reference write a letter explaining the strong contributions you’ve made and the clear vision you have for your post-MBA career.

The key is to clearly signal to the admissions committee that you’re still interested in gaining admission to the program, are willing to do what it takes to be admitted, and are willing to abide by the rules and guidelines that have been expressed.  Numerous emails with no substantive updates will not help your cause, and may even hurt it.

If you’re looking for specific guidance on how to craft your communications with the Admissions Committee or specific steps that would be best for your unique situation, please reach out to Veritas Prep!  Waitlist assistance is a key part of our admissions strategy and we would be happy to work with you on this aspect of your application.

Best of luck to you in the coming weeks!
Travis

If you have MBA admissions questions, call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or email us a question for this blog to timeout@veritasprep.com. As always, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

Travis Morgan is the Director of Admissions Consulting for Veritas Prep and earned his MBA with distinction from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He served in the Kellogg Student Admissions Office, Alumni Admissions Organization and Diversity & Inclusion Council, among several other posts. Travis joined Veritas Prep as an admissions consultant and GMAT instructor, and he was named Worldwide Instructor of the Year in 2011.

Descriptive items need to be next to or as close as possible to what they are intending to modify.   The following rules govern adjectival phrases and clauses:

The following is a grammar exercise from one of GMAC’s practice tests:

Introduced by Italian merchants resident in London during the sixteenth century, in England life insurance remained until the end of the seventeenth century a specialized contract between individual underwriters and their clients, typically being ship owners, overseas merchants, or professional moneylenders.

The sentence is rambling and awkward.   However, it is not as difficult to decipher what the correct response is if you keep in mind the idea of correct modification.   Notice the beginning phrase:  Introduced by Italian merchants resident in London during the sixteenth century.  It is descriptive and therefore needs to modify the word that immediately follows the comma.

Now look at the opening words of the answer choices:

(A) in England life insurance remained until the end of the seventeenth century a specialized contract between individual underwriters and their clients, typically being

(B) in England life insurance had remained until the end of the seventeenth century a specialized contract between individual underwriters and their clients, who typically were

(C) until the end of the seventeenth century life insurance in England had remained a specialized contract between individual underwriters and their clients, typically

(D) life insurance remained in England until the end of the seventeenth century a specialized contract between individual underwriters and their clients, typically

(E) life insurance remained until the end of the seventeenth century in England a specialized contract between individual underwriters with their clients, who typically were

The first three answer choices can be eliminated:  in England and until the end of the seventeenth century were not introduced by Italian merchants.    It was life insurance that was introduced by Italian merchants.   Thus, only the final two are possible responses.

Of these two, GMAC is additionally testing the idiomatic construction: between…and.   For instance, one would say:  I cannot choose between the veal chop and the rack of lamb.   One would NOT say:  I cannot choose between the veal chop with the rack of lamb.   Thus, (E) can be eliminated.

The correct answer is (D). 

Let us look at another example from the makers of the GMAT:

Currently 26 billion barrels a year, world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of 2 percent annually.

Again, be alert to the opening descriptive phrase:  Currently 26 billion barrels a year, which needs to modify what follows the comma.   Here are the answer choices with the introductory words bolded:

(A) world consumption of oil is rising at a rate of

(B) the world is consuming oil at an increasing rate of

(C) the world’s oil is being consumed at the increasing rate of

(D) the rise in the rate of the world’s oil consumption is

(E) oil is consumed by the world at an increasing rate of

What is currently 26 billion barrels a year?  Certainly it is not the world, the world’s oil, the rise or oil.   It is the world consumption of oil.

The correct answer is (A). 

Modification is important.  It adds clarity, sensibility and specificity to ideas that a writer is attempting to convey.     When modifiers are incorrectly positioned, they create ambiguity for the reader.    Open your eyes and pay closer attention to all modifiers in a sentence to see whether they are properly placed.   With greater attentiveness and a bit of practice, you will hone your ability to recognize these types of errors.   And in return, you will see your GMAT score in the grammar improve.

Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have online GMAT prep courses starting all the time! And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

John Chismody is a Veritas Prep GMAT instructor based in Pittsburgh, PA. After receiving his BS in Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, he went onto Duquesne University to receive his Masters. He moved to the Big Apple for a while, then down to South Beach, but has returned to his native home of Pittsburgh and continues to teach for Veritas Prep. 

How can I tell if I’m looking at a “Parallel Reasoning” question? The question-stem will contain an argument, and the question itself will contain phrases like “method of reasoning,” “parallel reasoning,” “most similar,” “similar reasoning,” or “most closely parallel.” You’ll also see that each answer choice is its own argument, as opposed to an assumption, inference, or flaw.

Let’s look at a simply example!

Argument #1: If someone has blonde hair, then they have blue eyes. My father has blonde hair, therefore my father has blue eyes.

The reasoning here is presented as a conditional A -> B, “blonde hair” means “blue eyes.” This reasoning is then used to make a conclusion, using the exact same pattern: A -> B. Here’s an example of a simple argument that uses parallel reasoning to Argument #1:

Argument #2: The best internet cafes have free wifi. All cafes with free wifi serve unlimited coffee. Therefore, the best internet cafes serve unlimited coffee.

It’s the same reasoning because the logic moves in the same direction from A -> B , going from “wifi” to “coffee,” then “best cafes” to “wifi.” Don’t worry that this argument  is not arranged in exactly the same order as Argument #1, it’s the method of reasoning that must be similar. A correct answer choice can be a little bit different from the question-stem. It’s the LOGIC that counts!

Watch out for…

•  Answer choices that merely mimic the topic of the argument. The correct answer’s argument usually focuses on an entirely different topic. It’s not what is being discussed that matters, but how the reasoning is laid out.
• Answer choices that have the same structure as the question-stem argument, but do not have the same logic! Just because an answer choice contains similar keywords, or has a similar number of sentences, doesn’t mean its logic matches! The premises and conclusion can be rearranged, but the logic of an argument doesn’t change.
• Pacing! These question-types typically take longer than strengthen or weaken CR, because you have 6 arguments to break down, as opposed to 1 (whew!). Practice untimed at first, but as you gain more confident with this question-type, set a timer and try to do them in under 3 minutes, then under 2 minutes.

Look out for Part 2 of this series, where we’ll look at what strategies we can use to break down Parallel Reasoning questions quickly and effectively, and get them correct every time.

Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT prep courses starting all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

Vivian Kerr is a regular contributor to the Veritas Prep blog, providing tips and tricks to help students better prepare for the GMAT and the SAT. 

Question: If 10, 12 and ‘x’ are sides of an acute angled triangle, how many integer values of ‘x’ are possible?

(A) 7
(B) 12
(C) 9
(D) 13
(E) 11

Solution: The question is very interesting. It asks you for an acute triangle i.e. a triangle with all angles less than 90 degrees. It’s a little hard to wrap your head around it, isn’t it? We know that the third side of a triangle can take many values. Right from a little more than the difference of the other two sides to a little less than the sum of the other two sides (Since we know that the sum of any two sides of a triangle is always greater than the third side). So x can be anything from a little more than 2 to a little less than 22. But how do we find out the values for which all the angles will be less than 90?

We want no obtuse or right angles. An obtuse angled triangle has one angle more than 90. So the thought here is that before one of the angles reaches 90, find out all the values that x can take.

Look at the figure given above. The value of x in the first figure is very small – slightly more than 2 – minimum required to make a triangle. There is an obtuse angle in that triangle. We keep making x bigger and bigger and the angle keeps becoming smaller till it reaches 90 (Fig III). We use Pythagorean theorem to get the value of x in that case:

x = √(12^2 – 10^2)
x = √44 which is 6.something
x should be greater than 6.something because the angle cannot be 90.

We further keep increasing x and all the angles are acute now. We reach Fig V where we hit another right triangle. We use Pythagorean theorem again to get the value of x (the hypotenuse) in this case:

x = √(12^2 + 10^2)
x = √244 which is 15.something
x should be less than 15.something so that the angle is not 90.

Further on, in Fig VI, we obtain an obtuse angle again.

We only need integral values of x so values that x can take range from 7 to 15 which is 9 values.

Answer (C).

Note: We made two angles 90 and found the values of x in between those two angles. The third angle cannot be 90 because that will make 10 the hypotenuse but hypotenuse is always the greatest side.

Karishma, a Computer Engineer with a keen interest in alternative Mathematical approaches, has mentored students in the continents of Asia, Europe and North America. She teaches the GMAT for Veritas Prep and regularly participates in content development projects such as this blog!

Step one: Student begins to work on problem, places scratch paper directly underneath problem covering answer choices.
Step two: Instructor slaps the note paper away and yells “no touching (the answer choices)”

Why?

Particularly on Problem Solving questions, the answer choices are often the most important assets you have in solving the problem. Some problems require you to plug in answer choices (“backsolve”) in order to solve; other problems embed clues in the answer choice (if there’s a square root of 3, you should be looking for a 30-60-90 triangle somewhere; if all the denominators in the answer choices are either 3 or 5, you should be thinking about divisibility rules). A higher-than-you’d-think percentage of Problem Solving questions reward users for glancing at the answer choices before they start their work, but a higher-than-you’d-think percentage of students never look past the question mark in the problem before they diligently start calculating. Let’s see a few examples to show you how looking at answer choices can drastically increase your efficiency and accuracy:

Which of the following is equal to 124/93?

(A) 6/5
(B) 5/4
(C) 4/3
(D) 3/2
(E) 8/9

If you were to try to factor out the common term between 124 and 93, you’d have a tough time identifying it on its own. 124 = 4(31) and 93 = 3(31), but very few people will quickly see “oh, they’re both divisible by 31″. Instead, you’re much more likely to make that determination by looking at the answer choices. Choices A, B, and D are clearly wrong because the denominator – 93 – is not divisible by 5 and not even, so it cannot factor down to have a denominator of 5, 4, or 2. And choice E should be clearly wrong because in the original, 124/93, the numerator is greater than the denominator, but choice E reverses that. So C is the only plausible choice, and if you test it it gives you a clue as to what to factor out. You’d need to divide the numerator, 124, by 4 (leaving 31) and then test the denominator to make sure it’s also divisible by 31 (and it is, producing that 3).

When you need to reduce a fraction as the last step of a problem, try looking at the answer choices for clues as to which factors to break out – after all, one of the answer choices MUST BE correct, and several should be impossible to begin to factor, thereby lightening your load.

Take a look at another example:

3^8 + 3^7 – 3^6 – 3^5 =

(A) (3^5)(2^4)
(B) (3^6)(2^5)
(C) (3^5)(2^6)
(D) 6^5
(E) none of the above

If you aren’t sure how to even start the problem, look at the answer choices – none of them has addition or subtraction, and most of them involve multiplication. So what’s your next move? Make your math look like the answer choices – you have to factor away that add/subtract to form multiplication (try it and see if you can D-termine the answer).

The takeaway – answer choices are an absolutely integral part of problem solving questions, so make sure to glance at them before you begin your work, and to lean on them if you’re struggling at any point of your calculation. Answer choices are assets!

Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We run a free online GMAT prep seminar every couple of weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

Though it is easy to get oneself into a tizzy and wallow in frustration at a question of this sort, it is important to remember that nothing is a matter of opinion on the SAT. Every answer is objectively true and supported by the text.  The trick is examining what the passage is accomplishing.         

The first task when you are approaching a question like this is to look at the story or article and describe, in one or two sentences, what it is about.  We all do this with content much more complicated than short passages.  When someone asks you what a movie, let say, The Lion King, is about, you would probably say something like, “It’s a coming of age story about lion cub who finds his place in the world.” This is similar to what we do with passages, but in making our description of a passage, we want to state what a passage does as well as what content it engages.

A passage could deal with dinosaurs, for example, but it is too reductive to state the passage is about dinosaurs.  What is the author doing? The author could be:

• Convincing you of a viewpoint (are there arguments and examples to support an argument?)
• Comparing two different viewpoints (different arguments are presented, but the author doesn’t pick a side)
• Describing or explaining a phenomenon (is it mostly descriptive or explanatory?)
• Telling a story (is there a clear narrative?)

These are the kinds of questions that we must ask in determining purpose.  Usually if we only look at the first few words of the answer choices for these key indicator words (describing, arguing, comparing, etc.), we can eliminate the majority of the possibilities because the answers describe something that is not accomplished by the text.  If our imaginary article is comparing existing theories about the extinction of the dinosaurs without making a judgment on which argument is stronger, then any answer choice that states that the author is arguing, or convincing, and not comparing or explaining is WRONG.  What if an answer choice states that the author is making an argument on a possible cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs? That’s sort of what the author is doing, right? Nope! It’s wrong, wrong, wrong. “Sort of” true answers are not correct. All parts of an answer choice MUST be correct and supported by the passage in order for the answer to be true.  It is often easier to figure out what the author is NOT doing and eliminate all choices that describe an untruth.

As long as we follow these simple steps, we should be able to approach this kind of question with ease:

• Describe what passage accomplishes (is the author explaining, arguing, comparing, etc.)
• Examine the answer choices to see which actions the author is and isn’t accomplishing
• Eliminate choices that don’t describe what the author is doing
• Examine all parts of remaining answer choices and make sure they are supported in the text (ALL ANSWERS ARE STATED IN OR SUPPORTED BY THE TEXT)

Don’t fear these types of questions.  There are many difficult searches for purpose that you may engage with in your life, the purpose of an SAT article is easy to find: it’s all in the text.

Plan on taking the SAT soon? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter!

David Greenslade is a Veritas Prep SAT instructor based in New York. His passion for education began while tutoring students in underrepresented areas during his time at the University of North Carolina. After receiving a degree in Biology, he studied language in China and then moved to New York where he teaches SAT prep and participates in improv comedy.

Veritas Prep GMAT on Demand is our  all-online GMAT course delivered in high-definition streaming video, using the same course materials and curriculum that students cover in every live Veritas Prep GMAT course. Taught by the co-author of the Veritas Prep GMAT course curriculum, Brian Galvin and co-hosted by Lissette Padilla, Dean’s Fellow at the MIT Sloan MBA program, Veritas Prep GMAT on Demand  is the most comprehensive self-study program available.

The course comes with over 20 hours of streaming video, broken down into easily digestible lessons that correspond with the Veritas Prep lesson books.  Brian and Lissette are engaging and thorough in their coverage of the course.  You’ll come to think of them as your own personal tutors who are just as invested in your success as you are.

We’re especially proud of the fact that Veritas Prep GMAT on Demand can be accessed across a host of devices, including your computer, iPad, or any other iOS device.  Our goal with Veritas Prep on Demand was to create a program as user friendly and accessible as possible.  No other self-study program is delivered across so many platforms or offers the amount of  expertise and depth as Veritas Prep GMAT on Demand.

We are so confident that you’ll love Veritas Prep GMAT on Demand that we’re making it available to everyone for free through a 7-day, no risk free trial.  You’ll get access the first full lesson and then you will be able to view selections of the remaining eleven lessons – that’s more than four hours of instruction, all in HD video!  All you need to do is provide your name and email address (no credit card  is required) and you’ll get immediate access to the program.  Try it out now!

1. Strengthening the conclusion
2. Weakening the conclusion
3. Inferring based on the conclusion
4. Method of reasoning used

As you can easily tell from the categories above, the conclusion usually plays a pivotal role in correctly answering the question at hand. Thus, identifying the author’s point is a necessary step that cannot be circumvented. In particular, let’s focus in on strengthening the argument or weakening the argument, two sides of the same coin that can often be solved the exact same way (you may need to insert the word “not” somewhere)

Within the context of a strengthening or weakening question, the three steps to correctly solving the question are always the same (and very similar to casing a joint for a heist)

1. Identify the conclusion
2. Evaluate the premise(s)
3. Find the gap between the conclusion and the premise.

Again, the conclusion is the key to everything. If you correctly identify the conclusion, you’re on the right path to success. If you misidentify the conclusion, you will likely fall into a clever trap laid out for you. Let’s look at an example:

Nate: Recently a craze has developed for home juicers, $300 machines that separate the pulp of the fruits and vegetables from the juice they contain. Outrageous claims are being made about the benefits of these devices: Drinking the juice they produce is said to help one lose weight or acquire a clear complexion, to aid in digestion, and even to prevent cancer. But there is no indication that juice separated from the pulp of the fruit or vegetable has any properties that it does not have when unseparated. Save your money, if you want carrot juice, eat a carrot.

Which of the following, if true, most calls into question Nate’s argument?

(A)  Most people find it much easier to consume a given quantity of nutrients in liquid form than to eat solid foods containing the same quantity of the same nutrients.

(B)  Drinking juice from home juicers is less healthy than is eating fruits and vegetables because such juice does not contain the fiber that is eaten if one consumes the entire fruit or vegetable.

(C)  To most people who would be tempted to buy a home juicer, $300 would not be a major expense.

(D)  Nate was a member of a panel that extensively evaluated early prototypes of home juicers

(E)  Vitamin pills that supposedly contain nutrients available elsewhere only in fruits and vegetables often contain a form of those compounds that cannot be as easily metabolized as the varieties found in fruit and vegetables.

After quickly identifying the type of question (calls into question = weaken), the next step on the road to success is to identify the conclusion. Looking over Nate’s soliloquy, the majority of it is context as to how the juicing craze came about, the positive aspects of juicers (the unexpected plot twist when the juicer was betrayed by Cobra) and the negative aspects of juicers. The conclusion, summed up in a succinct manner at the end is simply “Save your money, if you want carrot juice, eat a carrot.”

The trap that many people fall for here is that Nate’s argument is based primarily on monetary issues. Yes the juicer separates the juice from the pulp, but it’s not worth the money! (C’mon you could take that money and buy ¾ of an Apple share). If you focus in on the money aspect, you probably want to pick answer choice C, because it indicates that the money won’t be a big concern for prospective clients. However, this is a trap based on the phrasing of the conclusion.

The conclusion could have just as easily read “Don’t be a fool, if you want carrot juice, eat a carrot”. This conveys the exact same message, but answer choice C would now have to be something akin to “Most people who would buy this juicer have IQs above 114½”. The call for saving your money is simply used for emphasis; it has little bearing on the actual issue, which is that you get the same nutrients from solid foods as you would from consuming only the juice.

For strengthening/weakening questions, the third step of minding the gap between the premise and the conclusion is necessary to determine which answer choice to select. In this question, the premise is talking about the nutrients of one form versus the other, and the conclusion states that there’s no reason to ever want the juice instead of the solid. What’s the gap? Maybe there’s another reason we would want the juice! Perhaps it tastes better, or your teeth aren’t as solid as they used to be and juice is preferable to trying to bite into an apple (or perhaps you’re trying to cross a border and fruits are illegal but the juice is fine).

Upon rereading the answer choices, A is exactly what you want. The others all fall down in various ways.

(A)  Most people find it much easier to consume a given quantity of nutrients in liquid form than to eat solid foods containing the same quantity of the same nutrients.

Perfect. This gives us a valid reason to want to drink the juice.

(B)  Drinking juice from home juicers is less healthy than is eating fruits and vegetables because such juice does not contain the fiber that is eaten if one consumes the entire fruit or vegetable.

Tempting, but this strengthens the argument instead of weakening it. 180 °.

(C)  To most people who would be tempted to buy a home juicer, $300 would not be a major expense.

Trap answer based on financial considerations.

(D)  Nate was a member of a panel that extensively evaluated early prototypes of home juicers

Again, wouldn’t this make Nate an expert on the subject? Strengthener and 180 °.

(E)  Vitamin pills that supposedly contain nutrients available elsewhere only in fruits and vegetables often contain a form of those compounds that cannot be as easily metabolized as the varieties found in fruit and vegetables.

New topic. Why are we introducing vitamin pills here? Out of scope.

The correct answer is (A). 

On these types of critical reasoning questions, correctly identifying the conclusion is paramount to correctly answering the question. Hijacking the conclusion will result in an answer choice that seems correct, but doesn’t address the underlying point the author is making. And since strengthening and weakening questions make up the majority of Critical Reasoning questions on the GMAT, the only conclusion you should come to is to practice these questions regularly.

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Ron Awad is a GMAT instructor for Veritas Prep based in Montreal, bringing you occasional tips and tricks for success on your exam.  After graduating from McGill and receiving his MBA from Concordia, Ron started teaching GMAT prep and his Veritas Prep students have given him rave reviews ever since.