Critical Reasoning Strengthen, Weaken and Plan Evaluation
This topic covers strengthen, weaken, evaluate, explain, resolve, plan of action, boldface-style role reasoning, and business decision arguments.
How to study for the GMAT
Build every answer around the exact decision: problem setup, argument gap, passage support, data source, sufficiency, table filter, graph label, or linked two-part condition.
Core concepts
Concept 1
Critical Reasoning Strengthen, Weaken and Plan Evaluation questions test the reasoning and decision skills used on the current GMAT exam.
Exam cue: Name the task type: problem solving, reading comprehension, critical reasoning, data sufficiency, multi-source reasoning, table analysis, graphics interpretation, or two-part analysis.
Concept 2
The strongest answer identifies the business-relevant task, data source, argument relationship, arithmetic setup, or decision criterion before comparing choices.
Exam cue: Check constraints, units, variables, claim structure, source tabs, table filters, graph axes, and whether the answer is enough to make the decision.
Concept 3
Eliminate choices that answer a different question, overlook a condition, misuse a source, ignore sufficiency, or rely on specialized outside knowledge.
Exam cue: Use review and edit time to verify the exact question, not just the topic that first looked familiar.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Solving a nearby math or reading task while missing the decision the item actually asks for.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Using outside business knowledge instead of the evidence, data, or argument in the prompt.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Ignoring GMAT-specific constraints such as no calculator in Quant and sufficiency rather than calculation in Data Insights.
Guardrail: Use a 15-second safety pause before finalizing your action.
Memory anchors
Strengthen
A strengthen answer makes the argument's conclusion more likely.
Weaken
A weaken answer undermines the connection between evidence and conclusion.
Evaluate
An evaluate answer identifies information that would help judge the argument.
Explain
An explain answer accounts for a surprising fact or discrepancy.
Resolve
A resolve answer shows how two facts can both be true.
Plan
A plan answer judges whether a proposed action will achieve its goal.
Tradeoff
A tradeoff weighs benefits, costs, and constraints.
Role
A role question asks what a statement does in the argument.
Alternative Cause
An alternative cause can weaken a causal conclusion.
Business Context
Business context supplies facts but does not require specialized outside knowledge.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A company plans to subsidize gym memberships to reduce employee health-care claims. Which fact most strengthens the plan's rationale?
A city claims that converting a traffic lane into a protected bicycle lane will reduce congestion because more commuters will cycle. Which fact most weakens the claim?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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