------------------------------------------- CR Conclusion -------------------------------------------

-Conclusion : Main point advocated in the argument. Information the author wants you to
believe in.
- Context decides if a statement is a premise or a conclusion.
Indicators:
Premise indicators : Since, Due to , Because , given that , for
Conclusion indicators: therefore, hence, it shows that, it follows that, it can be
concluded that, thus , so
How to find a conclusion in an argument?
- Read passage carefully
- Ask questions
- Look for indicators
- ABC Test
ABC Test:
Is statement A because of B ? -> A
Is statement B because of A? -> B
-Conclusion can appear anywhere in the argument
- Author is the only one who can state the conclusion. Unless, question stem explicitly states
'third party' statement as the conclusion.

Counter Premise
- A statement that presents information that goes against the conclusion.
- Author includes Counter Premise to defend his argument against potential criticism.

Intermediate Conclusion
- DERIVED statement in argument, not the MAIN Conclusion.
- IC is either a premise/counter premise in the whole argument.
To decide which is the main conclusion between the 2 intermediate conclusions; use ABC test.

What can be challenged?

- Premise/Counter Premise cannot be challenged
- Intermediate Conclusion / Conclusion can be challenged
- Author's reasoning and anything spoken by Third Party can be challenged.
- Always keep in mind 'Expectation may/may not translate to actual’. ??

--------------------------------------- CR Inference Based Questions -------------------------------------------

- If the information in the passage is true then inference must always be true.
- Outside information if added must set the right context.
- Identify entities like Only, All (or every, each → 100% )
- Words like:
Some : 1 to All
Most : > 50% to All
 Few : means handful (2 or 3 or 4 items out of 100) - depends on context
Many : 3 to All
The : The implies 'total number'
eg.-> XZY is the prerequisite to get admission in Harvard.
→ It is the TOTAL or ONLY Condition for admission in Harvard.

- Always analyse each choice.

- Visualizing what is given and what is not given really helps!
- Convert argument into data like 100C, 100P etc. -> Make it a mathematical problem
wherever possible.

Option choices :-

Eliminate the following :-

- Out of context
- Contradictory choices
- Linkage b/w the info. From passage is incorrect
- Don’t generalize based on 1 data point
- Extreme answer choices can also be true in some cases

------------------------------------------ Assumptions -----------------------------------------------

- Must always be true for conclusion to Hold True (not stated, cannot be inferred, new
information)
- There can be more than 1 assumptions

Negate the assumption to see if the conclusion breaks? If yes then it is the correct
assumption otherwise it is not.

Process :-
 1. Understand the passage -> Identify the conclusion and how author arrived at it
(by using information in a logical manner) .
2. Pre-Thinking -> understand the author’s logic and pre-think the Assumption
3. Evaluate Options and eliminate

How to approach an assumption question?

It is very important to understand the purpose of each information.

There can very well be other segments of a single entity : (For e.g.)

It is very likely that there are multiple entities being talked about -> So read the passage
carefully.
It is important to identify entities mentioned explicitly / not mentioned.

It is very important to make simplistic equations were data points are given in terms of
increase/decrease/percentages. This helps in understanding those entities which are not
explicitly stated but are integral part of equation.
Question Statement :
Whenever you get a lengthy question statement break it down into smaller parts and understand
each part to simplify the meaning of the question statement.

Silly Mistake Alert

It may be possible that the answer choices are stating the negation of the assumption i.e. pre
thinking assumption or falsification statement. Beware of such choices.
Revise Application file 1 for assumptions (It is really good). Types of mistakes we
generally do in assumption questions:

Some common mistakes:

Most difficult question statement:

Ways to make the question difficult:

--------------------------------------------------------- Evaluate -----------------------------------------------

In evaluation questions, pre-thinking of assumptions lays the base. Pre-thinking assumptions

when converted into questions lead to evaluation of the statement.

One assumption can lead to formation of more than 1 evaluation questions.

1 Assumption -> Many Evaluation Questions

Variance Analysis

Key Learnings:
Irrelevant option choices ----------- Variance Analysis -------------> No impact on Argument

Never reject an Option Statement because it doesn’t match your pre-thought assumption.

------------------------------------------ Strengthener -----------------------------------------------

Strengthen Framework:
- Adds new information (not already stated/inferred) that increases our belief in the
author’s argument.
- Understand Passage -> Understand reasoning used by author -> Strengthen Statement

Assumption vs Strengtheners
Process for Strengthening Questions

Tip : Always relate the answer with the understanding in the passage.
In case of cause and effect -> usually the conclusion is about linkage between both
cause and effect. Also, no cause means no effect.

Note :-
- Understand what is the question asking to strengthen ?
 - Don’t strengthen the Premise , strengthen the conclusion/what is being asked.
- Stay focused on what to strengthen and sometimes you are given a Plan → Goal
relationship and you have to strengthen the Linkage between the Plan leading to the
Goal.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Cause → Effect relationship is given and you have to strengthen it by “ Telling HOW /
WHY does the CAUSE lead to that EFFECT ? What makes the cause lead to the
corresponding effect “
-
- Try to fill in the Logical Gap between the Cause and the Effect. ( which strengthens the
Argument )
- If Cause and effect have already happened then you don’t have to strengthen the cause,
rather focus on strengthening the Relationship ( causality )
- Ex. -> Cause → engaging driving experience and ergonomic ride of Merc Benz
Effect → Loyal customer base of Merc Benz
- Strengthener → any example that the customers like the engaging driving experience
and ergonomic ride of Merc Benz which makes them loyal
- Learn to focus on small words in the option choice and question statement Like →
change the car in option but the question said “ change the car to a different
brand “
- Trap Options → talk about only the Cause or only the Effect ( BE AWARE of such
option choices )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Cause and Effect Option with Historical Data which shows similar Cause and Effect :-
Example ( here it in an Incorrect option )
 - Sometimes a Wrong choice has a “ New EFFECT caused by the EFFECT ( in the
Question) ”
- Strengthen By Saying that if the “ Cause “ is not there then → “ Effect “ is also not
there. [ no cause led to no effect ]
Ex :-
Negate ( ~ ) The “ Reverse Causality “ to STRENGTHEN the Argument.
Eg. :-

- Strengthen the causality not the cause or effect or individual facts.

------------------------------------------ Weakener -----------------------------------------------
Characteristics of a weakener:
- Makes us believe less in the author’s conclusion
- presents new information (not already stated/ inferred from the passage)
- Assume you are in a Debate and the Author is your Opponent

Process:

How to weaken :-

1. Find an Alternate Cause for the Same Effect. ( Don’t find an alternate Effect for the
Same Cause )
2. Reverse Causality i.e show that B → A instead of A → B
3. Show a NEW Cause that Actually led to both the “ Given Cause and Given Effect “
4. Raise doubt on assumption

Note -> You don’t have to reach the Exact Weakener Choice while Pre-thinking, Rather
understand the Characteristics of the Weakener.
------------------------------------------ Bold Face -----------------------------------------------

- At least one segment is highlighted

- Question asks to identify role played by the highlighted segments

Other Core Skill is to analyse the answer choices.

Clarity of relationships between each part of the passage helps in Pre thinking and
Answer choice analysis.

How to take notes ?

Key to analyzing answer choices -> Apply Pause Point strategy i.e
- Read slowly
- Analyse each segment
- Don’t only focus on the Role but also on the Relationship of the Statement with
other Segments.

Note :-
- Prediction == “ A Conclusion ” != “ The Conclusion ”
- “ The Claim ” == “ Conclusion ” || “ Main Conclusion ”

Example :-
How to analyse choices for 2 bold face statements?
Pay attention to words in answer choices. For e.g. PLAN is very different from a GOAL
Words like best instead of better (as only 2 entities are being compared) also distort the
meaning of the answer choice.

Always pre-think as below for bold face:-

These are examples and are context dependent, may not be true in every scenario:
Conclusion can be mentioned as a claim
Prediction can be stated as a conclusion but not as the conclusion
Main Conclusion is different from Conclusion
Position (claim) author seeks to establish is actually the author’s conclusion
Reasoning for conclusion can be mentioned as evidence
Evidence can either be a fact or a claim
Principle is something that is always applicable

Word like explicitly can completely alter the answer choice statement. See example 1 of
Application 1.

3R of pre-thinking in bold face questions

 - ‘A few’ refers to a small number
Linkages in Option Choices :-

# Evidence ( proof to prove something ) can be Either a Fact or a Claim :-

# Principle -> that is always Applicable

------------------------------------------- FIB Concept -------------------------------------------

FIB (Fill in the blank) i.e logically complete the statement -> Basically a
strengthener/weakener/assumption/inference type.

Process:
#Assumption Type ( FIB ) Eg :-

------------------------------------------- Flaw Concept -------------------------------------------

Flaw type questions asks you to identify flaw or fault in author’s reasoning.

Process: Understand Author’s reasoning -> Identify mistakes in reasoning

Process:

------------------------------------------- Paradox Concept -------------------------------------------

When 2 data points / facts cannot exist together, we need to resolve this inconsistency
(paradox) by bringing in NEW information.

Ways of Asking a Paradox Question ( Question Stem ) :-

Explain the above _____ ?

- Paradox
- Discrepancy
- Anomaly
- Logical Contradiction
- Surprising Finding
- Dichotomy
- Contrast