GRE Critical Reasoning: Argument Questions Explained, with 5 Worked Examples
Key Takeaways
- The GRE has no critical reasoning section; short argument passages are a kind of Reading Comprehension question inside Verbal Reasoning.
- ETS says these questions test identifying assumptions, the strengths and weaknesses of a position and alternative explanations.
- Every argument has a conclusion, evidence and an unstated gap; most questions ask you to name, widen or close that gap.
- The five common types are assumption, weaken, strengthen, explain a discrepancy and inference.
- ETS does not publish how many argument questions appear; they count the same as every other Verbal question.
Table of Contents
- Is there critical reasoning on the GRE?
- How many argument questions are on the GRE?
- How is a GRE argument built?
- What are the main types of argument question?
- How do you answer an argument question?
- Five worked examples
- Example 1 (weaken)
- Example 2 (assumption)
- Example 3 (strengthen)
- Example 4 (explain)
- Example 5 (inference)
- How can you practise GRE argument questions?
The GRE has no section called critical reasoning. The name comes from the GMAT. On the GRE, the same skill is tested by short argument passages inside Verbal Reasoning: a single paragraph sets out a claim and its evidence, and one question asks you to find the assumption, weaken or strengthen the argument, explain a puzzle or draw a conclusion.
This guide explains where these questions sit in the test, the five common question types and how to approach each one. It ends with five worked examples, with the reason every wrong option fails.
The five examples are practice items written by Galvanize in the official format. They are not ETS questions. For the whole Verbal section, read our GRE Verbal guide.
Is there critical reasoning on the GRE?
Not as a separate section or question type. ETS lists three Verbal question types on its Verbal Reasoning content page: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence. The argument questions that test-prep books call critical reasoning are a kind of Reading Comprehension question.
ETS says the Reading Comprehension questions test, among other things, the ability to:
- identify the author’s assumptions and perspective,
- identify the strengths and weaknesses of a position,
- develop and consider alternative explanations, and
- draw conclusions from the information provided.
It adds that questions range “from the meaning of a particular word to assessing evidence that might support or weaken points made in the passage”. Most passages are one paragraph long, and each passage has one to six questions. An argument passage is usually a single paragraph with a single question.
How many argument questions are on the GRE?
ETS does not publish a number. It says that about half of the Verbal questions are based on passages, across two sections with 27 questions in 41 minutes in total (ETS test structure). Argument passages are a part of that half, so expect a few per test rather than a section’s worth.
They count the same as every other Verbal question: your raw score is the number of questions you answer correctly, and every question in a section contributes equally (ETS, understanding your scores).
How is a GRE argument built?
Almost every argument passage has the same three parts. Finding them is most of the work.
- The conclusion: what the author wants you to accept. It often follows words such as therefore, so, concludes or plans to.
- The evidence: the facts offered in support, often a study, a statistic or a change over time.
- The gap: what has to be true for the evidence to prove the conclusion, but is not stated. Most questions are about this gap.
A common gap is cause and effect: two things happen together, and the argument assumes one caused the other. Another is a plan: the argument assumes that what worked for one group will work for everyone.
What are the main types of argument question?
| Type | Typical question | What the right answer does |
|---|---|---|
| Assumption | The argument depends on which of the following? | States the unstated gap. If it were false, the argument would fall apart. |
| Weaken | Which, if true, most seriously weakens the argument? | Widens the gap, often with another cause for the evidence. |
| Strengthen | Which, if true, most strengthens the argument? | Closes the gap, often by ruling out another cause. |
| Explain | Which most helps to explain the apparent discrepancy? | Shows how two facts that seem to clash can both be true. |
| Inference | Which must be true, based on the statements above? | Follows from the passage alone, with nothing added. |
Some questions also ask about the role of a sentence, shown in bold, in the argument. The method is the same: label the conclusion and the evidence first.
How do you answer an argument question?
- Read the question first, so you know whether you are attacking, supporting or completing the argument.
- Find the conclusion and the evidence and say the argument to yourself in one sentence.
- Name the gap before you look at the choices.
- Test each choice against the gap, not against the topic. A choice can be about the same subject and still do nothing to the argument.
- Use only the passage. ETS notes that every question can be answered from the passage and that no specialised knowledge is assumed.
Five worked examples
Example 1 (weaken)
Last year the city of Arnsdale installed brighter street lights in its central district. Since then, reported street crime in the district has fallen by 30 percent. The city council concludes that brighter lighting deters street crime and plans to install it citywide.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the council’s argument?
(A) Street lights in the other districts are older than those in the central district.
(B) In the same year, the police doubled the number of foot patrols in the central district only.
(C) Residents of the central district say they feel safer at night.
(D) The brighter lights cost more to run than the old ones.
(E) Some cities that installed brighter lights saw crime fall by less than 30 percent.
Answer: (B). The argument assumes the lights caused the fall. Doubled foot patrols in the same district, in the same year, give another cause for it. (A) and (D) are about the cost and age of lights, not whether they work. (C) supports the council if anything. (E) still describes crime falling after brighter lights, so it does not undermine the claim that lights help.
Example 2 (assumption)
Students at Linwood College who use the campus writing centre earn higher essay grades than students who do not. The centre has the capacity to see every student. Therefore, the college could raise essay grades across the student body by requiring every student to use the writing centre.
The argument depends on which of the following assumptions?
(A) Most students at Linwood already use the writing centre.
(B) The higher grades of students who use the centre are not mainly due to those students being more motivated to begin with.
(C) Essay grades make up most of a student’s final grade.
(D) The writing centre’s tutors are all former students of the college.
(E) Students who do not use the writing centre would prefer not to.
Answer: (B). The evidence is a link between using the centre and higher grades; the conclusion treats the centre as the cause. If the users were simply more motivated students, requiring everyone to go would not raise grades, so the argument needs (B). Test it by negating it: if the higher grades were mainly due to motivation, the plan collapses. (A) would make the plan less useful, not necessary to it. (C) and (D) are beside the point. (E) does not need to be true for the plan to work.
Example 3 (strengthen)
A study found that people who drink green tea daily have lower rates of a certain heart condition than people who do not. The researchers propose that a compound found in green tea protects against the condition.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the researchers’ proposal?
(A) Green tea is more popular in some countries than in others.
(B) The compound is also found in small amounts in some fruits.
(C) In a separate trial, people randomly assigned to take the compound in capsule form developed the condition less often than people given a placebo.
(D) The daily green tea drinkers in the study also exercised more than the non-drinkers.
(E) Most people in the study who drank green tea also drank other kinds of tea.
Answer: (C). The study shows only that tea drinking and lower rates go together. A randomised trial of the compound itself isolates it from everything else tea drinkers have in common, which is exactly the gap. (D) weakens the proposal by offering another cause. (A) and (B) are background facts. (E), if anything, raises the possibility that something in other teas is responsible.
Example 4 (explain)
Hospital X has a higher death rate among its patients than nearby Hospital Y. Yet a national health agency, which assesses the quality of care, rates Hospital X as the better hospital.
Which of the following, if true, most helps to explain the apparent discrepancy?
(A) Hospital Y was built more recently than Hospital X.
(B) Hospital X has more beds than Hospital Y.
(C) Hospital X is the region’s main trauma centre and receives most of its critically ill patients.
(D) The agency publishes its ratings once a year.
(E) Staff at Hospital Y are paid more than staff at Hospital X.
Answer: (C). If Hospital X treats far sicker patients, it can give better care and still have a higher death rate. (B) changes the number of deaths, not the rate. (A), (D) and (E) do not connect the death rate to the quality of care at all.
Example 5 (inference)
Every applicant who was offered a place on a master’s programme had scored at least 160 on GRE Quantitative Reasoning. Some applicants who scored above 165 on Quantitative Reasoning were not offered a place.
If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true?
(A) No applicant who scored below 160 on Quantitative Reasoning was offered a place.
(B) Every applicant who scored 160 or more on Quantitative Reasoning was offered a place.
(C) The Quantitative Reasoning score was the only factor in the programme’s decisions.
(D) Some applicants who were offered a place scored above 165 on Quantitative Reasoning.
(E) Most applicants scored at least 160 on Quantitative Reasoning.
Answer: (A). If everyone offered a place scored at least 160, nobody below 160 was offered one. (B) reverses the first statement, and the second statement shows it is false. (C), (D) and (E) might be true, but nothing in the passage requires them.
How can you practise GRE argument questions?
- Start with official material. ETS publishes free GRE sample questions with explanations and free official practice tests.
- Write the gap down. For every argument you practise, write the conclusion, the evidence and the gap in one line each before you look at the choices.
- Use GMAT critical reasoning sets with care. The skills overlap, but the GMAT question formats differ, so time yourself on GRE-format questions as well.
- Practise the other Verbal types too. Our guides to Reading Comprehension and Text Completion cover the rest of the section.
To see how you do on timed Verbal questions, take our free GRE mock test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there critical reasoning on the GRE?
Not as a separate section. ETS lists three Verbal question types: Reading Comprehension, Text Completion and Sentence Equivalence. Argument questions, often called critical reasoning, are a kind of Reading Comprehension question.
What is the difference between GRE and GMAT critical reasoning?
The GMAT has a question type named Critical Reasoning. On the GRE, similar argument questions appear within Reading Comprehension and are not labelled separately. The reasoning skills overlap, but the formats differ.
How many critical reasoning questions are on the GRE?
ETS does not publish a number. About half of Verbal questions are passage-based, and short argument passages are part of that half, so expect a few per test.
What types of argument questions are on the GRE?
The common ones ask you to find an assumption, weaken or strengthen an argument, explain an apparent discrepancy, or say what must be true. Some ask about the role of a sentence shown in bold.
What is an assumption in a GRE argument?
An unstated statement the argument needs. A quick test: if the statement were false, the argument would no longer hold.
How do I weaken a GRE argument?
Find the gap between the evidence and the conclusion, then choose the answer that widens it. Often that is another cause for the evidence, such as a second change that happened at the same time.
Do I need outside knowledge for GRE argument questions?
No. ETS says all Reading Comprehension questions can be answered from the passage and no specialised knowledge is assumed.
How long should I spend on an argument question?
Verbal gives 41 minutes for 27 questions, about 1.5 minutes each. A one-paragraph argument with one question usually fits within that.
Can I use GMAT critical reasoning questions to practise for the GRE?
They help with the reasoning, but the formats differ. Practise on official GRE-format questions as well, and time yourself on them.
Where can I find official GRE argument questions?
ETS publishes free GRE sample questions with explanations and free official practice tests. The examples on this page are written by Galvanize in the official format.
