0 Critical Reasoning PYQ (Solutions)

Critical Reasoning (CR)

Critical Reasoning (CR) involves tasks like strengthening/weakening arguments, finding assumptions, and evaluating reasoning.

CAT Context (2017–2024):

• CAT does not have a separate CR section; no standalone CR questions.
• Many RC questions are critical-reasoning in nature, e.g., “Which of the following, if true, would strengthen/weaken the author’s argument?” (CAT 2019).
• Para-Summary questions test CR skills by requiring identification of a paragraph’s core argument.
• Paracompletion (introduced 2022–2023) also touches on CR, asking candidates to logically complete arguments.

Key Insights:

• Roughly half of RC questions require CR skills.
• No separate CR question count exists; effectively 0 standalone CR questions.
• CR skills are embedded in RC and VA: analyzing arguments, identifying assumptions, and understanding logical structure are essential for success.