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Lesson: Critical/Logical Reasoning - 28

The CAT 4-Step Method For Reasoning

[Page 28 of 32]

Now that you've learned some basic Reasoning principles and have been exposed to the most common question types, it's time to learn how to orchestrate all of that knowledge into a systematic approach to Reasoning. CAT has developed a 4-step method to Reasoning that you can use to attack every question on the section.

Preview the question stem. By reading the question stem first you'll know exactly what you're looking for, and thus you'll be able to focus your reading of the stimulus.

Read actively and critically, pinpointing evidence and conclusion, and keeping in mind what the question is asking for. You should also paraphrase the argument so that you understand it in your own words.

Try to prephrase an answer. Sometimes, if you've read the stimulus critically enough, you'll have a good idea of what the answer is without even looking at the choices. It will be much easier to find the right answer if you have a sense of what you're looking for among the choices.

Choose an answer. If you were able to prephrase an answer, skim the choices looking for something that sounds like what you have in mind. If you couldn't think of an answer, read and critically evaluate each choice, using the process of elimination to get to the right answer.

Okay, let's apply our method to an in-format Reasoning question.

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