Apparently, GMAT critical reasoning accounts for ~30% of questions on the GMAT Exam Verbal Section. So, expect anywhere between 10-12 questions pertaining to critical reasoning. Besides understanding an argument construction in form of the premise, conclusion, counter premise and so on. Knowing inference is needed. GMAT Inference blog will be concentrating on inference based critical reasoning questions.
Inference Meaning
The inference is essentially a statement that can be made based on the information provided in the paragraph. There should be no doubt about the inference made given this data/evidence or information.
e.g. Rahul is a student of Delhi Public School. All students of the school need to play at least one sport.
- Rahul plays many sports.
- Rahul plays football.
- All students play lots of games.
- The school has many sports.
- Rahul must be playing at least one sport.
Based on the statement, the only statement which can be inferred is the last one: “Rahul must be playing at least one sport”. He is a student of the school and every student in the school plays at least one sport. Any of the other statements cannot be inferred since they are beyond the scope of the argument.
Inference can come in broadly two forms. Either as a logical deduction from the different statements in the premise. On the other hand, the inference can also be rewording of the premise itself.
Tackling GMAT Inference Questions
To be continued …