GMAT Ninja CR Ep 1: How to Approach GMAT Focus Critical Reasoning

How should you approach a Critical Reasoning question on the GMAT Focus or Executive Assessment? Can you find the "heart of the passage"? Do you know what it means to read for structure? How should you eliminate answer choices to get to the correct answer?
In this video, Charles -- the original GMAT Ninja, and owner of a perfect 800 GMAT score -- will show you how to approach Critical Reasoning questions. He'll talk you through the things you should (and shouldn't) do to succeed in CR.
This is video #1 in our full-coverage series of GMAT Critical Reasoning lessons. For updates on upcoming videos, please subscribe!
Want more GMAT and EA test-prep tips and advice?
Subscribe to our KZbin channel: / gmatninjatutoring
For more information about GMAT tutoring: www.gmatninja.com/
For updates on this series and our other projects: / gmatninja
For more on Charles Bibilos and his love of international food and contributions to ornithology textbooks: www.gmatninja.com/charles-bib...
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
08:49 Question 1 - The consequences of surgical errors...
17:49 Question 2 - Last year a global disturbance...
27:25 Question 3 - Theater critic: The play La Finestrina...
Here are links to the questions covered in the video:
Question 1 -- The consequences of surgical errors...
To be added to GMAT Club
Question 2 -- Last year a global disturbance...
gmatclub.com/forum/last-year-...
Question 3 -- Theater critic: The play La Finestrina...
gmatclub.com/forum/theater-cr...

[@joshuawiseman2774]

If you all are interested in success stories… I made a 550 on my first practice test last month and made a 740 on the official GMAT after exclusively watching your KZbin videos. I cannot thank you all enough. Cheers.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

That's amazing, congratulations, Joshua! Thank you so much for taking the time to post here. I'm honored that we could help a bit. Seriously, please reach out once you get your grad school offers -- we'd love to see where you land. Congratulations again, and thank you for putting a smile on my face. - Charles

[@aakashpurkayastha7549]

Hi Joshua, hope you're doing well. Congratulations on that score! I too am a Gmat aspirant and would love to get in touch with you and discuss strategies.

[@rishabhnand4353]

Hi Joshua... congratulations on improving so much in such a short span of time. I too am preparing for GMAT and would love to get some advice from you on improving my scores. Hope to connect with you soon

[@arjunbansal1502]

Hi Charles, got a 695 on the GMAT Focus yesterday. This would have not been possible without this prep series. Thanks to you and the team for uncomplicating GMAT preparation for me - you guys are stars!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

This is amazing, congratulations! And thank you so much for sharing the good news with us. You probably know this already, but 695 is an amazing score on the GMAT Focus -- equivalent to the mid-700s on the old version of the test, and very much in line with even the very best MBA programs' GMAT averages. So you're in great shape, and I'm honored that we could help a bit. Congratulations again, and thank you again for letting us know how things went for you. Good luck with your applications!

[@hckonvicted]

Truth be told, every time I watch Charle's videos It gives me a certain amount of confidence to give my 100% in the game of GMAT. Your confidence and passion for teaching are infectious. Waiting for more CR videos.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

You're amazing, thank you so much for the kind words, Himanshu! I'm legitimately honored to be infectious. :) Have fun studying, and please keep us posted on your progress! - Charles

[@cloudsofchaos]

Charles and the entire team at GMAT Ninja Tutoring - Can't thank you enough for the entire series for GMAT and EA. I have watch all, well almost all, of the videos produced so far in the series. Excited for the CR videos. Charles - you are a messiah in the GMAT World ! Massive Respect to you !

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

You're making me blush! Thank you so much for the kind words, @AG. Have fun studying, and keep us posted on your progress! - Charles

[@pallavghosh08]

Yes absolutely

[@RohitSingh-cu9ji]

Critical Reasoning a was nightmare for me. I wasn't able to mark a single question correct but this one video gave me a clearer approach, now I'm more confident. Thanks

[@akshaypandey]

I spend 9 days going through content of CR from various other sources, and ended up getting very poor score. The first 6-8 mins of this video covered everything that I was doing wrong. Thank You! Can't wait to see what I learn next. :)

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Oh wow, I'm glad that we managed to strike a chord in the first few minutes! I swear that we don't have hidden cameras installed in your study area. :) Hopefully the rest of the videos are just as helpful. Have fun studying, and please keep us posted on your progress!

[@saahilbansal2280]

After having gone through the entire Quant series, and the RC compilation from verbal - I'm starting with CR now. I have my GMAT on the 9th of this month (Monday), but before even getting my final score - I want to thank you and the entire team from the bottom of my heart - you guys are the reason that I could stay motivated for my prep. I'll post you with what score I get on Monday. Thanks again

[@dishankmistry5466]

How did it go buddy?

[@gb649]

How did you do?

[@nikitataneja7097]

Amazing videos Charles. 😊 Thank you for being inspiring. Your concepts are crystal clear. Huge fan of your pedagogy.

[@tsukasa420]

Thank you so much for these videos!

[@ashir107]

Thanks so much for the videos, super helpful

[@JJ-zy3zv]

excellent videos, there is a reason why everyone recommends GMAT Ninja for Verbal.

[@felixbarnoin5008]

I started with these videos and got my 700. Going to sit for a final exam in 5 days and try to get my 730. Thank you guys!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you, Felix! I'm glad that we could help a bit. I hope that you kicked some butt on your retake! - Charles

[@ashlin1422]

man this was pretty useful! I got all three correct but it took time. I wrote important stuff down to the detail and that made me remember it and helped me choose correctly.

[@Farouk-voiceover]

Hey Ninja family, i just started for my GMAT exam a few days ago. I have about 2 years to prepare which is a long period compared to everyone else, but I'm working full-time, and during these 2 years i'm planning to score the highest score i can in GMAT and IELTS exams, while taking one or to certificates in Business Management. That's all part of my plan to land a scholarship in one of the top 20 MBA schools around the world. Will definitely keep you updated with every big milestone i reach during my journey! P.S I'm going through this journey with my wife, so i hope somehow we both get the scholarship. Peace and love to y'all! :)))

[@Farouk-voiceover]

Btw, i was struggling with the verbal part, after a few minutes watching ur vid, i answered all three questions correctly using ur method! Massive thanks!!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

I love this! Thank you so much for sharing all of this. Two years is definitely a long time for the GMAT, but not in a bad way at all -- if you're focused on building some fundamental skills, it's possible that you'll use every bit of that time. Please keep us posted on your progress, and have fun studying!

[@adityagawhale]

The options were written in a convoluted manner on purpose but questioning the logic of the options and eliminating them really works ... I got 1st and 3rd correct on my own, but your thinking worked for the 2nd one as I would have dismissed it faster

[@rasikaaa]

This is amazing! Thanks a lot for all those videos! ☺

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you so much for the kind words, and have fun studying!

[@lookpad723]

Your speaking pace is definitely challenging for a non-native like me, but at the same time save my life as a broke international student. Thanks very much for your tutorial Rap God Teacher!!! :)

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you for the kind words! The term "Rap God" makes me think that I should try to rhyme in these videos, and add a backbeat? But that might make it even harder to understand. ;) In case you aren't already doing it: you might consider playing the videos at a slower speed. I'll sound funny, but if it helps everything make more sense, that's probably worth it. I'm very aware of my speaking pace in the videos, and I consciously err on the side of speaking a little bit faster -- that way, the video moves along a bit more efficiently for students who are comfortable with the speed, but non-native speakers might benefit from slowing the video down a bit. Have fun studying!

[@kathrynkoech1875]

Nice one guys,I do appreciate your videos,sadly exam in weeks time before your CR series

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you, Kathryn! If you master the principles this first video, that might be all you really need, to be honest. But if you want more CR videos, we have a bunch of older ones here: www.gmatninja.com/videos/gmat/verbal. I hope that helps a bit, and good luck with your exam! Let us know how it goes.

[@sims_ran]

Thank you for another amazing video, Charles! While I agree Dana, Harry and Bransen are all very good-looking, I wouldn't be so quick to discount yourself! You have a strong fanbase among GMAT aspirants. The GMAT Ninja team as a whole is legendary!!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Haha, thank you so much, Simran! This comment made my day. Have fun studying!

[@sims_ran]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring Thank you! I have fun studying largely thanks to you! :D

[@pengye3276]

Thank you so much for the videos. They are really helpful!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

I'm glad that the videos have helped a bit. Thank you so much for the kind words, and have fun studying!

[@ehza]

Thank you. Profoundly useful to me.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

You're awesome, you so much for taking the time to write this. Have fun studying, and keep us posted on your progress!

[@eshach2543]

Hi Charles- a quick question. When you're trying to attempt a 'weaken the reasoning in the argument' question, why is your approach- to find answer choices that weaken the conclusion statement and not answer choices that undermine the explanation the author provides to arrive at a conclusion (which is what I assumed reasoning is referring to in the question). Thanks, this will really help clarify my approach to the question.

[@mihirk5895]

Genuine appreciation for Charles and the team for their insights and guidance. I self-studied for 7 months using only gmatninja sources in yt and gmatclub, for my verbal, and it helped me take my score from 670 to 760. Pure golden content gmatninja has. Thanks a ton again Charles and the team!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

You're awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to write this, @MihirK! I'm honored that we could help a bit. And more importantly: congratulations on the absolutely epic score! I hope that you've celebrated appropriately. :)

[@devjoshi8124]

Charles watching your videos motivate me to study more & you seem to really love teaching. Btw, I got the last one correct but that's not important cause I did not really understand the statement "The considerations given best serve as a part of an argument that " Can you rephrase it in a simpler form?

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you for the kind words, Dev! I'm honored that the videos have helped a bit. Yeah, the phrasing on that question isn't very user-friendly. "The considerations given" basically means "the passage" in this case. So we have something like, "the passage above best serves as part of an argument that..." In other words: which of the following arguments is supported by the passage? I hope that helps a bit, and have fun studying!

[@wisamey]

Charles is KING!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Haha, thank you so much for the kind words! My ego might not fit through the door anymore if I'm not careful. ;) Have fun studying, Wesam! And thank you again for the warm comment. Keep us posted on your progress!

[@makeetfinch9134]

I got the 1st and 2nd wrong the harder one correct video was great and gave a great overview on what to look for and how to study

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you for the kind words! Glad to hear that the video helped a bit. Hopefully, that distribution of errors is a good sign: if you can get the harder one right, odds are good that you have the talent to be really good at this stuff. :) Have fun studying, and thank you again for taking the time to write this!

[@naveenpatil158]

Hey Charles, amazing video. I love the enthusiasm with which you teach and how you stick to the facts that move the needle instead of focusing on jargons. I have a totally unrelated question but since you have been around for a while I'll ask it anyway - Did you even come across a student where he had a hard time focusing on the exam because of a constant buzzing sound ringing in his ears (tinnitus)? I was doing decent in my mocks scoring 700+ but on the exam day, because the room was so quiet (and I used the headphones), I suddenly started hearing this constant sound in my ear which was distracting, and I totally crashed my official exam and I feel terrible. And now that i know this condition exists, I am unconsciously dragged to that sound even when I am practising. I am gonna be taking the exam again next week and I am trying to shift my focus away from that buzzing. Any suggestions? PS - The dog and book joke made me spit my drink lol

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Naveen! I'm glad that we could make you laugh a bit, too. :) Tinnitus is definitely a thing for some people. I haven't run across all that many GMAT test-takers who have struggled with it, but it's an exceedingly common condition -- it's just that it's usually mild until you get into your 40s and beyond. I'm not quite sure what to do about it. Step 1 is definitely to speak with your doctor about it, and see if they have any advice for you. In theory, if your tinnitus is really, really severe -- and if you can get documentation that it inhibits your test-taking -- it might be possible to apply for some sort of testing accommodations. I've never heard of anybody applying for that reason, but if it's bad enough, it might qualify. If all else fails, maybe you'd be better off taking the test at home, where you could have a fan or something going in the background. If your tinnitus is mild, that bit of white noise might be enough to drown out the ringing sound. Keep us posted on everything, Naveen! This is an interesting issue, and I'm curious to see what happens.

[@karimkaan8700]

Great video, I hope more people come to learn that for fun or to refresh their brains I guess

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you!

[@sidhusandevamanoharan9536]

Gold content

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you so much, Sidhusan. Have fun studying!

[@chirag8266]

About to give my GMAT in 2 months , im able to solve the examples , that gives me alot of confidence , ill update you guys on how much i score on the D-day , let's hope I'll be able to deliver a good news!!! 7_5????

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you, Chirag! Keep us posted on your progress -- we always love good news. Have fun studying!

[@jurimarchesini1868]

Hello GMAT Ninja team, I wanted to ask you a quick question. I have been studying CR for the GMAT from 2 different sources: Manhattan (Foundations of Verbal, All the Verbal), and PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible. The former advises students to read the question stem first, and then read the stimulus, while the latter advises to read the stimulus first, then the question stem. What is your stance on this matter? I guess it really depends on one's preference and approach, but my biggest gains in Verbal have always come from your videos and your posts on GMAT Club, so I wanted to hear your opinion and feedback. Thank you for everything you do, your videos are simple and crystal-clear! 😁

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you for the kind words, Juri! I'm glad that our content has helped a bit. The short answer to your question is that I don't think it matters all that much. If you've watched a bunch of our videos, I'm sure you've heard me (and probably some of the other tutors) say that the overwhelming majority of GMAT CR mistakes come from misreading in some way, and not from any misunderstandings about the logic of a particular question type. So the question becomes: are you more or less likely to misread (or misinterpret) the passage if you read the question stem first? I used to worry that reading the question stem first could make students more likely to misread the passage: once you've decided that you're looking for an assumption or a paradox or whatever, maybe you're less likely to read EXACTLY what you're given because you're too hyper-focused on looking for something specific. But empirically, I don't see a whole lot of evidence that reading the question first causes much of a problem. I don't see much evidence that it helps students a whole lot, either. So if you've become accustomed to reading the question first, I think it's OK to keep doing it. Tl;dr: just do whichever you prefer in this case, and don't overthink it too much. I hope that helps a bit!

[@jurimarchesini1868]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring Thank you so much! I will focus on the passage itself rather than obsessing over these little details. After all I guess it really comes down to approaching every CR in a standardized way, so I should become familiar with 1 of these 2 alternatives and stick to a common method for every CR question I will face. After your feedback I think I read the passage first, as to prevent any minimum chance of misinterpreting/misreading the passage itself. I wanted to thank you cause I'm a non-native speaker and on my last GMAT Official Practice Exam I improved from a V36 to a V44 thanks to your videos. I never thought I could make it. I hope to score just as well on test day as I'm aiming for a 700-ish score. Definitely helped, thank you again 😁

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

@@jurimarchesini1868 Oh wow, congratulations on that huge improvement! V44 is a spectacular score, period -- even for native speakers. Keep up the amazing work, and please keep in touch!

[@anonymous-insaan-96]

Please help me understand why, in the first question, option (B) is correct while it doesn't use the ADV "highly/extremely

[@Machaivelli]

Hi charles , Nice video as always Can you give an estimate when the CR class will be completed? I intend to give my GMAT soon and this series will certainly help . I am currently covering the SC series

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

We have nine videos in this series, and the full course will be published by mid-December (2022). Enjoy, and have fun studying!

[@Machaivelli]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring thanks again for the brilliant work you're doing 👏

[@bgnaruto11]

I have a hard time seeing why (A) is stronger than (C). The passage tells us that soybean crop was actually larger than average, hence price is lower due to higher supply. (A) If anchovies disappeared, soybean crops would be more in demand, driving price to a certain level we are not sure about (since both supply and demand are higher). Thus, (A) is slightly in support of the attribution. (C) There was a similar trend before that showed a connection between weather and price of soybeans, strengthening the attribution. It doesn't tell us what caused it (choice "A" is more specific on the cause), but it does strengthen the attribution that there is a connection between weather and soybean price. Choice C supports the connection between weather and price best, although it doesn't tell us the exact reason why this relationship exists.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

It's funny, somebody else asked exactly the same question a few days ago. With apologies for the cut-and-pasting and my long-windedness, here's our response again: The second question in the video asks us which answer choice "provides the strongest justification for the attribution of the increase in soybean prices to the weather phenomenon." In other words, we're looking for the answer that does the BEST job of explaining how, exactly, the weather actually caused the rise in soybean prices. To see why (C) isn't a great answer choice, consider the following sentence: "A terrible global pandemic began in March 2020, immediately after SpaceX successfully launched a spacecraft into orbit to resupply the International Space Station." This is a true statement, but no reasonable person would interpret this to mean that SpaceX CAUSED the pandemic. Sure, one event (the pandemic) happened immediately after the other event (the SpaceX launch), but the statement tells us nothing about whether one event caused the other, or whether they were related at all. The same is logic applies to (C), which tells us that soybean prices rose "several years ago, immediately after an earlier occurrence of similar global weather disturbance." That tells us nothing about causality. Sure, it's possible that the weather caused the increase in soybean prices, but it's also possible that some other factor caused the spike in soybean prices. In other words, there's nothing in (C) that actually helps us attribute the rise in soy prices to the weather phenomenon. (A) is much better: if the weather phenomenon reduces the supply of a protein source for livestock (specifically anchovies, in this case), it's reasonable to expect alternate sources of protein -- such as soy -- to increase. We don't have to assume that soy is the ONLY protein source, though. If you reduce supply of one protein source, the prices of other sources will increase, all else being equal. Sure, the reduced anchovy supply doesn't GUARANTEE that soy prices would rise -- but we don't need it to. (A) does provide some "justification for the attribution of the increase in soybean prices to the weather phenomenon", and it's the best of the five choices. I hope that helps a bit!

[@harshikasaini7240]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring THANKYOU SO MUCH for this explanation, i think the spaceX example will always stick with me now.

[@panadaol9373]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring incredible explanation. Thank you lots as always.

[@nvrfckwitme]

Hi! In the last one I was having 2 right answers, how do I know which one to eliminate?

[@yashparaskar4678]

Hi Charles! Recently finished your SC playlist and will be moving onto the RC after CR. Loving the tutors, examples and explanations! Had a query about the first question in this video. We've picked B as the answer because having surgeons other than general surgeons who are competent, will put a flaw in the authors argument since surgery at the hands of other surgeons won't be as undesirable anymore - is this correct? However, we know from the passage that the general surgeon's training makes them EXTREMELY competent, but that doesn't change the fact that there could still be many other surgeons who are still simply competent at surgery. There may be more risks than by going to an extremely competent general surgeon, but that doesn't mean normal surgeons aren't competent - they just aren't as competent as GS. Hence I feel like B is a sentence which is pretty much as assumption that we can make while reading the passage. Could you let me know what you think? Because I got stuck on this every first question on this playlist and now I'm a bit concerned :/

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Your explanation for why (B) is correct sounds perfect! Just because general surgeons have surgical training that makes them extremely competent doesn't mean that other surgeons aren't ALSO competent. For this reason, as you point out, (B) is an assumption required by the argument.

[@chriskim1300]

Thank you for the amazing videos! I was wondering if this playlist is relevant for the GMAT focus exam.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you so much for the kind words, Chris! And yes, all of the videos on our verbal, quant, and DI playlists are relevant for the GMAT Focus exam. We're working on re-filming some of the quant videos because they still mention the old GMAT score scale, but the content itself won't change much. Have fun studying!

[@aryapandey4576]

Hi Charles, I didn't get the part where we didn't also consider option (C) of the soybean passage. Isn't the option trying to find a certain analogy between itself and the passage as to how the same series of events occured and the prices rose? Why are we eliminating that option? Also, your content is absolutely amazing. Thank you making it available for free!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Good question! Notice that we're trying to justify the idea that the weather phenomenon caused the increase in soy bean prices DESPITE the fact that last year's soy bean crop was larger than average. Does (C) help justify this conclusion? Not really. It tells us that a similar weather disturbance occurred just before a rise in soy bean prices several years ago. But this doesn't help prove that the weather phenomenon CAUSED the increase in soy bean prices. All it says is that the weather and the increase in soy bean prices were CORRELATED several years ago. In other words, just because two things were correlated doesn't help prove that one caused the other. Since (C) doesn't help justify the conclusion that the weather phenomenon caused the increase in soy bean prices, it's incorrect. I hope that helps!

[@thepreetpxtxl]

Hi Charles, I just want to say that you missed out a very important word 'ALTHOUGH' in your explanation for question 3, which I thought makes this question lot easier and helps a lot in questioning the director's claim and sorting out options to only B and D. By the way You are my favourite, Whenever I watch your videos, it always gives me a lot of clarity and confidence. Thank You, Waiting for your next video ✌🏻

[@somyavijayvergia4878]

In the 2nd Question. I guessed option (B) to be more relevant because: Option (A): Where the anchovies production has decreased, is it fair to assume firstly that people would definitely look for substitutes and secondly if they do soybean would be the one they go after. Option (B): Because other crops' production is more than the average, maybe they are being exported more than soybean. And soybean exporting countries are exporting to countries with the world's most agricultural areas which are disturbed by the weather pattern. Thus, there is high demand for all crops including soybean leading to an increase in price

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

It sounds like the heart of the issue is that you're struggling to figure out what sort of assumptions you can reasonably make. Here's (B) again: (B) Most countries that produce soybeans for export had above-average harvests of a number of food crops other than soybeans last year. On option (B), you're making a TON of unfounded leaps. We know that the countries mentioned in (B) export soybeans, but we have no idea whether they export other food crops. Even if they are exporting those crops, we have no idea where they're exporting them to -- maybe they're going to countries affected by the weather pattern, and maybe not. And I have no idea how you came up with that last part about "high demand for all crops including soybeans." (B) is saying that the SUPPLY of some other food crops increased in some soybean-exporting nations. How would an increase in supply lead to a bunch of extra demand everywhere? For option (A), you don't have to make such huge leaps. The passage tells us that soybeans "are an important protein source for people and livestock." (A) says that the harvest of anchovies, an important source of protein for livestock, was disrupted because of the weather phenomenon. Livestock need to eat, right? So if the supply declined for one source of protein, it's not a huge leap to say that SOMETHING needs to compensate for that loss of protein. It stands to reason that demand for alternate forms of protein -- such as soybeans -- will increase accordingly. I hope that helps!

[@somyavijayvergia4878]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring Thanks a lot for the explanation! It really helps🙂

[@gutstodance9999]

during practice questions (I very often time them), should we justify why the other 4 are wrong (after answering and before looking at the answer explanation) ?

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

In a perfect world, you'll understand why four answers are incorrect in real-time, as you're answering the question. If you're unsure about any of it, it's probably not a terrible idea to spend more time reviewing them later. Just be a bit careful, because it can be remarkably easy to spend 10 or 15 or 20 minutes reviewing individual questions. If you can afford to spend that much time, great. But just make sure that you still have enough time to practice new sets of questions -- beating individual questions into the ground isn't always a very efficient study strategy, especially on verbal. I hope that helps a bit, and have fun studying!

[@olympunk4212]

Hi, hope you are doing great. In the last question I wasn’t really able to tick any option, the correct option seems to be D. But Author used the word “Although” in the start of the sentence when explaining how the lead actor was reminiscent of grocha marx. This sentence comes after this claim. Isn’t he trying to give an evidence against his claim? Or am I considering although to be a really strong word.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Yes, the word "although" is generally used to contrast two ideas, or to suggest that something is surprising or unexpected in light of other information. But in this case, you're looking in the wrong place for the contrast. Here are the last two sentences of the passage again: "The director claims that this production is as similar to the original production as is possible in a modern theater. Although the actor who plays Harlequin the clown gives a performance very reminiscent of the twentieth-century American comedian Groucho Marx, Marx’s comic style was very much within the comic acting tradition that had begun in sixteenth-century Italy." The phrase beginning with "although" isn't drawing a contrast with the previous sentence at all. The contrast pertains to the second half of the sentence beginning with "although": 1. Although the actor... gives a performance very reminiscent of of the twentieth-century American comedian Groucho Marx 2. Marx’s comic style was very much within the comic acting tradition that had begun in sixteenth-century Italy So yes, "although" highlights some sort of contrast. But in this case, the contrast is entirely within the same sentence. I hope that helps a bit!

[@olympunk4212]

Thank you, this helps a lot! I get it now, the contrast that was happening within the sentence, that is what although was referring too. Nice!

[@NikitaChawla-tw2po]

Hey, Charles i have my gmat in 2 months but i am having a performance anxiety. Any suggestions for this one.

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Thank you so much for bringing this up, Nikita! Seriously, a huge proportion of students who struggle with performance anxiety either don't realize it, or they refuse to acknowledge the problem. So I'm always thrilled when somebody asks proactively. :) A few resources to get you started: - Beginner's guide to test anxiety: shorturl.at/joAG2 - Our test anxiety quiz, will which help you think about the underlying causes of the performance issues: shorturl.at/SU018 - A KZbin playlist about exam-day performance and test anxiety: shorturl.at/ruGN3 I hope that helps a bit, and please keep us posted on your progress. Thank you again for bringing this up!

[@NikitaChawla-tw2po]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring Thanks Charles i hope i get rid off anxiety before D day.

[@debadityamitra8024]

How useful is prethinking?

[@siddhantmukerjee6013]

Hey Guys, Loving your videos! I am pretty sure i increased your subscribers by 10 by adding all your videos on our Text Channels! Just wanted to know how many CR videos you have? Thanks!

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

You're awesome, thank you, Siddhant! Our current plan includes 9 videos, though it's always possible that we'll add a bonus video or two at some point. So the full series should be complete on our channel by mid-December. Have fun watching, and thank you again for spreading the word!

[@annnainan]

@GMATNinjaTutoring - how many videos in the is series? on CR :) I know there ae 8 so far

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Hi Ann! There are nine CR videos, though it's always possible that we'll add more to the series later. Video #9 will publish this Friday. Have fun studying!

[@AbhinavSingh-ge9xe]

Hey Charles I have completed the whole series of CR and I find that even though I am getting more accurate at CR in an untimed scenario, the same does not happen when I take timed tests. Also, I tried to time myself on GMATClub and found that I am spending an average of around 3 minutes to get to the right answer or even wrong the answer, I am taking at least 3 minutes to digest all the answer choices, the passage, and the question. While I understand your point about speed vs efficiency, I would really like to know how can I get accurate in lesser time. Is there a way to nail down to the right answer in less than 2 minutes?

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

There could be any number of reasons why you're struggling with speed, and there's no magic bullet for fixing the problem, unfortunately. There are a ton of possibilities -- maybe you're not practicing with 100% test-like intensity, maybe your reading speed is simply really slow, maybe you're fatigued in general, or maybe your process is inefficient in some way (failing to focus fully on the structure of the passage, paraphrasing in ways that make it hard to eliminate answer choices, struggling to connect evidence to conclusion, etc. etc.). It can be really hard to pin that down, sadly. Usually, my best advice is to keep a really close eye on your process and intensity, and track your data meticulously. Sometimes, you grow accustomed to these questions -- and you get better at focusing on the text itself -- with enough practice, and the times come down. I realize that this isn't the most satisfying answer, but I hope it helps a bit!

[@Radiancehaute]

lets see aftre 19 days - what is the score 650

[@michasawczyn5541]

Hey, here for quick recap before tomorrow’s exam. No matter what score I get, I am extremely grateful for your content, helped enormously with my verbal. Legend

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Hi Michał, how did your exam go? Whatever happened, we're so pleased you found our videos helpful, and we hope they've helped you hit your target score!

[@michasawczyn5541]

@@GMATNinjaTutoring awful, after 3 months of prep my aim was 650 goals and got 530 (Q45V18), I messed my quant by guessing last 7 questions. But the verbal score is just … i have no words for that :(

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

@@michasawczyn5541 Crap, sorry to hear that it went so badly, Michael! I wish that I had something wise, smart, and/or useful to say, but I'm not sure that I do. Was this a pretty big dropoff from your practice exams? If so, maybe this article would help a bit? www.gmatninja.com/gmat/articles/how-to-improve/7-reasons-why-practice-scores-dont-match-actual-scores I hope that helps a tiny bit. Sorry again to hear the bad news, and thank you for keeping us posted! - Charles

[@aishwat]

5:25 Step 3: "Don't Fall In Love" thinking of ex sob sob

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

For assistance, please contact our subsidiary, Romance Ninja Tutoring. 😉

[@guille7497]

I don't understand why in question 3, D is better than E. The director thinks that his production is the closest to the original production, therefore you could argue that he might have done some things to achieve that. One of them, can (might, must) have been to advise the actor to model Marx. The performance of the actor is reminiscent of 20th century (really 16th century) theatre, closer to original production, therefore dont use it against his claim. HAHAHA its D. i see it now Thanks for the videos lol

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

I love this comment! I have a feeling that TONS of people have gone through the exact same thought process: "Wait, D doesn't make sense, because of X, Y, and... oh wait." That's what makes it a hard question. :) Have fun studying, Guillermo!

[@guille7497]

haha thanks !! @@GMATNinjaTutoring

[@jagjotsingh7378]

1/3

[@vishalmalhotra3217]

Sir what’s the level of difficulty the 1st Question ?

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

I wouldn't waste much time worrying about the difficulty levels of individual questions, but the LSAT rates it as a middle-difficulty question. So a bit harder than average by GMAT standards, in all likelihood. I hope that helps a bit, and have fun studying!

[@adityasangwan8084]

Hello GMAT Ninja Team, For the 2nd QUES , I have a concern with the answer choice that our dear Charles made , I think it should be C and not A because "When the Cause occurs the effect occurs" , by showing that we are indeed making the conclusion stronger. Whereas, IN A) : it says "disrupted" , fine agreed that it was disrupted but that does not mean that SoyaBean is the Only thing the livestock will eat to gain the proteins, maybe the live stock can eat Pulses for proteins and not eat SoyaBean. ( A is a weak reasoning ) Thanks, Warm Regards, Aditya Sangwan

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

The second question in the video asks us which answer choice "provides the strongest justification for the attribution of the increase in soybean prices to the weather phenomenon." In other words, we're looking for the answer that does the BEST job of explaining how, exactly, the weather actually caused the rise in soybean prices. To see why (C) isn't a great answer choice, consider the following sentence: "A terrible global pandemic began in March 2020, immediately after SpaceX successfully launched a spacecraft into orbit to resupply the International Space Station." This is a true statement, but no reasonable person would interpret this to mean that SpaceX CAUSED the pandemic. Sure, one event (the pandemic) happened immediately after the other event (the SpaceX launch), but the statement tells us nothing about whether one event caused the other, or whether they were related at all. The same is logic applies to (C), which tells us that soybean prices rose "several years ago, immediately after an earlier occurrence of similar global weather disturbance." That tells us nothing about causality. Sure, it's possible that the weather caused the increase in soybean prices, but it's also possible that some other factor caused the spike in soybean prices. In other words, there's nothing in (C) that actually helps us attribute the rise in soy prices to the weather phenomenon. (A) is much better: if the weather phenomenon reduces the supply of a protein source for livestock (specifically anchovies, in this case), it's reasonable to expect alternate sources of protein -- such as soy -- to increase. We don't have to assume that soy is the ONLY protein source, though. If you reduce supply of one protein source, the prices of other sources will increase, all else being equal. Sure, the reduced anchovy supply doesn't GUARANTEE that soy prices would rise -- but we don't need it to. (A) does provide some "justification for the attribution of the increase in soybean prices to the weather phenomenon", and it's the best of the five choices. I hope that helps a bit!

[@dev9474]

I did the last one correct and first two wrong 🥺🥺🥺my first day here .

[@GMATNinjaTutoring]

Welcome to CR! It gets better with time -- I promise. :) Have fun studying, and hang in there!

[@mishra.pritam]

following u from india, i did not know anything about cr and messed up one exam.

[@krrimy]

The answers are so utterly confusing 😢