Reading comprehension strengthen weaken
58 flashcards covering Reading comprehension strengthen weaken for the GMAT Verbal section.
Reading comprehension questions on strengthen and weaken focus on evaluating arguments within passages. These questions ask you to determine how specific evidence, assumptions, or counterpoints might support or undermine the main claim. For instance, you might read a passage arguing for a business strategy and then assess whether new information bolsters or refutes that idea. This skill is essential because it tests your ability to think critically about logic and evidence, which is key for real-world decision-making in management and beyond.
On the GMAT Verbal section, strengthen and weaken questions appear in reading comprehension sets, often as multiple-choice items that require you to choose the best option from a list. Common traps include mistaking correlation for causation or overlooking subtle flaws in reasoning, so watch for distractors that seem plausible but don't directly impact the argument. Focus on identifying the core assumption and evidence in the passage to evaluate options accurately. A concrete tip: Practice mapping out the argument's structure before answering.
Terms (58)
- 01
Strengthen an argument
In reading comprehension, strengthening an argument means providing evidence or reasoning that makes the author's main claim more likely to be true by supporting its assumptions or conclusions.
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Weaken an argument
Weaken an argument in reading comprehension involves identifying evidence or reasoning that undermines the author's main claim by challenging its assumptions, evidence, or logical structure.
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Core argument in a passage
The core argument in a reading comprehension passage is the central claim or thesis that the author advances, often supported by evidence and reasoning, which questions may ask to strengthen or weaken.
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Conclusion of an argument
The conclusion of an argument in a passage is the final statement or inference that the author draws, which can be targeted in strengthen or weaken questions to assess its validity.
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Premise in an argument
A premise in an argument is a stated fact or reason that supports the conclusion, and in reading comprehension, questions might ask how additional premises could strengthen or weaken the overall claim.
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Assumption in an argument
An assumption is an unstated belief that the argument relies on, and in reading comprehension, identifying it is key because questions often involve evidence that could strengthen or weaken it.
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Evidence in a passage
Evidence in a reading comprehension passage consists of facts, examples, or data provided to support the argument, and questions may explore how such evidence can be bolstered or contradicted.
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Counterexample
A counterexample is a specific instance that contradicts the general claim in an argument, often used in weaken questions to show that the author's conclusion does not hold in all cases.
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Causal relationship
A causal relationship in a passage implies that one event causes another, and strengthen or weaken questions might involve evidence that confirms or disputes this link.
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Correlation vs. causation
In reading comprehension, distinguishing correlation from causation is crucial, as an apparent link between events might weaken an argument if it's not truly causal.
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Alternative explanations
Alternative explanations are other possible reasons for the observed events in a passage, which can weaken an argument by suggesting the author's conclusion is not the only valid one.
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Scope of an argument
The scope of an argument refers to the extent or boundaries of its claims, and questions might ask how evidence that exceeds or narrows this scope could strengthen or weaken it.
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Generalization in passages
A generalization is a broad statement based on specific evidence, and in strengthen or weaken questions, it can be challenged if the evidence is insufficient or exceptional cases exist.
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Analogy in arguments
An analogy compares two similar situations to support a claim, and reading comprehension questions might involve assessing whether a flawed analogy weakens the overall argument.
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Expert opinion as evidence
Expert opinion in a passage serves as authoritative evidence for an argument, but it can be weakened if the expertise is questioned or contradicted by other sources.
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Statistical evidence
Statistical evidence uses numbers or data to back a claim, and in questions, it might be strengthened by larger samples or weakened by biases in the data collection.
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Anecdotal evidence
Anecdotal evidence relies on personal stories or isolated examples, which can weaken an argument in reading comprehension if it's not representative of the broader situation.
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Strategy for strengthen questions
For strengthen questions, identify the core argument and look for answer choices that directly support its assumptions or provide additional confirming evidence without introducing new flaws.
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Strategy for weaken questions
For weaken questions, focus on the argument's vulnerable points, such as unstated assumptions, and select options that introduce doubt or contradictory evidence.
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Identifying flaws in arguments
Identifying flaws means spotting logical errors like hasty generalizations or false dilemmas in a passage, which can be key to answering strengthen or weaken questions.
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Necessary assumption
A necessary assumption is a required but unstated condition for the argument to hold, and questions might ask for evidence that fulfills or negates it to strengthen or weaken the claim.
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Sufficient assumption
A sufficient assumption, if true, would fully support the argument on its own, and evaluating it in reading comprehension can help determine how to strengthen the passage's logic.
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Evaluate the argument questions
Evaluate the argument questions ask how additional information could test the validity of the passage's claims, often involving ways to strengthen or weaken the presented evidence.
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Common traps in RC questions
Common traps include answer choices that seem relevant but actually strengthen a minor point or weaken something unrelated, so careful reading of the core argument is essential.
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Passage structure for arguments
Passage structure often builds an argument with an introduction, evidence, and conclusion, and understanding this helps in pinpointing where to apply strengthen or weaken strategies.
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Author's tone in arguments
The author's tone can indicate the strength of an argument, such as cautious language weakening a claim if it's overly tentative, or confident assertions that might be challenged.
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Implications of evidence
Implications are logical outcomes of the evidence presented, and questions might explore how these implications could be reinforced or undermined to affect the argument.
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Inferences that strengthen
Inferences that strengthen involve drawing conclusions from the passage that bolster the main argument, such as linking evidence to the author's claim more directly.
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Predictions based on passages
Predictions based on passages use the argument's logic to forecast outcomes, and questions might ask how certain predictions could strengthen or weaken the overall thesis.
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Circular reasoning
Circular reasoning occurs when the argument assumes its own conclusion, which can weaken it in reading comprehension by making the logic self-reinforcing without real evidence.
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Appeal to authority
An appeal to authority uses an expert's view to support a claim, but it can be weakened if the authority is not relevant or if counter-experts are introduced.
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False dichotomy
A false dichotomy presents only two options when more exist, weakening an argument by oversimplifying the choices available in the passage.
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Hasty generalization
A hasty generalization draws a broad conclusion from too few examples, and questions might involve evidence that highlights this flaw to weaken the argument.
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Ad hominem attack
An ad hominem attack targets the person rather than the argument, which can weaken the passage's logic by distracting from the actual evidence.
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Bandwagon fallacy
The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is true because many believe it, and in reading comprehension, this can be weakened by showing it's not universally accepted.
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Slippery slope
A slippery slope argument claims one event will lead to a chain of dire consequences without evidence, making it vulnerable to weakening through counterexamples.
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Post hoc fallacy
The post hoc fallacy assumes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second, and this can be weakened by alternative causal explanations.
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Begging the question
Begging the question restates the conclusion as a premise, weakening the argument by lacking independent support, as seen in some reading comprehension passages.
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Red herring
A red herring introduces an irrelevant topic to distract from the main argument, and identifying it can help in weakening the passage's focus.
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Straw man
A straw man misrepresents an opposing view to make it easier to attack, which can weaken the argument by showing it's based on a distorted position.
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Quantitative evidence in arguments
Quantitative evidence uses measurable data, and questions might ask how more precise figures could strengthen or flawed statistics could weaken the claim.
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Qualitative evidence
Qualitative evidence relies on descriptive details, which can be strengthened by corroborating sources or weakened if subjective biases are exposed.
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Counterargument in passages
A counterargument presents an opposing view, and questions may involve how addressing it could strengthen the main argument or how it's effectively weakened.
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Rebuttal strategies
Rebuttal strategies involve responding to potential weaknesses, and in reading comprehension, they can strengthen an argument by anticipating and countering objections.
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Evidence sufficiency
Evidence sufficiency assesses whether the provided support is adequate for the claim, and questions often test ways to bolster or question this adequacy.
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Logical gaps in arguments
Logical gaps are missing links between premises and conclusions, and identifying them is crucial for weaken questions that exploit these vulnerabilities.
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Conditional statements
Conditional statements use if-then logic, and in passages, they can be strengthened by confirming the conditions or weakened by counterexamples that violate them.
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Analogy weaknesses
Analogy weaknesses occur when the compared situations are not truly parallel, allowing questions to weaken arguments by highlighting key differences.
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Sampling errors
Sampling errors in statistical arguments involve unrepresentative samples, which can weaken a passage's claims if pointed out in questions.
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Overgeneralization
Overgeneralization extends a claim beyond the evidence, and strengthen or weaken questions might address this by limiting or expanding the scope.
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Undermining assumptions
Undermining assumptions means challenging the unstated beliefs in an argument, a common tactic in weaken questions to cast doubt on the conclusion.
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Bolstering evidence
Bolstering evidence adds more support to existing premises, which can strengthen an argument in reading comprehension by making it more robust.
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Question stem analysis
Question stem analysis involves parsing the wording of strengthen or weaken prompts to ensure you're addressing the exact aspect of the argument asked.
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Answer choice evaluation
Answer choice evaluation requires checking if options truly impact the core argument, as distractors might only partially strengthen or weaken peripheral points.
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Passage inference chains
Passage inference chains link multiple ideas, and questions might explore how breaking or reinforcing these chains affects the argument's strength.
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Contextual evidence
Contextual evidence draws from the passage's background, and using it can strengthen arguments by providing a fuller picture or weaken them by revealing inconsistencies.
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Hypothetical scenarios
Hypothetical scenarios test arguments by imagining changes, and questions often use them to see how such scenarios could strengthen or weaken the claims.
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Evidence reliability
Evidence reliability assesses the trustworthiness of sources in a passage, which can be strengthened by verification or weakened by doubts about accuracy.