In this guide
Critical reasoning is the verbal corner of the mains reasoning section. Each question gives a short passage, often a decision, a claim or a small report, and asks you to judge it. There is no diagram to draw, which is why many candidates treat these as quick guesses. They are not. The options are written so that two of them sound right, and only a careful reading of the argument's exact claim separates them.
The upside: once you know the five question types and one method, these become steady marks while your puzzle diagrams are still settling.
First, find the claim
Every argument has three parts:
- a conclusion: what the writer wants you to accept;
- evidence: the reasons or facts given;
- a hidden assumption: the gap between the evidence and the conclusion, which must be true for the argument to work.
Find the conclusion first. Words such as "so", "therefore", "hence", "should" and "will" usually point to it. Most wrong options answer something close to the conclusion but not the conclusion itself.
The question types
| Type | What the right option does | Test to apply |
|---|---|---|
| Strengthen | Makes the conclusion more likely | "If this were true, would I believe the conclusion more?" |
| Weaken | Makes the conclusion less likely, often by offering another cause | "If this were true, would I believe it less?" |
| Assumption | States something the argument needs but does not say | The negation test (below) |
| Inference | Follows from the passage alone | Can you point to the line that proves it? |
| Discrepancy | Explains how two facts that seem to clash can both be true | Does it make both facts true at once? |
The negation test for assumptions. Turn the option into its opposite. If the argument collapses, the option is a necessary assumption. If the argument survives, it is not.
The inference scale
Some mains sets give one passage and five statements, each to be marked on a five-point scale.
| Mark | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Definitely true | Stated, or follows necessarily from the passage |
| Probably true | Likely given the passage, but not certain |
| Data inadequate | The passage does not address it either way |
| Probably false | Unlikely given the passage, but not ruled out |
| Definitely false | Contradicts the passage |
The hard boundary is between "probably" and "data inadequate". Ask whether the passage points in a direction at all. If it does, it is probably true or probably false. If it is silent, the data is inadequate.
A five-step method
- Read the question stem first so you know whether you are strengthening, weakening or inferring.
- Find the conclusion and restate it in a few words of your own.
- Spot the gap between the evidence and the conclusion. Most strengthen, weaken and assumption answers live in that gap.
- Test each option with the test for that type.
- Eliminate the traps: extreme wording ("all", "always", "never", "only"), options that are true but about a different claim, the opposite of what was asked, and anything that relies on outside knowledge.
Worked examples
All passages below are made up for practice.
Example 1: strengthen. A bank has decided to keep its city branches open until 7 p.m. on weekdays, so that working customers can visit after office hours.
Which option strengthens the decision?
- (a) The bank's staff prefer shorter working days.
- (b) Other banks in the city close at 4 p.m.
- (c) A survey by the bank found that many of its working customers cannot reach a branch before 5 p.m.
- (d) Most customers now use mobile banking for routine transactions.
(c). It shows the need the decision is meant to meet. (d) points the other way, so it weakens. (a) is about staff preference, not customer need. (b) is a comparison that says nothing about whether customers will come.
Example 2: weaken. A bank says its new mobile app has reduced crowding at its branches, because branch footfall fell in the three months after the app was launched.
Which option most weakens the claim?
- (a) Many customers downloaded the app in its first week.
- (b) The bank plans to hire more branch staff next year.
- (c) Customers who use the app rate it highly.
- (d) Footfall at other banks in the city, which launched no new app, fell by a similar amount in the same three months.
(d). The argument assumes the app caused the fall. (d) shows the fall happened without any app, which points to another cause, such as the season. (a) and (c) mildly support the claim; (b) is irrelevant.
Example 3: assumption. The bank should send an SMS reminder to borrowers three days before each EMI date. This will reduce missed payments.
Which is an assumption behind the argument?
- (a) Borrowers who miss payments do so only because they have no money.
- (b) At least some missed payments happen because borrowers forget the date.
- (c) Every borrower owns a smartphone.
- (d) Other banks already send such reminders.
(b). Negate it: "no missed payment happens because a borrower forgot." Then a reminder cannot help, and the argument collapses. (a) contradicts the argument. (c) is too strong, since an SMS reaches basic phones too. (d) is irrelevant.
Example 4: the inference scale. A cooperative bank opened branches in five villages that had no bank branch within 10 km. In the year that followed, the number of savings accounts held by residents of these villages rose sharply.
- Before the new branches, these villages had no bank branch within 10 km. Definitely true. It is stated.
- Distance was one reason some residents had not opened accounts earlier. Probably true. The rise after branches arrived points that way, but other reasons are possible.
- The new branches made a profit in their first year. Data inadequate. The passage says nothing about profit.
- The number of savings accounts held by residents fell after the branches opened. Definitely false. It contradicts the passage.
- Residents of these villages had little interest in having a bank account. Probably false. The sharp rise suggests interest, though it does not prove it.
Example 5: discrepancy. A bank cut its home-loan interest rate, yet home-loan applications at the bank fell the next month.
Which option best explains this?
- (a) Several other banks cut their home-loan rates by more in the same month.
- (b) The rate cut was announced in newspapers.
- (c) House prices in the city stayed stable.
- (d) The bank has branches in every district of the state.
(a). Borrowers compare banks, so a smaller cut can still lose customers. (b) makes the fall harder to explain. (c) and (d) do not address the clash.
Practice set
- Weaken. A state argues that free bus passes for girl students will raise college attendance among girls. Which weakens this? (a) Several other states offer similar passes. (b) Bus fares in the state have risen. (c) Colleges have added new courses. (d) Most girl students in the state live within walking distance of their colleges.
- Assumption. A bank notice reads: "Customers are requested to update their KYC details by the end of the month to avoid disruption in services." Which is assumed? (a) Some customers' KYC details are not up to date. (b) Every customer reads bank notices. (c) Updating KYC details is free of charge.
- Inference. A bank's call-centre waiting time doubled after it cut the number of agents, while the number of calls stayed the same. Which follows? (a) Customers were unhappy with the service. (b) The bank saved money on salaries. (c) Calls will fall next year. (d) Fewer agents handled the same number of calls.
- Weaken. An aspirant argues: "My mock scores rose after I began solving puzzles every day, so daily puzzle practice raised my scores." Which weakens this? (a) The aspirant enjoyed solving puzzles. (b) The aspirant's friends also solve puzzles. (c) In the same weeks, the aspirant switched to an easier series of mocks. (d) Puzzles form a large part of the reasoning section.
- Strengthen. Same argument as question 4. Which strengthens it? (a) The aspirant also started reading newspapers. (b) The rise came almost entirely from puzzle questions, while the other sections stayed flat. (c) Mock scores often vary from week to week.
- Discrepancy. The number of ATMs in a town rose, yet residents complained that finding a working ATM had become harder. Which explains this? (a) The bank owning most of the machines cut the number of cash-refill visits, so many ATMs are often empty. (b) Some residents prefer UPI payments. (c) The new ATMs are of a newer model.
- Inference scale. Using the passage in Example 4: "The bank plans to open more branches in the district." How should it be marked?
Answers:
- (d). If most girls can walk to college, transport is not what keeps them away, so free passes will change little. (b) supports the plan.
- (a). Negate it: if every customer's KYC were up to date, the notice would be pointless. (b) is too extreme, and (c) is not needed for the notice to make sense.
- (d). It follows directly. (a) and (b) are likely but not stated, and (c) is a prediction the passage does not support.
- (c). It offers another cause for the rise. (d) mildly supports the argument, and (a) and (b) are irrelevant.
- (b). It ties the rise to the puzzles and rules out a general rise. (a) offers a rival cause, and (c) weakens.
- (a). It makes both facts true: more machines, but fewer that work. (b) and (c) do not touch the clash.
- Data inadequate. The passage says nothing about future plans.
What to do next
- For every practice question, write the conclusion in five words before looking at the options.
- Do five critical-reasoning questions a day for two weeks, and note the type of each one you get wrong.
- Practise the negation test on ten assumption questions until it is automatic.
- Continue with cause and effect, courses of action and assumptions. For the English side of inference, see inference and tone.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the State Bank of India website .
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