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Assumption is the most difficult question type of the GMAT critical reasoning and reading comprehension questions. And thAssumptionnge considering that ‘assuming’ is quite a common word in most people’s vocabulary. Stop assuming things. This is an assumption. How can you assume this? These are commonly mouthed phrases in most conversations, so I guess most of us know what ‘to assume’ means. Or am I only ‘assuming’ that just because someone can use the word, he knows what it means and its dynamics in reasoning?

When tackling this question on the GMAT test, most are clueless about what needs to be done. My effort here is to first share with the reader a coherent and very simple definition of Assumption and the assumption in two effective strategies for solving the question.

How an Assumption Task Helpful:

DEFINITION: An assumption is what the writer takes for granted, believes is too obvious to merit a mention, and hence omits including in the facts provided en route to a conclusion. The result is that the conclusion goes a little beyond the capabilities of the facts and even carries an entity that is ‘extra’ to what is mentioned in the given facts. In other words, the facts do not justify the conclusion.

Something is missing in the facts; hence, there is a ‘gap’ between the facts and the conclusion, so the writer seems to be jumping to a conclusion rather than arriving at it logically.

REQUIREMENT: What needs to be done is fairly simple. We need to pick an answer that can serve as that missing detail/fact, fill the ‘gap,’ and allow a logical transition from the facts to the given conclusion.

STRATEGY: The ultimate objective of selecting an answer is to be able to provide an additional premise (called the additional fact/detail), which, when added to the given facts, will serve to strengthen the given conclusion.

There are many ways to achieve the objective of an Assumption task. One way is to work by word identification. Check what it is in the conclusion that is unique and has yet to be mentioned in the entire set of facts. This ‘word’ is the extra entity that is concluding overstep the potential of the facts. Once spotted, this ‘word’ – say Q- allows us to eliminate answer choices that do not carry it; after all, if we are to conclude about Q, we must select as the additional premise an answer that carries Q! If there are say two answer choices that fit this requirement, then we need to pick that of them that better serves the purpose of leading to the conclusion.

Another way to solve the Assumption puzzle is to eliminate reverse causality or sometimes even outside causality. For example, suppose the conclusion is that X causes Y (because they have been observed together). In that case, one assumption is that the assumption causes X (REVERSE CAUSALITY), and the other is that Z does not cause Y (OUTSIDE CAUSALITY). Both paths lead to the prime objective of endorsing the conclusion that X causes Y.

It would be in the fitness of things to leave you chewing upon what I have just shared so that you can use the methodology to solve the next Assumption question. I’ll return next week with an Assumption question for you and some more tips on the Critical Reasoning bouncer- THE PARADOX!

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