Parallel Reasoning Questions

[Gio]

Hi,

I'd like to ask your help to better approach parallel reasoning questions.

When I read the stimulus, I don't know whether I should focus on the content (to, let's say, answer a Must Be True question), or the structure itself. If I apply the first approach, then I get lost when it comes to answer a parallel reasoning question.

Would you be able to suggest any good strategy? I thought that reading the question stem may help somehow, although I prefer to avoid this strategy since it creates even more confusion.

Thanks for your help

[Daniel Stern]

Hi Gio:

You have the same tasks before you when you attack any LR stimulus:
1) Decide if there is an argument (meaning a conclusion supported by premises) or just a list of premises/facts
2) If there is an argument, figure out how the premises relate to the conclusion, and you might take a moment to decide if the argument is valid or not.

In other words, you have to read for BOTH content and structure of the argument.

Although you may find this difficult to do at first, practice practice practice and it will get easier with time.

Read for content first, then pause before you move to the question stem and ask yourself how all the parts of the stimulus relate to one another. Where is the conclusion? How do the premises support that conclusion? Is there conditional reasoning or causal reasoning to consider?

You are correct to avoid the question stem first approach: it is distracting, time wasting, and you will invariably end up reading the stem again after you read the stimulus.

Best of luck in your studies,
Dan Stern