Verbal Reasoning: Arguments, Assumptions, and Passage Logic
Verbal Reasoning on the Executive Assessment compresses GMAT-style critical reasoning and reading comprehension into short, high-signal items. You must master argument structure (conclusion, premises, and the gap between them), assumption identification, strengthen/weaken, inference, and passage main idea vs. detail. The single most valuable skill is separating the conclusion (the claim being argued) from the premises (the support offered). Most wrong answers attack a premise or introduce an irrelevant consideration; correct answers touch the logical gap.
Traps to expect
- Out-of-scope answers that are true but irrelevant to the conclusion.
- Reverse logic: an answer that weakens when the stem asks to strengthen.
- Extreme language ("all," "never," "only") in inference answers-usually unsupported.
- Premise restatement disguised as an assumption.
- Passage detail mistaken for the main idea.
Rule of thumb
For assumption questions, apply the negation test: negate the answer choice; if the argument collapses, it's a necessary assumption. For strengthen/weaken, ask "does this make the conclusion more or less likely, given the premises?"
Worked example. Argument: "Our store's sales rose 20% after we added free parking, so parking caused the increase." A weakener: a competing store closed the same month, diverting customers. This introduces an alternative cause, attacking the causal gap-exactly where correct answers live. An answer about parking-lot size is out of scope.