Bocconi Specialized Masters Test cheat sheet

Necessary vs sufficient: 'A only if B' means A → B (B is necessary); 'A if B' means B → A (B is sufficient). Contrapositive of A → B is ¬B → ¬A and is logically equivalent.

Syllogism validity: a conclusion follows only if forced by the premises; a valid form is All M are P, All S are M, therefore All S are P. Two negative premises yield no valid conclusion.

Assumption questions: the correct answer is an unstated premise required for the argument to work; test by negating it - if the argument collapses, it is the assumption.

Weaken/strengthen: attack or support the link between evidence and conclusion, not the evidence itself; alternative explanations and reversed causation are standard weakeners.

Correlation is not causation: three rivals to a causal claim are reverse causation, a common cause, and coincidence/selection bias.

Number-series patterns to test in order: constant difference, constant ratio, alternating operations, differences of differences, and interleaved subsequences.

Analogy and odd-one-out items: identify the single defining relation (function, part-whole, degree, category) before comparing options; reject options matching only surface features.

Ordering puzzles: draw a linear or circular diagram and place the most constrained element first; 'immediately before' fixes adjacency, 'somewhere before' does not.

Main-idea questions: the answer must cover the whole passage; an option true but limited to one paragraph is a supporting detail, not the main idea.

Inference questions: the correct option must be entailed by the text; any answer needing outside knowledge or a stronger word than the passage supports is wrong.

Scope words matter: 'all', 'only', 'never', 'primarily' change truth value; extreme options are usually wrong unless the passage itself is absolute.

Tone and attitude: classify as neutral, critical, approving, or skeptical, and locate the evaluative adjectives the author uses rather than the ones quoted from others.

Author's use of an example: ask what claim the example serves; examples usually support a general thesis stated before or after them.

EXCEPT and NOT questions: verify each option against the passage and eliminate the three that are supported; the leftover is the answer.

Vocabulary in context: substitute each option into the original sentence and check that the sentence's meaning is preserved; the common dictionary sense is often a trap.

Passage structure: signal words such as 'however', 'therefore', 'for instance', and 'critics argue' mark contrast, conclusion, example, and opposing view respectively.

Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the head noun, not with an intervening phrase; 'the list of items is' - not 'are'.

Neither/either/each/everyone take singular verbs; 'neither A nor B' agrees with the nearer subject.

Dangling modifiers: an introductory participial phrase must describe the subject of the main clause; 'Walking home, I saw…' not 'Walking home, the rain…'.

Parallel structure: items in a list or after 'and', 'or', 'not only… but also' must share grammatical form (all infinitives, all gerunds, all nouns).

Countable vs uncountable: 'fewer/lower number' with count nouns, 'less/amount' with mass nouns; 'much' with uncountable, 'many' with plural count nouns.

Conditionals: first (if + present, will), second (if + past, would), third (if + had + past participle, would have + past participle).

Preposition and collocation pairs to memorise: depend on, consist of, capable of, interested in, responsible for, according to, despite + noun/gerund.

Formal register: avoid contractions and vague quantifiers in academic prose; prefer 'demonstrates' over 'shows a lot', and 'significant' over 'big' for effects.