GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions

Below is a set of sample critical reasoning questions that are similar to those found in the verbal section of the GMAT. Due to the relatively small number of questions that we have published here, we strongly recommend that you use these only to augment your GMAT preparation. You need to do a larger number and wider range of exercises than is provided here to actually prepare yourself for the test.

Stock analyst: "We believe Company A's stock will appreciate at 35% a year for the next 5 to 7 years. Company A just became the leader in its industry and we expect its sales to grow at 8% a year."

Commentator: "But how can the stock's price be expected to grow more quickly than the company's underlying sales?"

1) Which of the following, if true, would best support the stock analyst's prediction?

1. The company's expenses will be declining over the next 5 to 10 years.
2. The company just won a patent on a new product.
3. Company A's stock is currently overvalued by a significant amount.
4. The 5 to 7 year time frame is too long for anyone to accurately forecast.
5. Company A's industry peer group is expected to experience stock appreciation rates of 30% over the same time horizon.

Acme brand aspirin claims to be the best headache relief available on the market today. To prove this claim, Acme called 10 people and asked them their thoughts on headache relief products. All 10 of them stated that they unequivocally use Acme brand aspirin on a regular basis and that they believe it to be the best headache relief available on the market today.

2) Which of the following would most weaken this argument?

1. Acme brand aspirin is highly addictive.
2. The 10 people called were spouses of Acme employees.
3. Most people choose to suffer silently through their headaches and take no medicines whatsoever.
4. The 10 people called own stock in a competing company.
5. The 10 people were selected at random.

My neighbor's dogs bark and howl every time their owner lets them outside. My CPA told me that dogs tend to bark and howl when they see birds resting in the top branches of their favorite trees. I personally believe they bark and howl because they enjoy disrupting my meditations.

3) Which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn from the preceding passage?

1. The dogs must be abused by their owners.
2. The dogs' owners do not make efforts to stop the dogs from barking and howling.
3. There are many pedestrians who walk by this neighbor's house, and the dogs are starving for attention.
4. The dogs frequently see birds in the tops of their favorite trees.
5. The dogs will bark and howl at 3 a.m. if they are outside at that time.

Most citizens are very conscientious about observing a law when they can see the reason behind it. For instance, there has been very little need to actively enforce the recently-implemented law that increased the penalty for motorists caught leaving a gas station without paying for gas they had pumped into their vehicles. This is because citizens are very concerned about the high cost of gasoline and they know that stealing gas will only further increase the price of gasoline for everyone.

4) With which of the following statements would the author of this passage be most likely to agree?

1. The increased penalty alone is a significant motivation for most citizens to obey the law.
2. There are still too many inconsiderate citizens in the local community.
3. High gasoline prices can be brought down if everyone does his or her part and pays for the gasoline they use at the pumps.
4. Society should make an effort to teach citizens the reasons for its laws.
5. People would be more likely to speed on a stretch of deserted highway than to not pay for gasoline.

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