Critical Reasoning Practice Questions

Welcome to our comprehensive collection of stimulus-style practice questions! These questions are designed to sharpen your critical thinking, logical reasoning, and analytical skills. These abilities are crucial for success in many standardized tests. Our carefully crafted questions mirror the format found in prestigious exams like the LSAT, GMAT, and GRE, as well as in many other exams.

Each question presents a brief “stimulus” – a short paragraph containing an argument, scenario, or set of facts – followed by a question and multiple-choice answers. These exercises will challenge you to analyze complex information, identify logical flaws, draw valid conclusions, and evaluate arguments.

1. If it rains, the picnic will be cancelled. The picnic was not cancelled. Therefore:

It did not rain

It rained

The picnic might have been cancelled for other reasons

Not enough information to draw a conclusion

2. A nutritionist claims that a vegetarian diet is healthier than a diet that includes meat. Which of the following, if true, most weakens this claim?

Many vegetarians supplement their diet with vitamins typically found in meat

Some studies have shown that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease

A balanced diet including lean meats provides essential nutrients that are difficult to obtain from plant sources alone

The number of people adopting vegetarian diets has increased in recent years

3. All lawyers are college graduates. Some college graduates are politicians. Which of the following must be true?

All lawyers are politicians

Some lawyers are politicians

No lawyers are politicians

None of the above

4. In a small town, all lawyers are also notaries. Some notaries are also real estate agents. Based on this information, which of the following must be true?

All real estate agents are lawyers

Some lawyers are real estate agents

No real estate agents are lawyers

All notaries are either lawyers or real estate agents

5. If it rains, the picnic will be cancelled. The picnic was not cancelled. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn?

It did not rain

It rained

The picnic was held indoors

The weather forecast was incorrect

6. All cats are mammals. All mammals are animals. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from these premises?

All animals are cats

All animals are mammals

All cats are animals

Some animals are not cats

7. An advertising agency claims that companies using their services see an average 20% increase in sales. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken this claim?

The agency's fees are higher than the industry average

Companies that use the agency's services tend to be in rapidly growing industries

The agency has won several awards for creative advertising

The agency's client retention rate is above 90%

8. A company finds that employees who participate in its wellness program have fewer sick days. The HR director concludes that the wellness program is effective in improving employee health. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken this conclusion?

Employees who are already health-conscious are more likely to join the wellness program

The company offers incentives for participating in the wellness program

The wellness program includes both physical and mental health components

Employees who participate in the program report higher job satisfaction

9. A company decides to implement a four-day workweek to improve employee satisfaction and productivity. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken the effectiveness of this decision?

Employees express enthusiasm for the new schedule

Other companies have reported increased productivity with a four-day workweek

The company's clients expect availability five days a week

The four-day workweek will result in longer working hours on workdays

10. A politician argues that increasing the minimum wage will lead to job losses as businesses will be forced to lay off workers to maintain profitability. Which of the following, if true, most weakens this argument?

Some businesses may absorb the increased labor costs by raising prices

Higher wages may lead to increased productivity, offsetting the additional costs

Many minimum wage workers are employed by large corporations with high profit margins

Some small businesses may reduce workers' hours instead of laying them off

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These questions assess critical thinking, logical reasoning, and analytical skills. Here’s a list of some exams that typically include such questions:

LSAT (Law School Admission Test)
GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
GRE (Graduate Record Examinations)
MCAT (Medical College Admission Test)
SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test)
ACT (American College Testing)
Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT)
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal
California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST)
CLA+ (Collegiate Learning Assessment)
California Bar Exam’s performance test section
Certain civil service exams
Some corporate hiring assessments

These exams use stimulus-based questions to evaluate a candidate’s ability to analyze information, identify logical flaws, draw valid conclusions, and evaluate arguments. The questions present a short paragraph or scenario followed by a question and multiple-choice answers.