Boldfaced Statements (GMAT Focus Edition - Verbal Reasoning Content and Tactics)

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Possible Boldfaced Statement Roles
- Premise: Evidence, Grounds, Reasoning
- Conclusion: Argument, Claim, Explanation, Hypothesis, Opinion, Position, Prediction, Recommendation
Strategic Implications
- Read Once to Determine if Roles Easy to ID
- Consider Primary Task for Moving Immediately to Guessing and Marking if Behind Pace
Use Conclusion Test for Boldfaced Tasks
- Eliminate Clearly Objective Statements of Fact from Consideration
- Determine Number of Possibly Subjective Statements in Prompt
- If Only One, then Note as Main Conclusion of the Argument
- If Multiple, then Consider Which Provides Support and Note Statement Requiring Support as Main Conclusion of the Argument
Strategic Implications
- Boldfaced Argument Structure Often Somewhat Complex
- Do Not Assume that a Boldfaced Statement Must be Part of the Conclusion
- Treat Boldfaced Statements Same as Other Statements in Argument on Initial Evaluation
Boldfaced Statements Process
Step 1
- Constant Task of What are Roles of Boldface Statements in Argument
- Immediately Identifiable from Presence of Boldface in Prompt
Step 2
- Use Conclusion Test to Identify Conclusion Ignoring Bold Statements
- Shorthand Note Bold Statements as Premises or Opinion / Conclusion
Step 3
- Tacitly Predict the Roles of the Boldfaced Statements by Placement in - Notes as Either Premises or Opinion / Conclusion
Step 4
- Evaluate Choices Against Predicted Roles Through Process of Elimination One Boldfaced Statement at a Time
- Stop Evaluating Choices When Only One Choice Remains a Possible Match to Avoid Excess Work