What are the common traps in Strengthen the argument questions?

Strengthens the wrong thing: "the path is used by hundreds of joggers" shows the problem matters, not that lights will help. Hidden weakener: "children read to daily also watched less TV" adds another difference between the groups. Partial help vs direct test: "the bird migrates over open sea" rules out landmarks; "magnets disturbed its navigation" tests magnetism directly.

Start here · the first lesson of Strengthen the argument

Strengthen the argument

Critical Reasoning / Verbal Reasoning · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT

The idea

A strengthener is a new fact that, if true, makes the conclusion more likely. It usually supports the assumption: it closes the gap between evidence and conclusion. For cause-and-effect arguments, the strongest support either rules out another explanation or shows the cause at work.

Textbook vs exam method

Textbook method

State the conclusion and the evidence.
State the gap (the assumption).
For each option ask: does this make the gap more believable? Does it rule out another explanation?

Exam method

Classify the argument. cause ("X caused Y"), plan ("doing X will achieve Y"), or comparison.
Cause. look for a control group ("schools without the change saw no rise") or an intervention ("adding nest boxes brought sparrows back").
Plan. look for evidence that the mechanism works ("shoppers added items to cross ₹499").
Eliminate. options that are about the topic but not the link, and anything that weakens.