Start here · the first lesson of Strengthen / weaken
Strengthen / weaken
Reading Comprehension · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
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The idea
These questions bring critical-reasoning logic into RC: "Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen / weaken the author's argument (or the critics' objection)?" or "What is a limitation of the study?". Treat the options as new facts and ask what each does to the specific claim named in the stem.
Textbook vs exam method
Textbook method
Identify the conclusion and its supporting evidence, then find the option that most supports or undermines the connection between them.
Exam method
- Name the target claim. and whose it is.
- Write its logic. "time freed from unpaid work leads to more paid work"; "mixing styles leads to incoherent singing".
- Strengthen. find new evidence that the link holds (time freed, then more paid work observed).
- Weaken. find evidence that breaks the link (styles mixed, yet coherent singing).
- Limitation. what makes the evidence less reliable than it looks (a skewed sample, unequal survival, missing variables)? Use what the passage itself admits first.