GMAT CR: Stronger Sufficient Assumptions

How to Identify “Leap Concepts” in GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions?

First, you need to grasp the conclusion. If the conclusion introduces a new concept not mentioned in the premises, that’s a potential area where a “leap concept” might occur.

For example:

He comes from a wealthy family, so he definitely won’t embezzle.

• Premise: D’s family is wealthy.
• Conclusion: D will definitely not embezzle.

“Embezzle” is a concept not mentioned in the premise, but it appears in the conclusion. Therefore, for the conclusion to be valid, “embezzle” must be linked to “being from a wealthy family.” The assumption here is: People from wealthy families definitely won’t embezzle.

Let’s take another example:

Premise: P is a doctor.
Conclusion: P is not suitable to be a mayor.

“Mayor” is a concept not mentioned in the premise, but it appears in the conclusion. So, we need to connect “mayor” with the existing concept in the premise, “doctor.” The assumption is: People who are doctors are not suitable to be mayors.

OG2016 New Question Example

41. Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser’s parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors’ School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors’ Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild’s Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a “journeyman cloth-maker.” Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund’s father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

Question Summary:

Who was Edmund Spenser’s father? We know for sure that his father attended the Merchant Tailors’ School between 1560 and 1570. Checking the records, we find three Spensers listed at the school during that time:

1. Robert Spenser: A gentleman.
2. Nicholas Spenser: The Guild’s Warden.
3. John Spenser: A journeyman cloth-maker.

Premise 1:

we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors’ School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors’ Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild’s Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a “journeyman cloth-maker.”

Premise 2:

since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

(Edmund attended the school paying a reduced fee.)

Conclusion:

Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund’s father

(The least affluent one, John Spenser, must be his father.)

Notice something? The conclusion suddenly introduces the concept of “affluence” (or lack thereof), which wasn’t mentioned in Premise 1 (only occupation was mentioned) or Premise 2 (only reduced fees were mentioned).

After identifying that the conclusion introduces a new concept not present in the preceding premises, the strategy is to look for an answer choice that bridges the gap, attempting to establish a relationship between “affluence” and “reduced school fees”:

(E) The Merchant Tailors’ School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.

(Affluent people did not receive fee reductions.)

This is the correct answer.