CARS Flashcards
Mistake: Taking paragraph out of context.
Strategy: Pay attention to who is talking when asked about a function of a metaphor
Mistake: Could not trace direct support.
Strategy: Scan for qualifiers that modify answer stems to not be feasible.
Mistake: Lack of knowledge of what constitutes author description (of utility).
Strategy: Look for direct support. Evidence of inversion support is not direct evidence of non-inversion statement (given answer stem | you can’t milk a horse…).
How do you approach INFER questions?
INFER questions are asking you to state the OBVIOUS of a passage even with the Skill Type: Reasoning Beyond the Text
How do you approach questions asking about author’s opinion?
Pay attention to the author’s Tone for questions that ask about author’s arguments. It can provide a hint for how to approach “value judgement” answer stems in the appropriate light.
What are some ways to answer a 50/50 split?
Look for common elements in the answer stem to passage.
Keep an eye on author tone. Very important. Look for sarcasm, anything.
Try not to pick an answer which contains phrases an author hasn’t mentioned.
Re-read answer stem before committing to answer choice. Vigilance.
What is an Arguable Assertion?
Arguable assertions are declarative opinions that one can argue and support.
Arguable assertions exclude personal feelings.
Can an secondary sources have more validity than primary sources?
Yes. While primary sources (first-hand accounts) tend to be more reliable than secondary sources (interpretations of primary sources), arguments based on them are not necessarily more or less valid.
What is a Bottom-Up argument structure?
Bottom-up arguments tend to start with a set of facts or observations, and then build a conclusion based on those arguments.
What is a Top-Down argument structure?
Top-down arguments start with a thesis statement or conclusion and then marshal evidence in support of those claims.
