Deduction Questions

Question 1

How you know it’ll be a Deduction Question

Answer 1

Terms of quantity, probability, and frequency

Terms that signal a conditional statement

Terms of comparison (more, less, like, unlike, also, etc.)

Question 2

Note #1

Answer 2

In Deduction answers, you’re looking for concrete, specific statements that are squarely supported by the content of the argument.

Question 3

Finish the statement…

The correct answer takes two statements from the argument and combines…

Answer 3

…them to produce a new statement that, based on the facts contained in the argument, you can be sure is also true

Question 4

True or False

Everything in a Deduction Question is assumed false?

Answer 4

False

In Deduction Questions, everything is assumed true

Question 5

True or False

Deduction Questions are composed of factual statements?

Answer 5

True

Deduction Questions do not have a premise and a conclusion, they are a collection of factual statements. Focus should be identifying and understanding the factual statements

Question 6

Words of Quantity

Answer 6

All/Each/Every/Any
Most
Many
Some
Few
Only
None/No

Question 7

Words of Frequency

Answer 7

Always/Every Time/ Invariably
Usually
Often/Frequently
Sometimes
Rarely
At least once
Once 
Never

Question 8

Words of Probability

Answer 8

Must/Definite/Certain
Probable/Likely
Possible/Can/May/Could
Unlikely/Improbable 
Impossible/Cannot

Question 9

Note #2

Answer 9

Sometimes Deduction Questions will contain several statements describing the argument’s subject matter in terms of quantity, frequency, and probability; and the correct answer will be a deduction that results from the combination of two of those statements.

Question 10

True or False

Answer choices with “only” in them are a red flag

Answer 10

True
“Only” is a giant red flag in an answer choice. The word quietly makes a comparison between what’s listed in the answer choice and everything else in the world.

Question 11

Note #3

Answer 11

Deduction questions are about explicit information; you need to be able to point to the portion of the argument that expressly tells you the fact you’re relying on. You can’t make an assumption because the answer choices are based on facts in the argument.

Question 12

Unless the argument uses these words (which they rarely do) what other words are red flags in answer choices.

Answer 12

Should
Ought to
Bad
Good
Better
Worse

Question 13

Note #4

Mismatched Quantity, Probability, or Frequency

Answer 13

• Be on the lookout for subtle shifts and slip-ups in the use of these terms.
• An argument that tells you something “may” be true won’t support an answer choice that says something “must” be true.
• If “some” things have a quality, you don’t know “all,” “most,” or even “many” of them have that quality, too.

Question 14

What is a Conditional Statement?

Answer 14

A CS is any statement that takes the form of “If A, then B.”

Question 15

What is a Contrapositive?

Answer 15

A Contrapositive is the opposite of a Conditional Statement.

So, if a Conditional Statement is “If A, then B,” then it’s Contrapositive is “If not B, then not A.”

Question 16

The correct answer to a Conditional Statement is it’s contrapositive, which is?

Answer 16

“not A.”

Question 17

Note #5

Answer 17

When an argument contains multiple CS, the correct answer is almost always a combination of those statements.

Question 18

Note #6

Answer 18

When an argument contains multiple conditional statements, the correct answer is almost always a combination of those statements.

Question 19

1

Common Types of Wrong Deduction Answer Choices

Answer 19

Answer choices that introduce new information or topics

Since the argument is based on facts, it won’t introduce any new information.

Question 20

2

Common Types of Wrong Deduction Answer Choices

Answer 20

Implying an inference based on the context

I.e. “My friend Calvin is tall. My friend Gus is tall and thin,” so you may reasonably infer Calvin is not thin but in Deduction questions, this type of inference is impermissible. You can’t assume a fact is true only based on context.

Question 21

3

Common Types of Wrong Deduction Answer Choices

Answer 21

Mismatched quantity, probability, or frequency

Be on the lookout for subtle shifts and slip-ups in the use of these terms.

An argument that tells you something “may” be true won’t support an answer choice that says something “must” be true.

If “some” things have a quality, you don’t know “all,” “most,” or even “many” of them have that quality, too.

Question 22

4

Common Types of Wrong Deduction Answer Choices

Answer 22

Answers involving normative language

Only
Should
Ought to
Bad
Good
Better
Worse