Evaluate the argument Flashcards
To answer an “evaluate the argument” question ..the most important thing to look out for in the passage is?
The unstated Assumptions necessary for the conclusion to be valid.
What test do you use to verify that an answer choice for “evaluate the argument” is correct
The Variance Test
opposite answers)
Yes/No or 0%/100% - (remember, you must test opposite answers)
For example, if an Evaluate the Argument answer choice states ..
“What is the percentage of people who live near a nuclear plant?”
look to test the two most extreme possibilities: first test the response “0%” for its effect on the conclusion and then test the response “100%” for its effect on the conclusion.
Correct - one of the percentages should strengthen the argument and one of the percentages should weaken the argument.
incorrect - neither response will have an effect on the argument.
Keywords in question stem to suspect “evaluate the argument”
evaluate
judge
assess
investigate
What type of family is evaluate the argument question type?
Both Help & Hurt family
therefore the stimuli will always have a conclusion
in evaluate the argument questions….
Apply the Variance test to all 5 option choices
T/F?
Do not apply the Test to all five answers!
After you have narrowed your answer choices to the Contenders, or to the one answer choice you believe is correct, then apply the Variance Test.
Apply Variance test to this….
If an answer choice asks “Are corporate or environmental interests more
important?”
” first test “Corporate interests are more important” as a response and then test “Environmental interests are more important” as a response.
If the answer choice is correct, one response should strengthen the argument and one response should weaken the argument.
If the answer choice is incorrect, neither response will have an effect on the argument.
What are the most important things to decipher when evaluating an argument
- You must know the Logical structure of passage and how each statement leads to the conclusion
- You must be able to identify what the main point of then conclusion is with laser focus
- You must be able to identify logical gaps in the argument
- You must be able to identify 2-3 assumptions and the core assumption made using the evidence-conclusion premise and contect clues.
- You must understand the question stem and reframe the question to be specific about what your looking for based on the logical gap-assumptions
The most important thing here is, you need to have precision, all the above must have been know with pin point clarity of what you are looking for in the answer choice (based on the assumptions/logical gaps identified)
If you jump into the answer choice without clarity of all of the above and most esp what you are looking for (using the reframed question)- you will likely fail that question
T/F?
in CR passages, every sentence does not need to fit into my logical flowchart
FALSE!!
You must be able to fit every premise in the passage into a logical flowchart!
Overall, arguments are structured into….
background info –> premise —-> Sub-conclusion —->MainConclusion/argument
If you cannot fit one statement into a component.then you are likely to miss that question!!!
When i am confused between 2 statements and which is the main conclusion …
Or when i am confused about which out if 2 statements the premise is directly supporting (asper the premise seems tomsupport the 2) …..
i do what?
i use the conclusion test.
I take the 2 contenders and place Because {statement 1} ….Therefore {Statemnt 2}
then i reverse it.
the statement that makes more sense after therefore is the - main conclusion…while the one after since - sub conclusion
when a premise apears to equally support two distinct statement, suspect “sub-concclusion vs main conclusion”
when yous see this question stem
Which of the following, if discovered, would most help in deciding which hypothesis is correct?
think…..
The presence of what will help in deciding which hypothesis is correct (strong support for one and weaken the other)
Evaluate the argument
When i see the ffg word in Gmat question stem or answer choice….
Qualify
what does it mean?
According to Oxford, the meaning of ‘qualify’ is ‘make (a statement or assertion) less absolute; add reservations to’. So, if you say that “XYZ is the best country”, qualifying your statement would mean adding exceptions or restrictions to this statement. A few examples of qualifying this statement would be: “XYZ is the best in terms of educational standards”, “XYZ is the best if we do not include Switzerland and Poland in our consideration”, or “XYZ is the best except in October and November”.
When i see this phrase…
“offers additional evidence for the correctness of a claim”
what does it mean?
it means ….offers evidence in support of a claim.
it does not mean qualify or restrict
