LR Flashcards
Method for LR
1. Identify the Question Type
2. Untangle the Stimulus
3. Make a Prediction
4. Evaluate the Answer Choices
Common LR & RC Wrong Answer Types
Extreme
Distortion
Faulty Use of Detail
Half Right, Half Wrong
Outside of Scope
Irrelevant Comparison
180
LR
Assumption
“assumed”
“assumption”
“presupposes”
“if added to the premises…”
Bridge the gap between the evidence and the conclusion
LR
Stregnthen/Weaken
“stregnthen”
“most strongly supports the author”
vs.
“most weakens”
“calls into question”
“undermines”
FInd the answer that makes the conclusion more/less likely to follow from the evidence
LR
Flaw
“vulenerable to criticism”
“questionable”
“error of reasoning”
“describes a flaw”
Find disconnects between the evidence and conclusion, identify classic flaws**
LR
Classic Flaw Types
** alternative possibilities
unwarranted assumptions
necessity v sufficiency
representiveness
scope shifts
causation vs correlation
opinion vs fact
number vs percent
possibility vs certainty
equivocation
ad hominem
circular reasoning
LR
Inference
“must be true”
“logically completes the passage”
“can be inferred”
“which of the following is most strongly supported…”
Determine what must be true. Look for connections.
LR
Parallel Reasoning
“parallel to”
“similar to”
Compare part, or all, of the stimulus to the choices.
LR
Method of Argument
“responds to….by”
“the argument proceeds by”
“argumentative strategy”
Paraphrase the argument into abstract terms.
LR
Principle
“principle”
“proposition”
“policy”
Look for a 1:1 match of all salient elements between the principles and the specifics.
LR
Paradox
“explain”
“reconcile”
“resolve”
“paradox”
“anomaly”
“discrepancy”
Look for the answer that eliminates the mystery and makes the statements consistent.
LR
Point at Issue
“A and B disagree over”
“point at issue between”
Find the issue on which both speakers have an opinion and disagree”
LR
Main Point
“main point”
“main conclusion”
Locate the author’s conclusion. Be wary of misleading conclusion key words.
LR
Role of a Statement
“plays which one of the following roles”
“figures in the argument in which one of the following ways”
Locate the statement and characterize its function in the stimulus.
