Method Of Reasoning

Question 1

If weaken and strengthen questions have you act as a construction worker tearing down or building up arguments, what do method of reasoning questions have you act like?

Answer 1

An inspector, figuring how the parts of the argument fit together

Question 2

What do you do in a method of reasoning question involving two speakers?

Answer 2

Read through the exchange, noting any conclusions drawn by each speaker and getting a sense of how those speakers support those conclusions

Question 3

What is a quick first step in two speaker questions?

Answer 3

Analyze the opening verb of each answer choice to see if it matches what the speakers did. Ex: answer choice starts with “rejects conclusion that…”, but the second speaker never rejects the first speaker’s conclusion so you can mark that answer as incorrect and move on

Question 4

What are the steps of a method of reasoning question?

Answer 4

• Read and understand the stimulus
• Before looking at answer choices, describe in your own words the structure of the argument
  -go through answer choices and eliminate ones that are obviously incorrect

Question 5

Incorrect Method of Reasoning Choice Type 1:

Answer 5

A correct answer choice will never introduce new info to the argument, only will talk about structure of the argument

Question 6

Incorrect Method of Reasoning Choice Type 2:

Answer 6

an answer that is only partially correct - may start off spot on and then veer of track

Question 7

Incorrect Method of Reasoning Choice Type 3:

Answer 7

answer that describes method the argument could use but does not use as written - answer choice could be tempting because it may describe an argument that is stronger than what was presented, but doesn’t describe what was actually presented

Question 8

Incorrect Method of Reasoning Choice Type 4:

Answer 8

an answer choice that describes a method that resembles what the argument does but is not what the argument does

Question 9

what do boldface method of reasoning questions do?

Answer 9

they ask you to identify what a certain section of the stimulus that is boldfaced does for the argument

Question 10

in boldface questions, what is a typical weird thing about the placement of the conclusion?

Answer 10

it is often placed before the evidence, so be aware of that

Question 11

what is the most important move you can make in boldface method of reasoning questions?

Answer 11

locate/identify the conclusion - this helps give you a reference point for what role the other parts of the stimulus play

Question 12

boldface tip:

Answer 12

carefully compare the answer choices with the bolded sections of the passages to eliminate choices that cannot be correct

Question 13

Tricky boldface pitfall 1:

Answer 13

conclusion is often inconspicuous and hard to find

Question 14

Tricky boldface pitfall 2:

Answer 14

bolded portions can be worded and positioned to look as if they play roles other than what they play