Question Type Flashcards
Point at Issue
Two Speakers Disagree
Does each speaker have an opinion about the statement and do their opinions disagree?
** Find what they disagree about first before going to the answer choices
LOOK FOR “committed to disagreeing…”
“disagree over…”
Method of Argument
Evidence & Arguments
Author’s Technique Examples
-Analogy: parallel between two unrelated situations
-Example: author cites specific support or justification to justify a generalization
-Counterexample: author looks to discredit an opponent’s argument by citing a case in which the opponent’s conclusion appears to be invalid (ex. “contrary to previous belief”)
-Appeal to authority: cites and expert or another figure as support for her conclusion
-Elimination of alternatives: lists possibilities and discredits all but one
-Ad hominem: attacks the opponent’s personal credibility rather than the substance of her opponents argument
-Means/Requirements: author argues that something is needed to achieve a desired result
-Definition: defines a term in a way that helps to justify the argument or undermine/point out a contradiction in an opponent’s argument
-Clarification: responds to the opponent adding more detail to her argument so it is valid for a specific setting (qualifying/quantifying)
LOOK FOR: “most accurately describes the technique of reasoning employed by the author”
“B responds to A’s objection in which of the following ways?”
“The argument proceeds by…”
WHEN ANSWERING THE QUESTION ASK: Did the author actually do this?
Main Point/Conclusion
What is the conclusion of the stimulus! Dont try to make it too complicated, sort out the conclusion from the evidence!
Think: recommendation, evaluation, or assertion that the stim is trying to make
Types of Conclusions:
-Value Judgement (an evaluative statement like X is unethical or Y’s recital was poorly sung)
-If/Then (a conditional prediction, IF X is true THEN Y will happen)
-Prediction (X will or will not happen in the future)
-Comparison (X is taller/shorter/more common/etc than Y)
-Assertion of Fact (X is true or X is false)
-Recommendation (we should/should not do X)
LOOK FOR: thus, therefore, as a result, it follows that, consequently, so, [evidence] is evidence that [conclusion]
note: Evidence Key words that are useful to know: because, since, after all, for
Role of a Statement
Evidence & Arguments
How does the highlighted statement act in the stimulus (ie. as evidence to support the conclusion, as evidence that is refuted by the author, etc)
Asked: “… figures in the argument in which of the following ways?” or “describe the role played in the argument by the claim that..”
Parallel Reasoning
-Compare Conclusions: Even if the topics are unrelated, there might be the same TYPE of conclusion (___ SHOULD do this)
-Compare Formal Logic: To simplify, break it down into A,B,C
(A is a B, B is a C, so A is C)
LOOK FOR: “most closely parallels”, “most similar to”
Remember, the two arguments will have the same structure but it will likely not be in the same order
Assumption
The author has left something UNSAID, question directly asks what it is
Forms of Assumption:
-Alike/Equivalent: assumption that two concepts are similar enough to justify a conclusion (house decorated with antiques and memorabilia appeal to sentimental people)
-Mutually Exclusive: two concepts are NOT compatible (house built using adobe materials, is example of adobe architecture but not of native architecture, assumes that native architects did not use this material)
-One Concept Needed for the Other: A cannot happen without B (I cant vote because I am not registered, assumption is that registration is needed to vote)
-One Concept is Representative of the Other: group/sample in the evidence is representative of the group/sample in the conclusion (Doctors are unlikely to prescribe the new drug, 70% of specific group of doctors surveyed said they will not, assumption is that 70% represents 100% of ALL doctors)
Flaw
Describe the error in the author’s reasoning, related to what the author has overlooked or how the evidence fails to establish the conclusion
Strengthen/Weaken
Answer choices are facts that if true, would make the argument more or less likely to be valid
–> know what the assumption is first,
Inference Based Principle
AKA GENERALIZATIONS (look for a general rule and say the rule OR determine which choice follows the same general rule)
LOOK FOR: best illustrated, conforms with which generalization/principle
Discrepancies & Paradox
THINK: You dont want to have to tell a story to explain it, its more of a by itself does it explain it
Questions will most likely be asking for information outside the scope to add information (“if true, resolves the/explains how”, ANSWER will allow for the two things in the discrepancy to be true together
LOOK FOR CONTRAST KEY WORDS: despite, and yet
Mismatched Concepts
Evidence and conclusion make difference claims about the same subject:
Socrates is human (Evidence). Therefore, Socrates is mortal (Conclusion).
OR
Same claim is made about two different subjects:
Humans are mortal (Evidence). Therefore, Socrates is mortal (Conclusion).
(note: falls under assumption because it assumes that Socrates is a human)
TO DO: Separate the subject of the evidence from the subject in the conclusion, easier to see where the assumption falls between them
Overlooked Possibilities
Author assumes a difference in scale, degree, or level of certainty ie. coming to a conclusion of certainty (must have…, the only option…) based on evidence without considering other possibilities
**The conclusion reached is TOO STRONG/EXTREME, approach focuses on finding the objections and other possibilities to the conclusion
Types:
-There is no other explanation, reason, or outcome
-What is sufficient is actually necessary, or vice versa
-Correlation Proves Causation
-Changed or Unchanged circumstances to make a prediction (one thing has been happening for 10 years so it will continue to happen, therefore this other thing will definitively not happen)
-no overlooked advantages/disadvantages to a recommendation (basically the house with the best lights is the one you should buy, is this the only criteria we are using to measure the purchase?)
-Something that can/will/should occur (proposal COULD balance the budget SO next year there will BE a balanced budget, assumes that it a) will be approved and b) nothing else could happen to throw the budget out of whack)
LOOK FOR: only, must have/must be
Assumption to Support a Conclusion
The conclusion of the argument can be PROPERLY drawn if which is assumed?
The conclusion is already there but the question is asking you what is missing for it to actually make sense
https://www.thinkinglsat.com/articles/argument-parts-and-indicators#:~:text=An%20intermediate%20conclusion%20is%20a,it%20supports%20the%20main%20conclusion.
