Logical reasoning
As a result
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Consequently
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Hence
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Therefore
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Thus
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accordingly
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clearly
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concluded that
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follows that
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for this reason
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must be that
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shows that
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so
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Mistaken negation
"taking the absence of an occurrence as evidence that a necessary condition for that occurrence also did not take place"
Lack of evidence against a position is taken to prove that position is true
Just because no evidence disproving a position has been introduced does not mean that the position is true "There has been no evidence given against the existence of God, so God must exist."
Lack of evidence for a position is taken to prove that position is false.
Just because no evidence proving a position has been introduced does not mean that the position is false "The White House has failed to offer any evidence that they have reached a trade agreement with China. Therefore no such agreement has been reached."
justify the conclusion
Require you to select an answer choice that logically proves the conclusion of the argument, Proves the conclusion by adding a piece of information to the premises, thus making the reasoning structure valid, Premises + answer choice = conclusion, Almost all stimuli either use conditional reasoning or contain numbers and percentages, link new elements in the premises and conclusion and ignore elements common to both
Most Strongly Supported
the right answer must, at the very least, be the one that makes the most sense based on the stimulus; Often the answer will be almost certainly true, but it may not be undeniably true
Must
Necessary Condition
Only
Necessary Condition
Only if
Necessary Condition
Required
Necessary Condition
Then
Necessary Condition
Until
Necessary Condition
Except
Necessary Condition - negate sufficient
Unless
Necessary Condition - negate sufficient
Without
Necessary Condition - negate sufficient
Point at Issue and Point of Agreement Questions
Point at Issue stimuli consist of two speakers who disagree about an issue that is generally ethical or decision oriented in nature, not factual. The question stem directs you to choose the answer that describes the point of disagreement between the two speakers, or to identify a statement that the two speakers would disagree is true The Agree/Disagree Test The correct answer must produce responses where one speaker would say "I agree, the statement is correct" and the other speaker would say, "I disagree, the statement is incorrect." If those two responses are not produced, then the answer is incorrect. Point of Agreement questions require you to identify the issue or statement with which the two speakers would both agree The Agree/Agree Test The correct answer choice must be one about which both speakers would say, "Yes, I agree with that statement." If each speaker does not produce that response, the answer is incorrect.
As indicated by
Premise Indicator
Because
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Due to
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For
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For example
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For the reason that
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Given that
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Owing to
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Since
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This can be seen from
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We know this by
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in that
Premise Indicator
False Analogy
"Just as a heavy rainfall can be cleansing, the best approach to maintain a healthy relationship is to store up all your petty grievances and then unload them all at one time on your partner."
False Dilemma
"Recent accidents within the oil industry have made safety of operation a critical public safety issue. Because the industry cannot be expected to police itself, the government must step in and take action."
Mistaken reversal
"mistakes being sufficient to achieve a particular outcome for being required to achieve it
Cannot Be True
1. Accept the stimulus information and use only it to prove that one of the answer choices cannot occur. 2. If an answer choice contains information that does not appear directly in the stimulus or as the result of a combination of items in the stimulus, then that answer choice could be true and it is incorrect. The correct answer choice will directly disagree with the stimulus or a consequence of the stimulus.
Numbers and Percentages Principles
1. If you see a number or percentage in a stimulus, make sure that the number or percentage is the focus of the problem, and not merely a distractor element 2. You must identify whether a number or percentage (or both) is being discussed, and determine whether those figures represent the overall total or just a portion of a given total. 3. Always look for what is missing. 4. Watch for movement in any number, percentage, or total, and make note of whether it is rising or falling. 5. If a conclusion is present, often the conclusion is faulty and based on a confusion between the number and percentage idea. If there is no conclusion (meaning a Fact Set), then the numbers and percentages often work together and can be used to determine the correct answer
Survey Errors
1. The survey used a biased sample 2. The survey questions are improperly constructed 3. Respondents to the survey give inaccurate responses
After all
Additional premise indicator
Besides
Additional premise indicator
Furthermore
Additional premise indicator
In addition
Additional premise indicator
Moreover
Additional premise indicator
What's more
Additional premise indicator
Strengthen
Almost all correct answers impact the conclusion, Info in stimulus is suspect (answers → stimulus), Answer choices are accepted as given, even if they contain new info, ask you support the argument in any way possible (either by 1% or by 100%), strengthen conclusion
Must be True
Answer choice that is proven by the information given in the stimulus; can always be proven by referring to the facts stated in the stimulus
Main Point
Answer you select must follow from the information in the stimulus, Even if an answer must be true, it is false if it does not capture the main point, Always contains an argument - main point = conclusion
But
Counter-premise Indicator
However
Counter-premise Indicator
Yet
Counter-premise Indicator
admittedly
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after all
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although
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despite
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even though
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in contrast
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in spite of
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on the other hand
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still
Counter-premise Indicator
whereas
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Flaw in the Reasoning
Flaw in the Reasoning questions are exactly the same as Method of Reasoning questions with the important exception that the question stem indicates that the reasoning in the stimulus is flawed, you can identify the error of reasoning in the stimulus before proceeding to the answer choices
Parallel flaw Questions
Stimulus can contain either valid or invalid reasoning (stated in the stem); same pattern of reasoning; if the conclusion in the answer choice has similar wording to the conclusion in the stimulus, then the answer is possibly correct
All
Sufficient Condition
Each
Sufficient Condition
Every
Sufficient Condition
If
Sufficient Condition
In order To
Sufficient Condition
People Who
Sufficient Condition
The only
Sufficient Condition
When
Sufficient Condition
Whenever
Sufficient Condition
Some evidence against a position is taken to prove that the position is false
The introduction of evidence against a position only weakens the position; it does not necessarily prove the position false "Some historians claim that a lengthy drought preceded the fall of the Aztec empire. But we know from Aztec writings that in at least one year during the supposed drought there was minor flooding. Thus, the claim that there was a lengthy drought prior to the fall of the Aztec empire is false."
Some evidence for a position is taken to prove that position is true
The introduction of evidence for a position only provides support for the position; it does not prove the position to be undeniably true "We know that the defendant was in the vicinity of the robbery when the robbery occurred. Therefore, the defendant is guilty of the robbery."
Straw Man
This error occurs when an author attempts to attack an opponent's position by ignoring the actual statements made by the opposing speaker and instead distorts and refashions the argument, making it weaker in the process.; Politician A: "The platform proposed by my party calls for a moderate increase in taxes on those individuals making over $20,000 per year, and then taking that money and using it to rebuild the educational system." Politician B: "But what you're saying is that everyone should pay higher taxes, and so your proposal is unfair."
Appeal to popular opinion/appeal to numbers
a position is true because the majority believe it to be true "A recent poll states that 75% of Americans believe that Google is a monopoly. Antitrust law states that monopolies have a deleterious effect on the marketplace (with the exception of utilities), and therefore Google should be controlled or broken into smaller pieces."
Formal Logic
aka symbolic logic, is the study of the properties of propositions and deductive reasoning by abstraction and analysis of the form rather than the content of propositions under consideration
Internal Contradiction
an internal contradiction (also known as a self-contradiction) occurs when an author makes conflicting statements. "Everyone should join our country club. After all, it's an exclusive group that links many of the influential members of the community."
Mistaken cause and effect
arguments that draw causal conclusions are often flawed because there may be another explanation for the stated relationship; Assuming a causal relationship on the basis of the sequence of events; Assuming a causal relationship when only a correlation exists; Failure to consider an alternate cause for the effect, or an alternate cause for both the cause and the effect; Failure to consider that the events may be reversed
parallel reasoning
ask you to identify the answer choice that contains reasoning most similar in structure to the reasoning in the stimulus; if the conclusion in the answer choice has similar wording to the conclusion in the stimulus, then the answer is possibly correct
Cause and Effect Reasoning (caused by, because of, responsible for, reason for, leads to, induced by, promoted by, determined by, produced by, product of, is an effect of)
asserts or denies that one thing causes another, or that one thing is caused by another
Time shift errors
assuming that conditions will remain constant over time, and that what was the case in the past will be the case in the present or future "The company has always reimbursed me for meals when I'm on a business trip, so they will certainly reimburse me for meals on this business trip."
Assumption
assumption is an unstated premise of the argument; that is, an integral component of the argument that the author takes for granted and leaves unsaid, answer you select as correct must contain a statement that the author relies upon and is fully committed to in the argument, Assumption answers contain statements that were used to make the conclusion, correct answers will typically display one of the following: A. Eliminates an alternate cause for the stated effect B. Shows that when the cause occurs, the effect occurs. C. Shows that when the cause does not occur, the effect does not occur. D. Eliminates the possibility that the stated relationship is reversed. E. Shows that the data used to make the causal statement are accurate, or eliminates possible problems with the data
Sufficient
assured
Source Argument (ad hominem)
attacks the person (or source) instead of the argument they advance "The anti-smoking views expressed by Senator Smith should be ignored. After all, Smith himself is a smoker!"; 1. Focusing on the motives of the source 2. Focusing on the actions of the source
If but only if (then and only then, then but only then, when and only when, when but only when, all but only, "Vice versa", Repeating and reversing)
biconditional
evaluate the argument
consider the question, statistic, or piece of information that would best help determine the logical validity of the argument presented in the stimulus must select the answer choice that decides whether the argument is good or bad; The variance test - If the answer choice is correct, one of the percentages should strengthen the argument and one of the percentages should weaken the argument (if no numbers, apply 'yes' and 'no' synonyms to each question to achieve the same end. If the answer choice is incorrect, neither response will have an effect on the argument.
Resolve the Paradox
each stimulus presents a situation where two ideas or occurrences contradict each other, the correct answer will actively resolve the paradox, that is, it will allow both sides to be factually correct and it will either explain how the situation came into being or add a piece of information that shows how the two ideas or occurrences can coexist, Not seeking to disprove one side of the situation, Select answer choice that contains a possible cause of the situation
Appeal to emotion
emotions or emotionally-charged language is used in an attempt to persuade the reader "Officer, please do not give me a ticket for speeding. In the last month I've been fired from my job, kicked out of my apartment, and my car broke down. I don't deserve this!"
Sufficient and necessary conditions
if a sufficient condition occurs, you automatically know that the necessary condition also occurs. If a necessary condition occurs, then it is possible but not certain that the sufficient condition will occur
Numbers and Percentages Errors
many errors in this category are committed when an author improperly equates a percentage with a definite quantity, or when an author uses quantity information to make a judgment about the percentage represented by that quantity.
General Lack of Relevant Evidence for the Conclusion
misuse information to such a degree that they fail to provide any information to support their conclusion or they provide information that is irrelevant to their conclusion: "Some critics claim that scientific progress has increased the polarization of society and alienated large segments of the population. But these critics are wrong because even a cursory glance at the past shows that society is always somewhat polarized and some groups are inevitably alienated."
Relativity flaw
occurs when information about a relative relationship— one involving a comparison—is used to draw an absolute conclusion, or when a relative conclusion is drawn from absolute information "Valentina is the tallest child in the class, therefore Valentina is tall." (relative relationship premise used to draw absolute conclusion) "Valentina is tall, therefore Valentina is the tallest child in the class." (absolute premise used to draw relative relationship conclusion)
error of composition
occurs when the author attributes a characteristic of part of the group to the group as a whole or to each member of the group. "Every party I attend is fun and exciting. Therefore, my life is fun and exciting."
error of division
occurs when the author attributes a characteristic of the whole (or each member of the whole) to a part of the group "The United States is the wealthiest country in the world. Thus, every American is wealthy."
must, will, likely, rarely
probability indicators
all, most, sole, only
quantity indicators
Method of Reasoning
require you to select the answer choice that best describes the method used by the author to make the argument, Abstract Must be True Qs, instead of identifying the facts of the argument, you must identify the logical organization of the argument, If an answer choice describes an event that did not occur in the stimulus, then that answer is incorrect.
necessary
required
inference
something that must be true - what follows from an argument (conclusion)
Exceptional Case/Overgeneralization
takes a small number of instances and treats those instances as if they support a broad, sweeping conclusion "Two of my friends were short changed at that store. Therefore, everyone gets short changed at that store."; This answer appears most frequently as an incorrect answer in Flaw questions
Circular Reasoning
the author assumes as true what is supposed to be proved "This essay is the best because it is better than all the others."; the premise and the conclusion are identical in meaning
Weaken (attack, undermine, Refute, argue against, call into question, cast doubt, challenge, damage, Counter)
the correct answer will undermine the conclusion by showing that the conclusion fails to account for some element or possibility, Require you to select the answer choice that undermines the author's as decisively possible, isolate argument conclusion, almost all correct answers will impact the conclusion, Info in stimulus is suspect - often reasoning errors present, Answer choices are accepted as given - even if they include new info; job is to determine which answer best attacks the argument in the stimulus, If conditional, must attack the necessary condition by showing that the necessary condition does not need to occur in order for the sufficient condition to occur
Assumed
true
assumption
unstated premise (which must be true in order for argument to be true) - what is taken for granted while making argument
Appeal to Authority
uses the opinion of an authority in an attempt to persuade the reader. The flaw in this form of reasoning is that the authority may not have relevant knowledge or all the information regarding a situation, or there may be a difference of opinion among experts as to what is true in the case "World-renowned neurologist Dr. Samuel Langhorne says that EZBrite Tooth Strips are the best for whitening your teeth. So, you know if you buy EZBrite you will soon have the whitest teeth possible!"
