Thirteen logical reasoning question types

Weaken

ask you to attack or undermine the author's argument. ex. "Which one of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the argument?"

Flaw in the Reasoning

ask you to describe, in abstract terms, the error of reasoning committed by the author. ex. "the reasoning in the astronomer's argument is flawed because of this argument."

Method of reasoning

ask you to describe, in abstract terms, the way in which the author made his or her argument. ex. "which one of the following describes the technique of the reasoning used above."

Assumption

ask you to identify an assumption of the author's argument. ex. "Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument above?"

Cannot Be True

ask you to identify the answer choice that cannot be true or is most weakened based on the info in the stimulus. ex. "if the statements above are true, which one of the following cannot be true?"

Parallel Reasoning

ask you to identify the answer choice that contains reasoning most similar in structure to the reasoning presented in the stimulus. ex. "Which one of the following arguments is most similar in its pattern of reasoning to the argument above?"

Must Be true/ most supported

ask you to identify the answer choice that is best proven by the info in the stimulus. ex. "if the statements above are true, which one of the following must also be true?"

Strengthen/support

ask you to select the answer choice that provides support for the author's argument or strengthens it in some way. ex. "which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

Justify the Conclusion

ask you to supply a piece of info that, when added to the premises, proves the conclusion. ex. "Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion above to be properly drawn?"

Point at issue

require you to identify a point of contention between two speakers, and thus these questions appear almost exclusively with two-speaker stimuli. ex. "Larson and Manuela disagree about whether."

Resolve the paradox

stimulus contains a discrepancy or seeming contradiction. Find the answer choice that best resolves the situation. ex. "which one of the following, if true, would most effectively resolve the apparent paradox above?"

Main point

variant of must be true questions. asks you to find the primary conclusion made by the author. ex. "the main point of the argument is that"

Evaluate the Argument

you must decide which answer choice will allow you to determine the logical validity of the argument. ex. "the answer to which one of the following questions would contribute most to an evaluation of the argument?"