Assumption Flashcards
(18 cards)
Assumption Definition
Unstated pieces of info that must be true in order for arguments to work
Strategy Step
- Preview question stem and categorize question type
- Read stimulus. Identify the conclusion, premises, and assumptions (less important).
- Re-arrange the premise and conclusion to get a clear line of reasoning
- Answer the question
Answer that Weakens
In an Assumptions question, an answer choice that weakens the argument can never be correct.
Correct Answer Type 1: Offsetting Factor
States an assumption that there is no offsetting factor
When an author sets forth an argument, plan, proposal, or course of action, she assumes that there will be no offsetting factors that will somehow render that argument, plan, proposal, or course of action invalid.
Correct Answer Type 2: Cause and Effect
States an assumption that must be true in order for a cause-and-effect conclusion to be correct
When an author makes a cause-and-effect claim, she assumes that there could not be an alternative explanation for the observed events.
Correct Answer Type 3: Paths to Success
States an assumption that there are no other paths to success
Whenever an author concludes that a plan will not work or that some outcome will not occur, she must assume that there’s not some other way or some other path (that she has failed to consider) via which the plan could work or via which the outcome could occur.
Correct Answer Type 4: Causing the Same Problem
Highlights an assumption that a plan for solving a problem will not result in the same problem or a similar one
Correct Answer Type 5: Likely True = Actually True
Sometimes, an argument in an Assumptions question depends on the assumption that something that is likely true is actually true.
Correct Answer Type 6: Change Occurring over Time
An argument may depend on the assumption that a change occurring over time does not render the conclusion invalid.
When an author uses data from one time period to support a conclusion about a different time period, she assumes that that data can actually be used to support her conclusion. That is, she assumes that things have not changed or will not change over time in a way that would invalidate her conclusion.
Negation Technique
If, when we negate an answer choice, the negated version of that answer choice severely weakens the argument (the argument falls apart), then that choice must have been an assumption necessary for the argument to work.
Negation examples:
- Negate the main verb (e.g., x causes y → x doesn’t cause y)
- Negate a quantity word (e.g., all apples are red → not all apples are red)
- Get rid of a “not” (e.g., x is not required → x is required)
- Simply put “it is not the case that” before the statement
Trap Choices
Trap answer choices:
- It says something that is rather clearly not an assumption integral to the argument but is so obviously connected to the argument that a test-taker is tempted to choose it.
- It says something that may seem to be an assumption integral to the argument but is not actually an assumption integral to the argument.
Incorrect Answer Type 1: Support the Wrong Conclusion
Sometimes, CR incorrect answer choices will take important words or concepts from the stimulus and swap these with seemingly similar stand-ins that do not actually mean the same thing.
Incorrect Answer Type 2: Reverse of the Question
Look out for choices that have effects that are basically the reverse of the effect of an assumption that would help support an argument
Incorrect Answer Type 3: Explains an Aspect of the Scenario
The fact that an answer choice provides an explanation of an aspect of the scenario discussed in the passage doesn’t make it the correct answer.
Incorrect Answer Type 4: A Statement that is a Conclusion
When answering an Assumption question, be careful not to choose an answer choice that states a conclusion supported by what the passage says. We must find a choice that expresses an assumption integral to the argument.
Incorrect Answer Type 5: Better, Alternative Plan
Concluding that a plan will work does not require assuming that there is not a better or alternative plan. A plan doesn’t have to be the best possible plan or only possible plan in order for it to work.
Incorrect Answer Type 6: Supports the Conclusion but isn’t an Assumption
Providing support for a conclusion and being an assumption upon which an argument depends are not necessarily the same thing.
Assumptions and Weakening an Argument
The correct answer to an Assumption question can be composed of info that would weaken the argument combined with the word “not.”
