Evaluate the argument Flashcards
(15 cards)
HOW TO APPROACH EVERY CR PASSAGE
For each sentence;
- Read words carefully & take note of modifiers, indicators, language.
- Summarize the main gist
“What is the simple story here?” - Determine scope. Ask:
“What are they saying vs not saying?” - Opinion vs fact
“Is this an Opinion or fact?” - Determine the purpose. Ask:
“Why is the author telling me this?” (eg. to illustrate an example, to provide background context) - Make the inferencial connection with previous sentences: Ask:
“How does this info connect to the previous sentence?” “What inference can I draw from combining the previous sentences with this?” - Determine the logical flow; Ask:
“Does this support the previous sentence or does the previous sentence support this?” - Determine the main point/main conclusion and note the scope of what it actually says.
“What is the main point/conclusion here & what is the scope of elements in this?”
For Each passage
- Identify presence/absence or an argument
“Is there a conclusion?” - If no conclusion , identify the heart of the passage
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A set of facts → inference/must be true/find the conclusion
Paradox → resolve the paradox
` - If yes conclusion, Map the logical link in a flow chart: [Premise → assumption → logical gap → Conclusion]
* Identify the premise that directly supports the conclusion & its scope
* Determine the Core Assumption:
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“What new elements are there”
“How did the author make this jump from premise to conclusion”
“What must I assume to me true for me to believe this conclusion”
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* If the assumption is not so clear, use the Falsification condition. Ask:
“Under What circumstances , given the [Facts] in the argument, will the [conclusion] not hold”
* Identify the logical gap“Am i fully convinced by this argument i.e is the argument weak or strong?” “What extra evidence is missing here that i need to be fully convinced?”
For each question stem:
- Carefully read and identify the question stem.
“What is this question stem asking of me?” - After reading the question stem, take a moment to mentally recap details you just gathered and define what you are looking for
- Rephrase the question into a yes/No format will enable you to eliminate and choose the right answer with precision.
- Always read each of the five answer choices completely. Ask yourself…
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“What is this option simply saying”
“Does it answer …rephrased question..?”
` - Eliminate any answer choice that doesn’t answer your question
To answer an “evaluate the argument” question ..the most important thing to look out for in the passage is?
The unstated Assumptions necessary for the conclusion to be valid.
What test do you use to verify that an answer choice for “evaluate the argument” is correct
The Variance Test
opposite answers)
Yes/No or 0%/100% - (remember, you must test opposite answers)
For example, if an Evaluate the Argument answer choice states ..
“What is the percentage of people who live near a nuclear plant?”
look to test the two most extreme possibilities: first test the response “0%” for its effect on the conclusion and then test the response “100%” for its effect on the conclusion.
Correct - one of the percentages should strengthen the argument and one of the percentages should weaken the argument.
incorrect - neither response will have an effect on the argument.
Keywords in question stem to suspect “evaluate the argument”
evaluate
judge
assess
investigate
What type of family is evaluate the argument question type?
Both Help & Hurt family
therefore the stimuli will always have a conclusion
in evaluate the argument questions….
Apply the Variance test to all 5 option choices
T/F?
Do not apply the Test to all five answers!
After you have narrowed your answer choices to the Contenders, or to the one answer choice you believe is correct, then apply the Variance Test.
Apply Variance test to this….
If an answer choice asks “Are corporate or environmental interests more
important?”
” first test “Corporate interests are more important” as a response and then test “Environmental interests are more important” as a response.
If the answer choice is correct, one response should strengthen the argument and one response should weaken the argument.
If the answer choice is incorrect, neither response will have an effect on the argument.
What are the most important things to decipher when evaluating an argument
- You must know the Logical structure of passage and how each statement leads to the conclusion
- You must be able to identify what the main point and scope of the conclusion is with laser focus
- You must be able to identify logical gaps in the argument
- You must be able to identify 2-3 assumptions and the core assumption made using the evidence-conclusion premise , contect clues & negation test.
- You must understand the question stem with clarity and reframe the question to be specific about what your looking for based on the logical gap-assumptions before jumping to the answer choice
- You must ensure during POE that you are not picking an answer choice that requires an assumption not supported/hinted by the passage
The most important thing here is, you need to have precision, all the above must have been know with pin point clarity of what you are looking for in the answer choice (based on the assumptions/logical gaps identified)
If you jump into the answer choice without clarity of all of the above and most esp without clarity of what you are looking for (using the reframed question)- you will likely fail that question because you will loos track of the target point ans start shifting assumptions
T/F?
in CR passages, every sentence does not need to fit into my logical flowchart
FALSE!!
You must be able to fit every premise in the passage into a logical flowchart!
Overall, arguments are structured into….
background info –> premise —-> Sub-conclusion —->MainConclusion/argument
If you cannot fit one statement into a component.then you are likely to miss that question!!!
When i am confused between 2 statements and which is the main conclusion …
Or when i am confused about which out if 2 statements the premise is directly supporting (asper the premise seems tomsupport the 2) …..
i do what?
i use the conclusion test.
I take the 2 contenders and place Because {statement 1} ….Therefore {Statemnt 2}
then i reverse it.
the statement that makes more sense after therefore is the - main conclusion…while the one after since - sub conclusion
when a premise apears to equally support two distinct statement, suspect “sub-concclusion vs main conclusion”
when yous see this question stem
Which of the following, if discovered, would most help in deciding which hypothesis is correct?
think…..
The presence of what will help in deciding which hypothesis is correct (strong support for one and weaken the other)
Evaluate the argument
When i see the ffg word in Gmat question stem or answer choice….
Qualify
what does it mean?
According to Oxford, the meaning of ‘qualify’ is ‘make (a statement or assertion) less absolute; add reservations to’. So, if you say that “XYZ is the best country”, qualifying your statement would mean adding exceptions or restrictions to this statement. A few examples of qualifying this statement would be: “XYZ is the best in terms of educational standards”, “XYZ is the best if we do not include Switzerland and Poland in our consideration”, or “XYZ is the best except in October and November”.
When i see this phrase…
“offers additional evidence for the correctness of a claim”
what does it mean?
it means ….offers evidence in support of a claim.
it does not mean qualify or restrict
Whenever the author/people in a passage make a
Hypothesis
Possible assumptions could be…?
Also, look our for…?
- Causal claim- assuming there are no alternative explanation to the observed events in the premise
- Non-causal claim (observatory, explanatory)- assuming there are no alternative explanations to the observed events in the premise
when you see a hypothesis, look out for - CORRELATION, SEQUENCIMNG, CO-OCCURENCE in the premise to hint that a causal/explanatory claim is being made
T/F?
When evaluating an argument, I can shift/adjust my assumtions as i read the answer choices
FALSE!!
You need to have invested time in understanding how the argument was constructed and the core assumption/logical gap before even looking at the answer choice.
Without pin -point precision you are likely to miss the question especially if its a hard level question!
