Find the Conclusion Flashcards
(11 cards)
Finding the Conclusion: Overview
- An argument’s conclusion must be closely connected to its premises, assumptions, and any intermediary conclusions that may be present.
- The conclusion cannot be based upon outside information that was never mentioned or implied
“Therefore” Test
- Simply add a “therefore” to the end of an argument. Whatever follows the “therefore” must be the logical conclusion of the argument.
- In addition, ask yourself, “Does this answer follow logically from the statements, and is it the best possible conclusion to the argument?”
Find the Conclusion: Question Stem
The fact that the word “conclusion” appears in a question stem doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re dealing with a Find the Conclusion question. Also, the fact that the word “conclusion” fails to appear doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re not dealing with a Find the Conclusion question.
- Strengthen the Argument: “Which of the following best supports the conclusion above?”
- Find the Conclusion: “Which of the following hypotheses is most strongly supported by the statements above?”
- “Hypothesis” and “conclusion” are interchangeable in CR questions.
Find the Conclusion vs. Inference:
Main Differences
- Truth: The correct answers to Inference questions have to be true given what the stimuli say, while the correct answers to Find the Conclusion questions don’t necessarily have to be true given what the statements say.
- Degree of Support: The correct answer to an Inference question can be any inference that is clearly supported by any part, even just a part of a sentence, of the stimulus, while the correct answer to a Find the Conclusion question will be a main conclusion that follows logically from the entire stimulus.
- Assumptions: The correct answer to an Inference question can’t depend on any assumptions, because assumptions are not necessarily true, and the correct answer to an Inference question must be true given what is said in the stimulus.
Find the Conclusion vs. Inference:
Differences in Question Stem
Inference → “from” the statements
- “If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions can be properly drawn?” (properly drawn = strict tone)
- “If the statements above are all true, which of the following can be properly inferred on the basis of them?”
Find the Conclusion → “by” the statements (subtle difference vs. Strengthen)
- “If the statements above are true, which of the following is most strongly supported by them?”
Find the Conclusion:
Tips to avoid choosing incorrect answers
You have to notice:
- Key details
- Extent of what statements say
- Nature of what the statements say
- Subject matter of the info provided by the statements
Find the Conclusion Incorrect Answer:
1) Outside Info
In a Find the Conclusion question, an answer that depends on outside info will be incorrect.
Find the Conclusion Incorrect Answer:
2) Goes Too Far
- In Find the Conclusion questions, some answer choices are incorrect because what they say extends past what is actually supported by the passages.
- Be careful with language, e.g., more vs. most
Find the Conclusion Incorrect Answer:
3) Related but not Supported
Some incorrect answer choices that appear in Find the Conclusion questions state conclusions that are loosely related to the premises in the stimuli or include wording from the stimuli but are unwarranted because they don’t actually capture the meaning of what’s presented in the stimuli.
Find the Conclusion Incorrect Answer:
4) Conflicting Info
Some answer choices that appear in Find the Conclusion questions state conclusions that are supported by some of the info in the passages but are incorrect because they conflict with key details found in the passages.
Find the Conclusion Question Example
Just because a passage describes a relationship in one direction doesn’t mean that the reverse is also true.
