Sufficient Assumption Questions

ariana.camarena98

Hello!

I've been studying for the LSAT for quite some time now. I took a course last summer and am still having trouble with sufficient assumption questions. I know the videos say that these are freebies once understood but I have yet to get there! Does anyone have any tips? I've done so many problem sets of solely SA questions along with watching the videos but when it comes to trying them myself I seem to get stuck.

Platinum

Hello.

A sufficient assumption proves the conclusion to be 100% true. Therefore, the answer you choose has to prove the conclusion 100% true.

Try finding the most powerful answer that proves the conclusion to be 100% true.

Sufficient Assumption (SA) argument example:

Premise 1: There is strawberry cake on the table.
Premise 2: Joanne very much enjoys strawberry cake.
Conclusion: The strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes.

There is a gap that we must fill in to prove that the conclusion is 100% true. (The strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes).

Looking at the argument we can seem a bit confused because the argument includes information about strawberry cake and that Joanne very much enjoys strawberry cake, but then concludes that the strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes. If you notice, with this specific question the strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes is not part of the premises and is not mentioned in the premises. The premises aren’t proving the conclusion to be 100% true as the initial argument stands. Our job is to fill in that gap and prove the conclusion to be 100% true.

The credited answer to this sufficient assumption question would include, for example, an answer choice such as one of the following three:

*Joanne always eats everything she enjoys within 4 minutes.
*Every single thing on the table will disappear in 5 minutes.
*The strawberry cake monster will take the cake from the table in one minute.

The sufficient assumptions don’t have to be true when filling in the gap, but they are powerful and they prove the conclusion to be 100% true. By powerful, I mean look and the conceptual ideas, the modality and strength of the wording also used showing a powerful answer, for example, words included in the SA choice including must, is/are, do/does, always, necessary, etcetera, also help make the concept powerful and are usually good candidates for your choices when eliminating wrong answers.

Examples with the sufficient assumption:

Premise 1: There is strawberry cake on the table.
Premise 2: Joanne very much enjoys strawberry cake.
* Joanne always eats everything she enjoys within 4 minutes. (SA)
Conclusion: The strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes.

Premise 1: There is strawberry cake on the table.
Premise 2: Joanne very much enjoys strawberry cake.
*Every single thing on the table will disappear in 5 minutes. (SA)
Conclusion: The strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes.

Premise 1: There is strawberry cake on the table.
Premise 2: Joanne very much enjoys strawberry cake.
*The strawberry cake monster will take the cake from the table in one minute.(SA)
Conclusion: The strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes.

For this argument example, each of the above sufficient assumption examples prove that the strawberry cake will disappear within 5 minutes.

Also, take the time to understand conditional statements and Lawgic, just in case you have to use a diagram.

I hope this post helps. You can do it!

Rowe2020

SA questions tend to have an answer that is "powerful" and "NA" tend to be more boring