It is such a great insight to be able to see almost all question similarly.
Although JYs explanation made a lot of sense to me, it wasn’t very intuitive. To me, it makes more intuitive sense to approach a RRE question as a PSA or strengthening question, because the point of these questions are to find and bridge a big gap, but not to sufficiently bridge the gap, or to necessarily bridge the gap, and instead just to bridge the gap such that it allows for a strong CBT scenario or valid conclusion.
For me, in terms of argument structures, RRE stimuli have no support, but it does have premises in addition to conclusions and the answers are supports. The premises seemingly weakens the conclusion. I simply approach the answers like PSA, or strengthening answers that accounts for the premise while supporting the conclusion.
Alternatively, I treat RRE questions as NA questions that bridge the gap better, or if I negate the answer choices, it destroys the conclusion less strongly.
For example, in the easy question, the bill increasing would be the conclusion, and the premise would be the new heater. The answer choice should support the validity of the conclusion while accounting for the premise.
I don’t think I explained myself very well. This is harder than I thought. Hope this alternate perspective helps someone.
@Bamboosprout
After listening to the podcast, I drilled RRE questions using both the Weakening method and the Strengthening method. The strengthening method was beneficial in that I didn't need to negate the last sentence (I struggled less with holding the new conclusion in my head), but I personally found the weakening method more helpful in locating the gap of the transformed argument format of the RRE stimulus. Strengthening questions and weakening questions require a similar process in that in both cases, you need to detect the gap/flaw of the argument and choose an AC that strengthens or weakens that gap. So I think either way is okay. For me, the weakening method has so far allowed me to see that gap more clearly. But I am open to choosing whichever mode that allows me to detect the assumptions that have led to the apparent "puzzle" or "paradox".
Ah, ok. I see that the weakening method can be more clear, and that it makes sense that different people will do it differently. Like JY says, their core logic in all these questions are the same, at the end of the day, which method works best just depends on the individual's reasoning style.
As a tangent, if you want to be stronger at identifying the flaw/gap, I recommend doing an intensive session of Flaw questions (maybe 50-100 questions), and documenting a list of common flaw archetypes. The LSAT Trainer also does a good job of describing a common flaw archetypes, and I highly recommend going through the first few chapters. Apologies for the unsolicited advice. Hope it can help.
Thank you for uploading Episode 14! For some reason, I find RRE questions less daunting than weakening question types. I look forward to listening to this new podcast! Time to hit the play button! #ilove7sage
Ah, ok. I see that the weakening method can be more clear, and that it makes sense that different people will do it differently. Like JY says, their core logic in all these questions are the same, at the end of the day, which method works best just depends on the individual's reasoning style.
As a tangent, if you want to be stronger at identifying the flaw/gap, I recommend doing an intensive session of Flaw questions (maybe 50-100 questions), and documenting a list of common flaw archetypes. The LSAT Trainer also does a good job of describing a common flaw archetypes, and I highly recommend going through the first few chapters. Apologies for the unsolicited advice. Hope it can help.
So do the 50-100 questions in one sitting? Just curious.
Comments
Thank you for the great episode!!!
RRE has long been my weak point, but this new framework of approaching RRE is super helpful and intuitive!
Looking forward to more episodes!
It is such a great insight to be able to see almost all question similarly.
Although JYs explanation made a lot of sense to me, it wasn’t very intuitive. To me, it makes more intuitive sense to approach a RRE question as a PSA or strengthening question, because the point of these questions are to find and bridge a big gap, but not to sufficiently bridge the gap, or to necessarily bridge the gap, and instead just to bridge the gap such that it allows for a strong CBT scenario or valid conclusion.
For me, in terms of argument structures, RRE stimuli have no support, but it does have premises in addition to conclusions and the answers are supports. The premises seemingly weakens the conclusion. I simply approach the answers like PSA, or strengthening answers that accounts for the premise while supporting the conclusion.
Alternatively, I treat RRE questions as NA questions that bridge the gap better, or if I negate the answer choices, it destroys the conclusion less strongly.
For example, in the easy question, the bill increasing would be the conclusion, and the premise would be the new heater. The answer choice should support the validity of the conclusion while accounting for the premise.
I don’t think I explained myself very well. This is harder than I thought. Hope this alternate perspective helps someone.
@Bamboosprout
After listening to the podcast, I drilled RRE questions using both the Weakening method and the Strengthening method. The strengthening method was beneficial in that I didn't need to negate the last sentence (I struggled less with holding the new conclusion in my head), but I personally found the weakening method more helpful in locating the gap of the transformed argument format of the RRE stimulus. Strengthening questions and weakening questions require a similar process in that in both cases, you need to detect the gap/flaw of the argument and choose an AC that strengthens or weakens that gap. So I think either way is okay. For me, the weakening method has so far allowed me to see that gap more clearly. But I am open to choosing whichever mode that allows me to detect the assumptions that have led to the apparent "puzzle" or "paradox".
Ah, ok. I see that the weakening method can be more clear, and that it makes sense that different people will do it differently. Like JY says, their core logic in all these questions are the same, at the end of the day, which method works best just depends on the individual's reasoning style.
As a tangent, if you want to be stronger at identifying the flaw/gap, I recommend doing an intensive session of Flaw questions (maybe 50-100 questions), and documenting a list of common flaw archetypes. The LSAT Trainer also does a good job of describing a common flaw archetypes, and I highly recommend going through the first few chapters. Apologies for the unsolicited advice. Hope it can help.
@Bamboosprout
Totally! Thank you for the advice. It is timely because I just started reviewing flaw types yesterday.
Thank you for uploading Episode 14! For some reason, I find RRE questions less daunting than weakening question types. I look forward to listening to this new podcast! Time to hit the play button! #ilove7sage
So do the 50-100 questions in one sitting? Just curious.
Maybe over the course of a weekend? Depends on your definition of "one sitting". Hahaha
Ha ha!
How did you do it? One day? or spread among multiple days? I am just trying to gauge your process.
Multiple days, BRing, and taking notes of ones I couldn't get to review them later. Basically fool proofing, but for LR.