Flaw questions on REALLY bad arguments

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• 2 Likes

  carlo.carmona Free Trial Member

  March 2017 2 karma

  I find that keeping track of the most subtle flaws becomes most important on the harder questions (14-21sh). Clearly, keeping a good mental note of the most glaring flaws is essential, but I make it a point to stay proactive about keeping every flaw in the forefront of my mind on harder questions.
• 3 Likes

  BinghamtonDave Alum Member ⭐ 🍌🍌

  March 2017 8711 karma

  You are correct in asserting that sometimes the arguments are so bad that it becomes difficult to put into words (especially as abstractly as some AC do so) what the flaw actually is. What I have found most helpful in this regard is to focus specifically on the wording and scope of the conclusion. It is in the depth or voracity of the conclusion where we will often be able to deduce precisely what the flaw is.

  Where I start in difficult flaw questions that basically veer off into logical oblivion is with the conclusion. With our conclusion in place, I then check to see precisely what the evidence says. The flaw has to be somewhere, and the places where the flaw resides are finite. Is the conclusion over inclusive of what our evidence provides us with? Is the conclusion written with certainty when our evidence is conjecture? These are types of questions I find helpful in reasoning through difficult flaw questions.
• 1 Like

  Cant Get Right Yearly + Live Member Sage ⭐ 🍌 7Sage Tutor

  March 2017 27900 karma

  Yeah, it can be really difficult to do anything with a really bad argument. I really kind of let the answer choices guide me on these. It's hard to hone in on it trying to pre-phrase, but I typically know it when I see it.
• NotMyName Alum Member Sage ⭐

  March 2017 5320 karma

  Thanks for the input ya'll!

  @BinghamtonDave I see what you are saying here. In the CC, we start out with 4+ sets of very easy Flaw questions. The flaw is so obvious in these questions that I've been answering in 40s and going -0, but haven't needed to use the sort of analysis that you describe (my brain just does it instinctively).

  But now, as the difficulty ramps up in the harder sets, I need to bring that analysis to my consciousness. Conclusions are our land markers.