Assumption Questions

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• 2 Likes

  blah170blah Alum Inactive ⭐

  November 2014 3545 karma

  For SA questions, we know that the correct answer choice is going to bridge the gap between premise and conclusion, and therefore, it needs to be airtight (I always note that the correct answer choice will be strong).
  
  When I read the question stem and I know it's a SA question, I anticipate either term or scope shifts. Recognizing what I have to do upfront allows me to better parse through the fluff in the stimulus. I don't know if this is recommended but I always do two read-throughs and my first read-through is dedicated to ignoring everything until I ID the conclusion and I immediately write it down. The next thing I do is try to find the main premise (typically there will be 1/2) that is used to substantiate the conclusion. After that, I remember that I'm looking for term or scope shifts -- what word is used in the conclusion that isn't mentioned in the premise? Or, one that I used to fall for, can we really make predictions about the present (conclusion) based on what happened in the past (1975)? Very often SA will have term shifts that will let you hone in on the missing premise.
  
  If it helps you, you can diagram them out as well. I personally hate diagramming because I get caught up in the conditional logic, which takes time away from really engaging with the argument but to each his own.
  
  TL;DR: finding the conclusion and main premise is most important step. If you can be absolutely confident and definitely say "this is what the argument is trying to say," the wrong answer choices will seem painfully obvious because they will seem grossly out of scope and unrelated to the main assumption.
  
• harrismegan Member

  November 2014 2074 karma

  @jlee0615 could you maybe illustrate with an example?
• olennkka Alum Member

  November 2014 48 karma

  Hey @jlee0615, you're SA explanation is really helpful. I struggle with these questions and find that diagramming distracts me and I lose sense of all intuition. I'm relieved to see it's not just me, and that diagramming is not absolutely necessary. I'm going to approach these questions your way from now on, and only diagram if I'm truly stuck.
  
  Do you have any recommendations on how to approach RA questions?
• 2 Likes

  ddakjiking Inactive ⭐

  November 2014 2116 karma

  Here's one little tip for the assumption questions. If there's a term(s) introduced in the conclusion and is nowhere mentioned in the premises, you can expect the correct answer to include that term because you are trying to bridge the gap.
• 1 Like

  joegotbored-1 Alum Member

  November 2014 802 karma

  Here's a link to a "cheat sheet" that I and a few other students posted to before September. There is some good stuff in there..including NA/SA. Might be helpful to you all too.
  http://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/comment/5005
• 1 Like

  BD Mills Alum Member

  November 2014 35 karma

  These seem like great tips. I know for me, I do exactly that. The goal here is Validity (SAs make it valid, NAs are required for it). The validity of the argument ultimately depends upon the relationship between the premise and conclusion, and therefore the first step should be identifying those key items. If it helps, look for the context indicator (yet, however), which usually excludes the fluff from the argument. What follows is often P1/P2 and C, not necessarily in that order. Like JLee said, from there you just look for whatever doesn't connect the Ps and C; often it is a term or scope shift. After a few second of prephasing, scan for what you anticipated.
  
  Note, in the case of Assumptions, sometimes (even often) the assumption is not what you had anticipated as there are infinite assumptions associated with any argument, and the likelihood of you guessing the right one is nowhere near certain. If you cannot find what you had anticipated, just apply the method backward; look at each AC and see if that bridges (term or scope) the Ps and Cs together.
  
  **NAs are required for validity, but do not necessarily entail validity
  
  **SAs are sufficient for validity, but are not necessarily required for it
  **PSAs are just SAs worded differently.
  **Strengthening Qs are just a weaker form of SAs
  
  **Weakening Qs are just the opposite of Strengthening