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PSA - find or complete the application

(PSAa)

Stems that tell us there will be a general rule or principle in the stimulus, and ask us which answer choice illustrates or conforms to that rule.

Avg. 0.35 per section

“Which one of the following judgments most closely conforms to the principle above?”

14%
17%
32%
19%
19%

Avg. difficulty: 3.1

Correct answer criteria

  • An argument or situation that matches one of the principles in the stimulus.

Key tactics

  • Understand the principle in the stimulus
  • Often the principle will involve conditional logic. Be ready to break down the principle into "if" and "then"
  • You may need to think about the contrapositive of the principle

Answer choice tips

  • Common wrong answers will involve a reversal of the conditional logic
  • If you're stuck, make sure to identify the answer's conclusion and premises, and then see whether each part of the argument fits the principle. The conclusion should match up to the "then" part and the premises should match up to the "if" part

Looking for more?

7Sage offers a full course of video lessons that cover each question type in depth, targeted drills, and performance analytics.

Logical reasoning question types

Alternate explanation Analogy (LR) Argument part Bad authority Causal chain Causal mechanism Causal reasoning Circular reasoning Conditional reasoning Confusing sufficiency and necessity Correlation Diagram? Directionally wrong Eliminating options Equivocation Evaluate Except (LR) Failed alternate explanation False dichotomy Fighting the hypothetical Fill in the blank Flaw or descriptive weakening Illusory inconsistency Inference Internal contradiction Irrelevant corroboration Kick it up Lack of support v. false conclusion Link assumption Main conclusion or main point Math Mental state v. reality Method of reasoning or descriptive Miscellaneous (LR) Misdirected response Most strongly supported Must be false Must be true Necessary assumption Parallel flawed method of reasoning Parallel method of reasoning Part v. whole Phenomenon-hypothesis (LR) Plausibility Point at issue: agree Point at issue: disagree Principle PSA - find or complete the application PSA - find the rule Quantifier Relative v. absolute Resolve reconcile or explain Rule-application Sampling Source attack Strengthen Sufficient assumption Time Unwarranted assumption Value judgment Weaken Weighing factors

Reading comprehension question types

Analogy (RC) Application Art Author’s attitude Author’s perspective Comparative Critique or debate Describe approach Describe organization Describe relationship Except (RC) Humanities Implied Law Logical continuation Main point Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Miscellaneous (RC) Other’s perspective Phenomenon-hypothesis (RC) Principle or generalization Problem-analysis Purpose in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Purpose of paragraph Purpose of passage Science Single position Spotlight Stated Structure WSE (RC)

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