Illusory inconsistency

(IlluInc)

Answer is attractive because it seems to (but doesn't actually) contradict the premises or conclusion.

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Key tactics

  • Illusory inconsistency is when an answer choice feints an attack on the premises or conclusion, not actually landing a blow because it's actually entirely consistent with the claim. If correlation is present, the answer choice is often merely an outlier datapoint, which is actually entirely consistent with the correlation.
  • For example, when presented with the idea that daily smokers suffer higher rates of lung cancer, the single data point "my grandfather was a daily smoker and he never got cancer" may seem to undermine the claim, but in fact all general claims about trends in data sets include occasional outliers. One person having a lucky grandpa does not undermine the broader correlation.

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Logical reasoning question types

Argument part Evaluate Fill in the blank Flaw or descriptive weakening Inference Main conclusion or main point Method of reasoning or descriptive Most strongly supported Must be false Must be true Necessary assumption Parallel flawed method of reasoning Parallel method of reasoning Point at issue: agree Point at issue: disagree Principle PSA - find or complete the application PSA - find the rule Resolve reconcile or explain Strengthen Sufficient assumption Weaken

Reading comprehension question types

Analogy (RC) Application Author’s attitude Author’s perspective Describe approach Describe organization Describe relationship Implied Logical continuation Main point Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Other’s perspective Principle or generalization Purpose in context (of word, phrase, or idea) Purpose of paragraph Purpose of passage Stated Structure WSE (RC)

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