Quick Tip

Weakening Questions

If you’re down to two answer choices on a weakening question, remember: there is only one answer choice that truly weakens the argument!

If you’re thinking, “Which one weakens more?” you’re assuming that both answer choices weaken, when that’s not the case. What you should be asking instead is, “Which one doesn’t weaken?” This lets you more easily catch the assumptions you were making so you can resolve the issues in your reasoning and get the question correct. This also applies for strengthening questions. 

Discussion

How to Classify Your Errors

Last week, I did a webinar on using the 7Sage score report to diagnose your errors. You can find a link to the webinar here. Here’s a more in-depth article on one of the topics discussed in that webinar—error classification.

There are four types of errors in logical reasoning:

  1. Reading Error


    A reading error is when you misunderstand a word or phrase. Was it a tricky grammatical concept that caught you off guard, like a comparative statement? Or was it a word we didn’t understand?

    For these types of errors, it’s easy to say, “Well, I just misread, so nothing can be done here.” But I’d disagree! Because you misread, there is a bad habit in your workflow that subconsciously made you misread in the first place. Your goal is to become more sensitive to the material that made you misread. To do so, write your own comparative statements that are similar to what you misread so you can become familiar with the intricacies of that particular statement. For example, let’s consider this comparative statement:

    A study of 527 aeronautical engineers shows that those who eat lunch at their desks are more likely to be seen by their managers as hardworking, dedicated, and concerned than are those who do not. 

    Let’s say you misunderstood what “those who do not” was referring to. After studying the sentence, you realize it’s just a short handed version of saying “those engineers who do not eat lunch at their desks”.

    So, to practice, come up with your own sentences with “those who do not.” Here’s one: 

    Friends that decide to spend time together on the weekends will be more likely to become lifelong friends than those who do not. Here, the thing that “those who do not” is referring to is “those friends who do not spend time time together on the weekends”. 

  2. Logical Reasoning Error


    A logical reasoning error occurs when you misunderstand formal logic, whether that be conditional reasoning, causation, identifying assumptions, etc.

    To get better at the skill you have trouble with, go back to the 7Sage core curriculum to look at the specific chapter that addresses the logic you’re having trouble with. You do the same thing as the error above—drilling and practicing—but instead of practicing grammar, you’re practicing logical reasoning.

  1. Question Type Process Error
    A question type process error is a misunderstanding of what type of question you are doing. Let’s say you understand the argument, but you’re looking for something that will strengthen the argument instead of looking for something that will make the argument valid (very different things!). For example, consider this argument: 

    This study suggests eating a big breakfast is beneficial for digestion. Therefore, if you want to improve your digestion, you should eat a big breakfast. 

    Something that would strengthen the argument would be: another study has confirmed the study’s findings. Something that would make the argument valid would be: The study’s suggestions are correct. If you’re doing a strengthening question, both of these choices would work. But if you’re doing a sufficient assumption question, only one will! The one that makes the argument valid. So it’s extremely important to know what you’re being asked.

  2. Test-Taking Error
    A test-taking error is an action that you took that wasn’t efficient during timed conditions. But what is considered efficient? To help students gauge whether or not an action is worth the risk, I make sure they understand what their goal is: to get as many questions correct as possible. You only have 35 minutes to answer all the questions. So an error would be spending 4 minutes on a question (even to get it right), when you could have possibly skipped that question to get 2 questions correct instead.

Classifying errors allows you to know what to study to get the best results. Work smarter, not harder! To get better at diagnosing your errors, check out my webinar covering error diagnosis here.

Click Here to Check Out the Webinar