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It seems to me that every single time I go through these practice tests, I'm getting the SAME question types wrong every time-- assumption and conclusion (which conclusion follows logically...). I have gone through the PS bible but am still having a tremendous amount of trouble figuring these problems out. Any suggestions on making it easier? Thanks!

I am in the same boat. So, any help on this matter would be great!

What has been working wonders for me lately is just asking yourself: "can the conclusion be proven by the premises?". After I ask this question, I usually see some sort of gap in the argument.

The gap, or answer choice, can be sometimes be a connecting statement. In other cases, if it is a causal conclusion, then it must be something that strengthens the conclusion.

jonstar wrote:What has been working wonders for me lately is just asking yourself: "can the conclusion be proven by the premises?". After I ask this question, I usually see some sort of gap in the argument.

The gap, or answer choice, can be sometimes be a connecting statement. In other cases, if it is a causal conclusion, then it must be something that strengthens the conclusion.

+1. i think this is great advice.

hkfortytwo wrote:

jonstar wrote:What has been working wonders for me lately is just asking yourself: "can the conclusion be proven by the premises?". After I ask this question, I usually see some sort of gap in the argument.

The gap, or answer choice, can be sometimes be a connecting statement. In other cases, if it is a causal conclusion, then it must be something that strengthens the conclusion.

+1. i think this is great advice.

+2. I think this advice is greater than however great you think this advice is.

coolkatz321 wrote:It seems to me that every single time I go through these practice tests, I'm getting the SAME question types wrong every time-- assumption and conclusion (which conclusion follows logically...). I have gone through the PS bible but am still having a tremendous amount of trouble figuring these problems out. Any suggestions on making it easier? Thanks!

Get kaplans big orange bok or their mastery book, and go to the assumption/conclusion section and work out the problems one at a time, checking the explanaitons before you move on to the next question.

I just took another practice test tonight... rushed through the first section and did poorly (I mean REALLY bad), but on the last section which was also reasoning I only got -4 (which is good for me). None of them were assumption questions, and I used the method you guys suggested. Hopefully it carries over to future tests. Thanks!

If you worked through the PS bible, you should have encountered the negation rule for assumption questions. Review it. I find it really helpful in trying to confirm whether a choice I think is correct really is. Basically, if you negate the assumption that it offers, can the conclusion still be logically made? If it can, the assumption isn't necessary- cross it off. If the negation prevents the conclusion from being made, you've found your winner.

EX-

Smart people can get whatever job they want. John goes to Harvard. Therefore, John can get whatever job he wants.

What is the necessary assumption?

A) All Harvard students are smart.

Negate that phrase. The opposite of "all" is "not all". If we apply the negation, and take it as a premise that not all Harvard students are smart, John's being a Harvard student doesn't guarantee his being smart. The conclusion that he can get whatever job he wants cannot then be reached. That guarantees that (A) is a necessary assumption.

Both of these questions generally want a weaker modality, with some exceptions of course. Maybe you choose answers that are too strong?