Necessary Assumption Forum

[meandme]

I know that best technique to use is the negation technique. I was wondering could I look at an assumption questions like a weaken question? The answer that weakens (when negated) the stim is right. Oh and I am also have one heck of time negating these answers and they are taking a lot of time. Any way I can get down to 2 answers. I mean is there another way save some time? I am getting my ass kicked with theses necessary assumption questions and I haven't even looked at the sufficient yet. Any help is appreciated guys. God bless.

[flem]

That's precisely the recommendation from PowerScore and the approach that I have always used.

[Mr. Pancakes]

I know that best technique to use is the negation technique. I was wondering could I look at an assumption questions like a weaken question? The answer that weakens (when negated) the stim is right. Oh and I am also have one heck of time negating these answers and they are taking a lot of time. Any way I can get down to 2 answers. I mean is there another way save some time? I am getting my ass kicked with theses necessary assumption questions and I haven't even looked at the sufficient yet. Any help is appreciated guys. God bless.

As you go through the answers ask yourself "is this true?". They answer is true because the argument will state this or lead you there. The answers are usually rewordings of the argument but never restatements.

[kaiser]

I know that best technique to use is the negation technique. I was wondering could I look at an assumption questions like a weaken question? The answer that weakens (when negated) the stim is right. Oh and I am also have one heck of time negating these answers and they are taking a lot of time. Any way I can get down to 2 answers. I mean is there another way save some time? I am getting my ass kicked with theses necessary assumption questions and I haven't even looked at the sufficient yet. Any help is appreciated guys. God bless.

As you go through the answers ask yourself "is this true?". They answer is true because the argument will state this or lead you there. The answers are usually rewordings of the argument but never restatements.

I think a better question to ask yourself is "Does this premise absolutely have to be a part of the argument for the conclusion to make sense?" Always remember what you are trying to find in a necessary assumption question: A premise that solely allows the argument to keep its head above water (i.e. without the necessary assumption, the argument drowns). Always clearly tell yourself what you are trying to find. The more explicit you are, the easier it will be to pinpoint the right choice.

The argument does not "lead" to the answer choice in a necessary assumption question. In fact, it is the answer choice that helps "lead" to the stated conclusion (since the correct answer in a necessary assumption question will simply be a necessary premise leading toward an explicit conclusion). Again, while this seems like needless semantics, I think it really helps to be abundantly clear.

The answer in a necessary assumption cannot be a rewording of something. By definition, if the premise is being assumed, that means the premise is not explicitly stated. Thats why you have to search for it among the answer choices, and make the assumption explicit. So not only will it not be a rewording or restatement of something in the argument, but it will be something entire unsaid and implicit.

[meandme]

Thank you tfleming09 and Mr. Pancakes. Mr. Pancakes would please explain by what you mean.

[kaiser]

And to OP: I typically don't apply the negation technique unless I am down to just a few choices. Usually, just asking the one key question to myself is good enough to knock off a few choices without the need to waste time negating. That key question is this: Is this premise absolutely, 100% necessary for this argument to make any sense at all?

As I said in another post, the more blatantly explicit you are in phrasing these questions to yourself, the easier it is to judge whether or not an answer fits the bill. Only when I'm down to a 50/50 guess do I start negating.

[Mr. Pancakes]

Thank you tfleming09 and Mr. Pancakes. Mr. Pancakes would please explain by what you mean.

when I said "is this true?" I meant does this answer need to be true. Also, the correct answers usually are a way of wording the argument in a way that clarifies it. If an answer restates a premise or the conclusion then it is not the answer.

In a way I think the guy above and I are arguing about semantics, but I think the way I ask myself this is what works for me. do what helps you get there.

[Lyov Myshkin]

And to OP: I typically don't apply the negation technique unless I am down to just a few choices.

+1 since the time expenditure otherwise may be too great.

Thank you tfleming09 and Mr. Pancakes. Mr. Pancakes would please explain by what you mean.

Actually, I think I know what he means, so I'll I think I'll take a stab at it. Necessary assumptions are, in my eyes, variants of 'must be true' questions. It's a weird thought, but please don't dismiss it right away and instead consider the meaning of the term 'necessary'.

LSATBlog has a decent article about it here:

http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/ne ... tions.html

[princeR]

And to OP: I typically don't apply the negation technique unless I am down to just a few choices.

+1 since the time expenditure otherwise may be too great.

Thank you tfleming09 and Mr. Pancakes. Mr. Pancakes would please explain by what you mean.

Actually, I think I know what he means, so I'll I think I'll take a stab at it. Necessary assumptions are, in my eyes, variants of 'must be true' questions. It's a weird thought, but please don't dismiss it right away and instead consider the meaning of the term 'necessary'.

LSATBlog has a decent article about it here:

http://lsatblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/ne ... tions.html

Hmmm, thanks for the link. I havn't really thought of them as "Must be true" necessarily, but I like that line of thinking. I am gonna go back and look at some old assumption questions and see how it feels to think of them like that. Thanks!

[bp shinners]

And to OP: I typically don't apply the negation technique unless I am down to just a few choices.

+1 since the time expenditure otherwise may be too great.

Agreed.

The necessary assumption usually (not always) has to do with the flaw. My technique for them (at least, the technique I teach that I think will help the most students) is to find the flaw in the argument. Then, find the answer choices that, in any way, deal with where that gap in the argument is. Then, negate those answer choices to find the one that kicks the third leg out from under the stool.