Condtionality answer choice in a necessary assumption Forum

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 11:01 pm

Every once N a while there are answer choices that give conditionality in assumption questions. I've never seen any that were actually correct but is there ever a time when you should take more than 2 seconds to consider it as the accredited answer?

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:23 am

Post removed.

schmelling · Post by **schmelling** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:48 am

Post removed.

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:51 am

schmelling wrote:
mornincounselor wrote:
So there are some stock answer choices which are almost never correct: the argument equivocates, or the argument uses a key phrase in two different ways, or the answer attacks a straw man, or the argument is circular.
I'm sorry MC, but this is not good advice.

Learn what these are and figure out if the argument does or does not do it. Relying on tricks such as "when you see X word it is probably not correct" is not the way to ace the LSAT. Test prep companies use these kinds of tricks and the people who rely on them are happy to have a shortcut to what most people would call an "acceptable" score, but if you're on this forum you are probably shooting for 170+, and tricks won't get you there.

Disagree. You need a deeper understanding than "cross off is circular", but understanding the likelihood of it being the right answer is pretty clutch for time. I still approach certain answers very skeptically as a first reaction.

schmelling · Post by **schmelling** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:58 am

Post removed.

Clearly · Post by **Clearly** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 4:14 am

Different strokes indeed, but realize that I'm not suggesting seeking out and memorizing answer likelihood. I'm saying the people that are really good at LR notice these things over the course of their studies, and adjust.

mornincounselor · Post by **mornincounselor** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 5:03 am

Post removed.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 10:35 am

Thanks for the advice, but I guess I'm kinda asking a point that scmelling touches on to an extant. (Even though I agree with what the overall point that you guys have made about knowing those standard wrong answers...with the awareness that the question and answer could be a little tougher and deeper)

In the rare case that it maybe the correct answer, will the stimulus give conditionality, or I guess it could simply be in the form of a standard premise-conclusion relationship?

Example:

Jordan plays basketball. He also has 6 rings. Therefore, he plays basketball with the Chicago Bulls.

What is the assumption required for this argument?

A) blah blah blah
B) yadah yadah yada
C) moving on
D) when Jordan has 6 rings, he plays for the Chicago Bulls.

Jeffort · Post by **Jeffort** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:34 pm

ltowns1 wrote:Every once N a while there are answer choices that give conditionality in assumption questions. I've never seen any that were actually correct but is there ever a time when you should take more than 2 seconds to consider it as the accredited answer?

I don't know how or where you got the idea from that the correct answers for necessary assumption questions are never or only rarely conditional relationships/premises/statements, it's just plain false.

I just scanned the LR sections from PTs 71, 72 & 73 and looked at all the NA questions and the CR for each one.

On PT 73, there are six (6)! NA questions where the correct answer (CR) expresses a conditional relationship.
On PT 72 there are two and on PT 71 there is one.

There are many many more NA questions from past PTs where the CR presents a conditional premise/relationship. They don't always contain obvious conditional language such as unless, If...then, only, only if, no, none, all, any, some, most, etc., but frequently do.

It's not uncommon for the CR to a NA question/a necessary assumption of the argument to be expressed as a conditional statement/relationship in the CR, especially in the more recent PTs. Many incorrect answers from many NA questions also present conditional relationships, so conditionality is far from being rare in NA question type answer choices.

ltowns1 · Post by **ltowns1** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 2:52 am

Jeffort wrote:
ltowns1 wrote:Every once N a while there are answer choices that give conditionality in assumption questions. I've never seen any that were actually correct but is there ever a time when you should take more than 2 seconds to consider it as the accredited answer?
I don't know how or where you got the idea from that the correct answers for necessary assumption questions are never or only rarely conditional relationships/premises/statements, it's just plain false.

I just scanned the LR sections from PTs 71, 72 & 73 and looked at all the NA questions and the CR for each one.

On PT 73, there are six (6)! NA questions where the correct answer (CR) expresses a conditional relationship.
On PT 72 there are two and on PT 71 there is one.

There are many many more NA questions from past PTs where the CR presents a conditional premise/relationship. They don't always contain obvious conditional language such as unless, If...then, only, only if, no, none, all, any, some, most, etc., but frequently do.

It's not uncommon for the CR to a NA question/a necessary assumption of the argument to be expressed as a conditional statement/relationship in the CR, especially in the more recent PTs. Many incorrect answers from many NA questions also present conditional relationships, so conditionality is far from being rare in NA question type answer choices.

I'm still in 19-28. Haven't seen one word of anything beyond pt 60. If you can find some in 19-28, or some close to that I would appreciate it.