CHAPTER 10: METHOD OF REASONING AND FLAW IN THE REASONING QUESTIONS

• Method of reasoning questions require you to select the answer choice that best describes the method used by the author to make the argument.

• Structurally, Method of Reasoning questions are simply abstract Must be True questions: instead of identifying the facts of the argument, you must identify the logical organisation of the argument

• Method of Reasoning questions feature the following information structure:

  • You can use only the information in the stimulus to prove the correct answer choice

  • Any answer choice that describes an element or a situation that does not occur in the stimulus is incorrect

• The stimulus can contain valid or flawed reasoning

Question stem format

• Method of Reasoning question stems use a variety of formats, but in each case the stem refers to the method, technique, strategy, or process used by the author while making the argument.

• Question stem examples:

  • "The method of the argument is to"

  • "The argument proceeds by"

  • "The argument derives its conclusion by"

  • "Which of the following describes the technique of reasoning used above”

  • “Which of the following is an argumentative strategy employed in the argument?”

  • "The argument employs which one of the following reasoning techniques?"

• Flaw in the reasoning questions are exactly the same as Method of Reasoning questions with the exception that the question stem indicates that the reasoning in the stimulus is flawed

• You can identify the error of reasoning in the stimulus before proceeding with the answer choices.

• Test makers will use phrases such as “reasoning is flawed” and “the argument is vulnerable” or synonymous phrases.

  • Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the argument’s reasoning?

  • The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument..

  • The reasoning above is flawed because it fails to recognise that..

  • A questionable aspect of the reasoning above is that it..

• The correct answer will identify the error in the author’s reasoning and then describe the error in general terms.

• Beware of the answers that describe a portion of the stimulus but fail to identify the error in the reasoning

• The questions involve abstract thinking, which focusses on the form of the argument instead of concrete facts of the argument. The answer choices will describe the argument in abstract terms.

• You must think about the structure of the argument before examining the answer choices. However, do not expect to see your exact prephrase as the answer.

• Make a general, abstract prephrase of what occurred in the argument and then rigorously examine each answer choice to see if the test makers have created an answer that paraphrases your prephrase.

You can use the principle behind the fact test to destroy incorrect answers. The fact test works as follows:

• If an answer choice describes an event that did not occur in the stimulus, then that answer is incorrect.

• If you cannot identify part of an answer as having occurred in the stimulus, that answer is incorrect

• If answers contain a description of something that happened in the argument, but that also contain additional things that did not occur, then the answer is wrong

Incorrect answers in Method and Flaw questions

• “New Element Answers”

  • An answer that describes something that did not occur or describes an element new to the argument cannot be correct.

• “Half right, half wrong answers”

  • Half wrong equals all wrong, and these answers are always incorrect

• “Exaggerated Answers”

  • Take a situation from the stimulus and stretch that situation to make an extreme statement that is not supported by the stimulus

  • Just because an answer choice contains extreme language does not mean that the answer is incorrect

• “The opposite answer”

  • Provides an answer that is exactly the opposite of correct

• “The reverse answer”

  • The Reverse Answer is attractive because it contains familiar elements from the stimulus, but reverses them in the answer

An argument is the sum of the premises and conclusion. If the conclusion is restated, but the premise is not restated, in the answer choice, then the answer is incorrect

Method of Reasoning - Bolded Argument Part Questions (Method-AP questions)

• In Method-AP questions, the question stem cites a specific portion or portions of the stimulus and then asks you to identify the role the cited portion plays in the structure of the argument or about the role the two portions play in relation to each other.

• Question stem examples:

  • The claim that inventors sometimes serve as their own engineers plays which of the following roles in the argument?

  • The statement “thinking machines closely modelled on the brain are also likely to fail serves which one of the following roles in Yang’s argument?”

  • In the argument above, the two boldface portions play which of the following roles?

• Stimuli that accompany Method-AP questions tend to be more complex than the average GMAT stimulus.

• Some problems feature two conclusions (one main conclusion, other is a subsidiary conclusion), and often the stimulus includes two different viewpoints or use of counterpremises.

• The ability to identify argument parts using indicator words is important

• The order in which the conclusion and premises are presented is not relevant to the logical validity of the argument. Regardless, a large number of Method-AP problems feature the traditional formation with the conclusion at the end of the argument.

• If you do not see the main conclusion at the end of a Method-AP problem, be prepared to answer a question about a part of the argument other than the conclusion.

• A common wrong answer/trick used by the test makers is to create wrong answers that describe parts of the argument other than the part named in the question stem.

• These answers are particularly attractive because they do describe a part of the argument, just not the part referenced in the question stem.

• Before proceeding to the answer choices, make sure you know exactly what part of the argument you are being asked about.

CHAPTER REVIEW

• Method of Reasoning Questions require you to select the answer choice that best describes the method used by the author to make the argument.

• Structurally, they are simply abstract Must Be True questions: instead of identifying the facts of the argument, you must identify the logical organisation of the argument.

• The stimulus for a Method Reasoning question will contain an argument, and the argument can contain either valid or invalid reasoning.

• Flaw in the reasoning questions are exactly the same as Method of Reasoning questions with the important exception that the question stem indicates that the reasoning in the stimulus is flawed.

• As part of the First Family of Questions, Method and Flaw questions feature the following information structure:

  • You can use only the information in the stimulus to prove the correct answer choice

  • Any answer choice that describes information or a situation that does not occur in the stimulus is incorrect

• You must watch for the presence of the premise and conclusion indicators.

• Use the fact test to eliminate answers in Method and Flaw questions:

  • If an answer choice describes an event that did not occur in the stimulus, then that answer is incorrect

• Several types of incorrect answers regularly appear in Method and Flaw questions:

  • “New” element answers

  • Half right, half wrong answers

  • Exaggerated answers

  • The Opposite Answer

  • The Reverse Answer

• Argument Part (AP) questions are a specific subset of Method of Reasoning questions.

• In Method-AP questions, the question stem cites a specific portion of the stimulus and then asks you to identify the role that the cited portion plays in the structure of the argument or alternately, the stem cites two portions of the stimulus and about the role the two portions play in relation to each other

• The stimuli that accompany Method-AP questions tend to be more complex than the average GMAT stimulus

• One trick used by the test makers in Method-AP questions is to create wrong answers that describe part of the argument other than the part named in the question stem