LSAT Study: Intro to Arguments, Types of Conclusions, Types of Evidence, and Types of Flaws

What are the two parts of any argument?

A main conclusion and evidence

What is a main conclusion?

It expresses what the arguer is trying to get us to accept

What is evidence?

Statements provided by the arguer to prove the conclusion

What is the conclusion in the following sentence: Sarah will probably receive a job offer because she has 10 years of experience.

Sarah will probably receive a job offer

What is the evidence in the following sentence: Sarah will probably receive a job offer because she has 10 years of experience.

because she has 10 years of experience

What is an intermediate conclusion?

A claim that acts as both evidence and a conclusion. It is based on evidence that leads to another conclusion.

What is the intermediate conclusion in the following sentence: Sarah will probably receive a job offer because she has ten years of experience. That means she’ll be able to pay me back soon for the money I lent her.

Sarah will probably receive a job offer.

What is background info?

Sets the stage for situations in the question stem; however, it often complicates questions, so it is paramount to break it down into an argument and support.

What are some keywords for main conclusions?

thus, therefore, hence, it follows that, so, as a result, clearly, obviously, nevertheless, nonetheless

What are some signal words for evidence?

Because, since, after all, on the grounds that, given that, for, as shown by

What is a comparison conclusion?

It compares two elements witch each other or compares one element with itself

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: It is clear that this year’s candidate is stronger than last year’s candidate.

Comparison

What kinds of words can help you identify a comparison conlclusion?

Comparative words (better than, more useful than, worse than, etc.)

What is a causation conclusion?

When one thing directly affects another

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: Last night, I took cough medicine and today I feel much better. So that cough medicine is really effective.

Causation

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: Jonathan gets good grades without trying very hard, and his teachers have said multiple times how much they like him. The only possible way that he maintains good grades is because how much his teachers like him.

Causation

What is an assessment conclusion?

When an arguer assigns a certain subjective attribute to something

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: The flower is beautiful.

Assessment conclusion

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: The policy is very helpful

Assessment

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: The outcome will be important

Assessment

Is a scientific fact an assessment?

NO

What is a recommendation conclusion?

It asserts the best method or cause of action

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: In treating this disease, then, physicians should favor Treatment X

Recommendation

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: It’s likely that extending the warranty is the only way to gain new customers

Recommendation

What are some key words for recommendation conclusions?

ought to, should (recommendations can also be implied)

What is a prediction conclusion?

It asserts the arguer’s opinion about something that will take place in the future

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: Obviously, the tennis match will be rescheduled

Prediction

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: Our homeless population may not be reduced by next year

Prediction

Is it probable that a prediction conclusion is the main conclusion?

YES

What is a simple belief conclusion?

Any conclusion separate from the other types

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: It’s clear that the student cheated on the test

Simple belief

What kind of conclusion is the following sentence: The thief is probably somewhere in the house

Simple belief

What kinds of keywords signal a definite conclusion?

Words that indicate something is true either 0% or 100% of the time (every, all, none, never)

Will the degree of the conclusion match match the answer in match the flaw and match the structure questions?

YES

In flaw questions, what can definite conclusions indicate?

That the arguer is overlooking other possibilities in drawing that conclusion

What words signal an indefinite conclusion?

Words indicating that something isn’t necessarily 0% or 100% true (likelihood, likely, unlikely)

What are examples as evidence?

Examples that are meant to support the conclusion

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula is the best athlete in the state. After all, she won medals in 8 different Olympic sports.

Examples as evidence

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula beat last year’s decathlon state champion, so she is the best athlete in the state.

Example as evidence

What kind of evidence is what others say?

Drawing on what others say to support the conclusion

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula is the best athlete in the state. We know this because the most highly-acclaimed sports magazine has deemed her as such.

What others say

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: We know Paula is the best athlete in the state because the population voted her as such in a landslide.

What others say

What is a common flaw with argumentds using evidence from what others say?

The appeal isn’t useful or relevant. For instance, if an arguer makes a scientific argument and only cities one scientist, then there is a lot of room to attack the argument

What is using the past as evidence?

When an arguer uses the past to justify an argument, often assuming things haven’t changed since then

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula must be the best athlete in the state since she won the state tournament 1, 2, 3, and 4 years ago

Using the past

What should you ask when you see evidence using the past?

Is it possible things have changed since then, and that that past evidence isn’t relevant?

What type of evidence are analogies?

When an arguer uses two similar but unrelated situations as support

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula is the best athlete in the state because she won the most athletic awards. Look at Jude, who’s currently the Best Chef in the State because he won the most cooking awards.

Analogy

What is a common flaw in analogy arguments?

The two analogized situations aren’t logically comparable

What is a common necessary assumption in analogy arguments?

That the two situations are similar enough to be compared

What evidence is generalizing from a sample?

Using a sample to make generalizations

What kind of evidence is the following sentence: Paula is the best athlete in the state because she won every local tournament in every spring sport

Generalizing from a sample

What question should you ask when you see a sample used as evidence?

“Is the group of people/things discussed in the evidence representative of the group of people/things discussed in the conclusion?”

What is a counterexample?

When arguer makes a general claim, another one refutes it with specific evidence

What rebuttal structure is the following sentence:

Rob: Everyone’s favorite food is pizza

Ace: My favorite food is shawarma

Counterexample

What is the alternate possibilities rebuttal structure?

Rebutting another speaker by pointing out different causes, effects, reasons, etc.

What is a conditional argument structure?

An argument which draws conclusions based on conditional relationships. These are true/false relationships between different ideas that always hold. These can be combined to imply other general relationships or to individual cases to draw specific conclusions.

What kind of argument structure is the following sentence: The Penguins won’t win unless the Flyers make a big mistake, and the only way the Flyers make a big mistake is if the coach is tired that day. The coach is never tired on Fridays, though.

Conditional

What is a causation based on correlation argument strcuture?

A causes B

What kind of argument structure is the following sentence:The flood last week was due to climate change.

Causal

What kind of argument structure is the following sentence: This kind of culture fosters resentment.

Causal

What kind of argument structure is the following sentence: the incorrect prescription was responsible for the patient’s death.

Causal

What is a common way to weaken a causal argument?

Identifying alternate causes for the effect

What is a sampling flaw?

When an argument extends limited information and tries to apply it more widely than is reasonably justifiable

What should you look for to detect sampling flaws?

Polls, surveys, studies; data or info from a limited source (“one meteorologist”); a shift from specific evidence to general evidence (evidence from 3 doctors generalized to all doctors); a shift from evidence to conclusion during which the arguer assumes, but doesn’t demonstrate, that one is acceptably representative of the other

What should you address to confirm a sample is representative?

Relevant things or people, an appropriate number of things or people, and an unbiased sample of things or people

What is an ad hominem?

When an arguer attacks someone’s actions, motives, or character as a reason to not heed their actions

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: My doctor tells me its bad for your lungs to smoke cigarettes, but I know he’s lying. I saw him furtively smoking a cigarette the other day.

Ad hominem

What is a faulty analogy?

When an arguer compares two things or situations, but the things or situations being compared are not sufficiently alike

What is a causation correlation flaw?

An arguer takes two things that happened at the same time and concludes that one of those things caused the other

What two important possibilities can an arguers overlook in a correlation/causation flaw?

1.) A third, unaccounted for thing could be the cause

2.) The cause and effect could be in reverse order of what the arguer believes

What is a quantity v. percent flaw?

When an arguers treats quantities and percents as interchangeable, but percents themselves don’t tell you actual numbers

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: 10% of people with Disease X died last year, whereas 50% of people with Disease Y died.

Quantity v. Percent (what if 1,000,000 people had Disease X and 4 people had Disease Y)

What is Lack of Evidence as Proof?

The arguer takes a lack of evidence for a conclusion as if the conclusion is definitely wrong

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: Alien life has never been discovered, so its clear alien life doesn’t exist

Lack of Evidence as Proof

What is a false dichotomy?

When an arguer acts as if there are only two choices, when in fact it isn’t an either/or

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: if you’re not with us, then you’re against us

false dichotomy

What is a possible v. certain flaw?

When an arguer assumes that since something is possible, it’ll happen

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: Last year, we did not have enough money for employee raises, but this year there is plenty of money in the budget. So, it is clear that the company will give out raises this year.

Possible v. certain

What is circular reasoning?

When an arguers assumes that his or her conclusion is true when attempting to prove the same conclusion

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: Duplicity is an unattractive characteristic, since its repulsive to lie and deceive

Circular reasoning

What is equivocation?

When an arguer uses a potentially ambiguous term in more than one sense, misleading the reader

What kind of flaw is in the following sentence: a feather is light, and what’s light cannot be dark, so feathers can’t be dark.

Equivocation