Ron’sCRAWORDOFNotetheLARGEdifferencebetween“findtheassumption”andYoumustALWAYSbeawareoftherequirementsofthePROBLEMFINDTHEASSUMPTION(questionexample:whichofthefollowingisanassumptionthat…depends*assumptionarethingsthatNEEDtobetrue,andNOTEXPLICITLYSTATEDinthe-Don’tjustpickstrengtheners!MakesurethatthestatementisNECESSARY!Inotherwords,ifyouDON’Thavethisassumption,thentheargumentdies.*Whenyoufindassumptions,youneedtostayWITHINtheSCOPEofthe*Whenyou’relookingforanASSUMPTION,weaker/moremoderatestatementsaregenerally-AssumptionsaregenerallythingsthatareTAKENFORGRANTEDintheargument,so,youshouldnotexpectthemtobeterribly“interesting”or“controversial”claims.STRENGTHEN/WEAKEN(questionexample:whichofthefollowingwouldbemostuseful*it’sperfectlyokforthoseanswerstobeOUTSIDEtheDIRECTSCOPEofthe*WhenyoulookforSTRENGTHEN/WEAKEN:moreextremestatementsaregoodthis*ThebestweaponyouhaveistoSIMPLIFYTHETRYFOR: ,THEREFORE, -onlyapplythechoicestoyourSIMPLIFIED-you’lldiscoverthatmanystatementsthatSEEMEDrelevantarereally*DecidewhethereachboldfaceisaFACTora-Somestatementscanbe*LookatINDICATORWORDSintheANSWERCHOICESthatrestrictthosechoicestofactsorclaims.MUSTBEFACTS:evidence;circumstance;findings;data;observations;information;factMUSTBECLAIMS:judgment;conclusion;position;stance;prediction;hypothesis;belief;objectionEITHER:consideration;explanation;justification;supportEXPLAINTHESITUATIONINGENERAL–youhaveasituationinwhichsomethingmightbeexpectedtohappen,buttheoppositehappens.OVERALLREVIEWOF“EXPLAINTHESITUATION”CR1*ThePRIMARYCHALLENGEoftheseproblemsistoUNDERSTANDWHATTHEQUESTIONACTUALLYIS.2*ThecorrectanswerwillAlwaysbeOUTSIDETHESCOPEofthepassage(inatleastsome-ifyouseeachoicethat*does*stayINSIDEthescopeofthepassage,thenit’s3*youwillhavetomakeREASONABLEASSUMPTIONStomaketheconnection(s)DONOTUSEFORMALThinklikea“real ”—includingtheassumptionsthatsuchpeoplewouldStrengthenWeakenandEvaluatetheSPECTRUMofwaysinwhichtointerpretMAKESMOST*NO*additional*NOT*formalFORMALe.g.,S/Wquestions;Explainthee.g.,drawtheconclusionquestions;findWHENYOUDOSTRENGTHEN/WEAKEN*UseINTUITIVE*TheOVERALLARGUMENT,especiallytheRELATIONSHIPSbetweenthestatements,ismuchmoreimportantthandetails.*Whenyoureadstatements(inthepassageANDintheanswer-Makecommonsense-InterpretstatementsintheMOSTPROBABLEreal-worldsortof*DON’TUSEFORMAL*DON’TWORRY-Classifying-Tryingtofindgeneral“rules”thatgeneratecorrectBlanksinthepromptWeakeningcause-and-effectMoreproblemswith“Problemswithblanks”areNOTaseparatetypeofWhenyouseeablank,theproblemathandshouldfitintooneoftheotherprincipalcategoriesofFindtheassumption(passageisanargument)Strengthen/Weaken(Alsoargument)Drawtheconclusion(passageisnotanargument)Explainthesituation/discrepancy()DrawtheconclusionMoststronglyINFERENCE/DRAW*YouneedtopicktheanswerchoicethatisPROVEDBEYONDAREASONABLEWhatisINSCOPE:Whenyousee“ifxxxxthenxxxx”—the“if”(hypothetical)doesNOThavetobeinscope.WhatcanbePROVEDBEYONDAREASONABLEDOUBT:GIVENthathypothetical,youstillhavetobeabletoPROVEtheconclusionfromwhatyouhave.Numbersandstatistics(partIfapercentageofsomethinggoesup,thenthatresultdoesn’tnecessarysignifyanabsoluteincreaseinthetyitself.(Samegoesfordecrease)Iftheyaskyouaquestionabout“componentpercentages”,thisisveryoftentheTheywanttogiveyouproblemsthatdon’trequireextensivecalculation—theywanttogiveyouproblemsthattesttheCONCEPTSbehindthestatistics.IfyougetSPECIFICNUMBERS,thenWORKWITHIfyougetgeneralconceptslike%andabsolutenumber,thenthinkE.g.Percentages/proportions/ratiosVSabsolutenumbersPer-unitratesVSaggregatetotals(E.g.poundsperproductionworkerVStotal2*MakesurethatyouBOILARGUMENTSDOWNTOTHEIRESSENTIALS回歸論點的本質(zhì)→FigureoutWHATAFFECTSTHECONCLUSIONorLINEOFREASONINGintheProblemswithNumbersandStatistics(partRemember:EvenwhenCRproblemsarestatisticalinnature,theyarestillCONCEPTUAL.Thespecificvaluesofthenumbersarealmostnevermeaningful.2*EXTRAVARIABLES:Whatmightaffectthesenumbersthathasn’tbeenGENERALLESSON:Inproblemswithunitsof*IftiesaregivenWITHOUTunits–suchas“morelikelyto evictimsinthisproblem–thenFYthoseties.Inotherwords,givethemunits.*WhenyouAREgivenunits:--Notice--ThinkwhetheranyconsiderationsRemember,though,thatthescoreisNOTthemostimportantthingaboutapracticeWhatmattersonpracticetestsistheweakareasthatarediagnosed,andtheopportunitiesforStrengthen/weakenproblemshaveaVERYNARROWThereisusuallyONEISSUEthatyouaretryingtoaddress;youshouldignoreallotherissues.Findoutassumptionsandconclusion.TheconclusionshouldrevealwhatistheMAINISSUEintheIt’sunnecessarytoexplicitlyidentifyassumptionsbeforejudgingwhetherastatementstrengthensorweakenstheargument.Ifyoutrytoidentifyassumptionsfirst,youaremakingthetaskmoreALLstrengthenersandweakenerscomefromOUTSIDETHEEXISTINGSCOPEofwhatisgiven.Ingeneral,strengthenersandweakenersshouldbeNEWconsiderations.REMEMBER—thereareothertypes(suchas“boldface”)onwhichyouSHOULDN’Tgothroughtheanswerchoices;instead,youshouldjustpredicttheanswer.Thedifferencehereisthattherewillbe,ingeneral,manywaystoweakenorstrengthenanargument–andit’simpossibletolwhichoneyou’regoingtosee.Therefore,youneedtogothroughtheanswerchoices.Don’ttrytopredict.REMEMBER--Theseproblemsarenot“confirm/destroy”;theyare“strengthen/YoujustneedconsiderationsthatAFFECTtheargumentinthedesireddirection.Youdon’tneedtoPROVEtheconnections.What’stheGENERALMINDSET/APPROACHthatyoushoulduseforstrengtheningandweakeningTherewillbeANISSUEintheargument.UsuallythisISSUEcanbephrasedintheformofaYES/NOtypequestion.thisissueisnotcorrect.2thingstobecarefulTherearelotsofwaystostrengthen/weakenargumentsthatwon’tbepointingoutassumptionsismuchlessRemember:youcannotquestionaWhatareweweakening?Claim—becausewearejustGUESSINGthatthisisthecase.HOWDOYOUWEAKENACAUSE-EFFECTARGUMENT?#1onewaytoweaken“XcausesY”istogiveevidencesuggestingthatit’sBACKWARD–inotherwords,thatYactuallycausesX.#2anotherwayistoshowthatSOMETHINGELSEcausesBOTH“X”and“Y”.Whentherearelotsofwords–rephraseinto