* on Find an Assumption problems, you must STICK TO THE CONTENT OF THE PASSAGE. (by contrast, for other problem types, such as 'strengthen the conclusion', you MUST go OUTSIDE of the passage for additional information.)
- this simple observation can be a powerful tool for process of elimination. to wit: imagine that a debate judge has handed you a list of the SPECIFICS that are treated in the passage, and will "buzz" you if you mention anything that doesn't show up on that list of specifics.
here's the key: correct answers to 'find the assumption' problems WON'T GET BUZZED in this situation, because they stick to the specific points actually contained in the passage. you'd be surprised how much mileage you can get from just eliminating the answer choices that get 'buzzed'.
in short:
"find the assumption" problems don't contain any concepts that aren't in the original passage, and don't make any distinctions that aren't made in the original passage.
when you go through critical reasoning passages, but especially for Find the Assumption problems, you need to be able to sort out IRRELEVANT INFORMATION. there are 2 kinds of irrelevant information:
- (a) parts of "conclusions" that really aren't conclusions at all. there's a simple way to tell whether this happens: if something isn't mentioned in the premises, then it can't possibly be part of the conclusion. in other words, the conclusion actually has to come FROM the premises, so anything not in the premises can't be part of the conclusion. for an example, see problem #7 in the OG purple verbal supplement. the part about "physical disease" isn't part of the actual conclusion, since NOTHING in the passage actually deals with physical disease.
- (b) "bowling pins" or "setup statements": if a passage starts out by telling you some piece of information and then constructs an argument for the sole purpose of proving that statement wrong, then the initial statement (the "bowling pin") doesn't even count as part of the argument.
if you detect irrelevant information, ignore it completely. in other words, solve the problem as though those words literally weren't there.
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when you're looking for an ASSUMPTION or trying to draw a CONCLUSION, remember that those things can NEVER, ever, be more general than the premises you start with. for instance, if a passage talks about weightlifting, you CANNOT have assumptions regarding "exercise" in general - because any other exercise is irrelevant to / out of the scope of the passage.
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remember that assumptions are things that MUST be true. because of this, there's another way that you can attack assumption problems, if necessary:
- REVERSE the assumption in the answer choice, and see if the argument FALLS APART. if it doesn't, then the assumption is not required.
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on ALL critical reasoning questions, but especially on "find the assumption" and "draw a conclusion", you need to be able to do the following 2 things:
- (1) learn to treat all SPECIFICS as objective, judgment-free things. for instance, in problem #V63, "easily" (in choice c) should be treated as would any other mention of an irrelevant specific. in other words, just because "easily" is a common word that's thrown around a lot in conversation doesn't mean you can gloss over it in the answer choice. you should pay absolutely as much attention to it as you would to something like "decisions should be made in blue jeans".
- (2) learn to treat ANY SPECIFICS THAT ARE AT ALL DIFFERENT as COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. in other words, in CR land, there are only two possibilities: (a) two things are exactly the same, or (b) they are completely unrelated without evidence. in CR land, there is no such thing as "similar" or "like each other". so you should get to the point where 2 things such as "people who commit murder" and "people convicted of murder" sound COMPLETELY unrelated, just because they're not exactly the same.
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Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
Yves Saint-Laurent
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