Flaw in the reasoning

(A) The facts she presents do not support her conclusion that Senator Frank is soft on crime. - She does not present any such facts.
(B) She assumes without proof that crime is the most important issue in the upcoming election. - It is the issue which she is concerned with.
(C) She argues in a circle, using an unsupported assertion to dismiss conflicting evidence. - I agree, she states that the latest law must be soft because he is not a strong supporter of crime. She does not prove so. Hence the answer?
(D) She attacks Senator Frank on personal grounds rather than on he merit as a political leader. - The issue is related only to war on crime.
(E) In deciding not to vote for Senator Frank, she fails to consider issues other than crime. - Irrelevant.
OA C

IMO C

Yes ans is C.. But whats wrong with E ?

ranjithreddy.k9 wrote:Yes ans is C.. But whats wrong with E ?

Hi,
'Issues other than crime' is out of scope.

This is peculiar type where an unsupported assumptions is used to support a conclusion.... as rightly mentioned ans is C.


A - it does support but there is no evidence for her assumption.
B - irrelevant
C - Correct
D - irrelevant
E - irrelevant ( we are concerned only with the flaw she made and NOT with other issues)

Hope this helps.

IMO C , good explanation by @vikram

Alba: I don’t intend to vote for Senator Frank in the next election. She is not a strong supporter of the war against crime.
Tam: But Senator Frank sponsored the latest anticrime law passed by the Senate.
Alba: If Senator Frank sponsored it, it can’t be a very strong anticrime law.
Which of the following identifies the most serious logical flaw in Alba’s reasoning?
(A) The facts she presents do not support her conclusion that Senator Frank is soft on crime.
(B) She assumes without proof that crime is the most important issue in the upcoming election.
(C) She argues in a circle, using an unsupported assertion to dismiss conflicting evidence.
(D) She attacks Senator Frank on personal grounds rather than on he merit as a political leader.
(E) In deciding not to vote for Senator Frank, she fails to consider issues other than crime.


OA is C. Alba makes 2 conclusions each of them without any premise and she goes in circular reasoning. Also counters Tam's evidence without any strong premise Hence C.

Marking option C was rather simple...