Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw? Forum

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OlegPerry97

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Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by OlegPerry97 » Mon Aug 21, 2017 6:22 pm

I understand all the flaws such as mistaking a correlation for a causal, appeals to certain sources, survey errors, etc. but have trouble at times what the specific flaw is when the answer doesn't stand out to me. Usually about 3 of the answers seem pretty viable and I'll often revisit the question to gain a grasp of what flaw is present. I've wondered if reading the question stem first would maybe help, since most L.R. questions don't ask you to critique what is being said but to add/pull something from it and the flaw will at times go over my head because of this.

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LesPaul1995

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Re: Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by LesPaul1995 » Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:30 pm

First, reading the question stem first in a question stem that prompts you with a subjective task such as a flaw question is helpful. It allows you to identify what you need to look for - the gap between the support and conclusion. The author in a flaw question is either failing to consider something for their conclusion or mismatching concepts in their conclusion that is not warranted given the premises. The flaws are not always obvious, and it is advised in these questions to separate the conclusion from the support so you can see why. Still, even then it won't be clear, but if you can at least come up with how you can weaken it, you are on the right track. Once you have a handle on this relationship, you need to figure out what the answer choices are saying, which is difficult because often they are phrased in abstract terms. Getting better at this requires that you make notecards or some type of notation that allows you to identify the flaws you say you have memorized, and matching them up with each available answer choice in flaw questions. Literally look up flaw questions, identify the type of flaw that is being described in the answer choices, and compile a list that will help you align your understanding of the flaw with what is being described so that when you see it next it will not seem so abstract. Good luck!

sev

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Re: Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by sev » Tue Aug 22, 2017 2:46 pm

OlegPerry97 wrote:I understand all the flaws such as mistaking a correlation for a causal, appeals to certain sources, survey errors, etc. but have trouble at times what the specific flaw is when the answer doesn't stand out to me. Usually about 3 of the answers seem pretty viable and I'll often revisit the question to gain a grasp of what flaw is present. I've wondered if reading the question stem first would maybe help, since most L.R. questions don't ask you to critique what is being said but to add/pull something from it and the flaw will at times go over my head because of this.
I highly recommend not reading the ACs until you recognize that there is a flaw/have a vague mental picture of what it is. If that recognizance is the problem, I recommend asking yourself "how would I argue against this position?" Usually the most direct/straightforward answer is also an excellent prephrase.

pricon

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Re: Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by pricon » Wed Aug 23, 2017 11:11 am

This isn't an issue identifying flaws if you know all the flaws and are struggling with the toughest problems. The obstacle common to the toughest problems is the writing.

The writing can be challenging in any type of problem, so just keep practicing. With practice, you will get where you could always get -1 without timed conditions. Then, get to where you can accurately knock out the 20 easiest problems in 20 minutes so you have enough time to think deeply enough about the tougher ones.

OlegPerry97

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Re: Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by OlegPerry97 » Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:30 pm

pricon wrote:This isn't an issue identifying flaws if you know all the flaws and are struggling with the toughest problems. The obstacle common to the toughest problems is the writing.

The writing can be challenging in any type of problem, so just keep practicing. With practice, you will get where you could always get -1 without timed conditions. Then, get to where you can accurately knock out the 20 easiest problems in 20 minutes so you have enough time to think deeply enough about the tougher ones.
I agree with you, the writing sometimes paints such an abstract picture of the flaw that I hesitate. Is there any trick to these? I can usually eliminate the answers down to 2 choices where I'll end up picking the incorrect one.

pricon

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Re: Flaw Q's, help identifying the correct flaw?

Post by pricon » Thu Aug 24, 2017 8:09 am

There is no trick to getting to the meaning behind tricky writing, but it is a skill that can be developed over time.

Give yourself plenty of time to study for the LSAT. I gave myself nine months, and every single month counted.

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