EXTREME WORDS

Using extreme words opens an argument unreasonably, making it very susceptible to

strengthening or weakening:

Sugar is never healthy for anyone trying to lose weight.

BOUNDARY WORDS
Controversial speech should be allowed, provided that it does not incite major violence

Strengthen a conclusion question ask you to provide additional support for a given conclusion. A
premise that strengthens the conclusion should do at least one of the following:
1. Fix a weakness of the conclusion
2. Introduce additional supporting evidence
The correct answer choice for Strengthen question will tipically function as a new premise. This
choice will be related to the argument but generally introduce new information supporting the
conclusion.

For weakening a conclusion, almost all correct answer s will introduce a new piece of evidence
that undermines a faulty or tenuous assumption OR that negatively impacts the conclusion directly.


Analyzing the Argument Structure:
1. The statement in boldface is the authors CONCLUSION
2. The statement in boldface is a premise that SUPPORTS the authors conclusion
3. The statement in boldface is a premise that WEAKENS the authors conclusion

Alternatice approach for analyzing structure:
1. Fact (a verificable statement): evidence, circumstance, finding
2. Opinion (a minor claim, or an opinion of someone other than the author): judgement,
claim, position taken by someone else
3. Conclusion (The major claim of the author): position taken by the argument, assertion of
the author


Draw a Conclusion:
Infer is to drop a conclusion from all you read.
Do not choose an option which introduces a claim that are never mentioned in the passage
(extra info)

Resolve a Paradox:
This question type poses two seemingly contradictory premises and asks you to find the
answer choice that best reconciles them. For this, passages will contain only premises. To
solve it, look for the answers choice that provides a new, fact-based premise that will often
contain some very new piece of information that resolves the discrepancy.