When is "irrelevante" and when is not?

[15veries]

Hi,

I thought answer choices mentioning "other cases" are always irrelevant to the case discussed in the stimulus.
I thought "yes, maybe that happens in this case, but may not be true in the specific case discussed in the stimulus."
So I kind of always eliminate those answers.
But for example in PT 71 Sec 1 Q12...the correct answer is B, which uses other mountainous regions to support the argument.
I cannot recall exact question numbers, but I'm pretty sure those answers discussing other cases are not relevant to the argument and thus wrong answer choice.
So my question is...
When do these "other" choices work and when do not?
Do they work in support/weaken questions always?
What about in other question types?

Thank you

[David Boyle]

Hi,

I thought answer choices mentioning "other cases" are always irrelevant to the case discussed in the stimulus.
I thought "yes, maybe that happens in this case, but may not be true in the specific case discussed in the stimulus."
So I kind of always eliminate those answers.
But for example in PT 71 Sec 1 Q12...the correct answer is B, which uses other mountainous regions to support the argument.
I cannot recall exact question numbers, but I'm pretty sure those answers discussing other cases are not relevant to the argument and thus wrong answer choice.
So my question is...
When do these "other" choices work and when do not?
Do they work in support/weaken questions always?
What about in other question types?

Thank you

Hello,

You may be thinking about the general prohibition on outside information in Must Be True questions. So, yes, information about "other cases" might not be good enough proof for a MBT question, since what happens in other cases might not happen in the case at hand.
However, as you mention, in strengthen or weaken questions, other cases might be very helpful indeed, as proof that is not 100% positive (as is helpful for MBT questions), but still means something, could help weaken or strengthen a particular claim.
As for Justify or Assumption questions, they, like MBT questions, might not always profit from "other cases". Another case might not absolutely justify, or be absolutely necessary for, a particular conclusion, so that justifying or assuming might not work. Then again, it could vary in a particular instance, owing to quirks of language etc. In fact, even in a MBT question, "other cases" might be helpful, depending on the exact wording and situation. It helps to be alert to each particular different situation that might come up, on a case-by-case basis.

Hope this helps,
David

[15veries]

Hi, thank you for your reply.
Often times I was not sure whether a choice is irrelevant or relevant, and
I felt kind of frustrated when people eliminate answer choice saying "it's irrelevant"...lol
Everything looks both relevant and irrelevant...so I was confused.
It seems there is no definite rules, but this gave me some guidelines. Thanks.