- Mon Jun 01, 2015 7:01 am
#18815
Hey vsb2007,
Thanks for your question! Flaw are just like Method questions, in that they require you to describe the argument from a top-down, structural perspective. But, here the argument has a flaw. If a Method question asks you to describe what the author did, the Flaw question asks you to describe what the author did wrong.
If you learn to recognize the various types of flaws in the reasoning, these questions can be quite doable. Why? Because flaw recognition allows you to identify precisely the type of flaw present in the argument, and thus prephrase the correct answer choice. Bear in mind, however, that the same flaw can be described in multiple ways. Nevertheless, knowing what the flaw is in advance provides you with a tremendous advantage.
We describe the various types of flaws in the Weekend LSAT coursebook, so I suggest you take the time to understand what they are (and even memorize them).
The incorrect answer choices in Flaw questions will be wrong for one of two reasons: 1) they will describe a classic Flaw in the Reasoning, but not the flaw present in this particular stimulus, i.e. they are not provable as answer choices; or 2) they will describe a provable omission, i.e. something that the author definitely didn't do (e.g. didn't take something into account, or did not define something, or failed to explain something, etc.), but that omission does not amount to a logical flaw.
Regarding Question 8 on p. 287, can you tell us a bit more about how you approached the argument? Did you identify a flaw in the reasoning when you read the stimulus? Did you keep multiple answer choices as contenders? The more we know about how you approached the question, the better we can help you understand how to approach it.
Let us know.
Thanks!
Nikki Siclunov
PowerScore Test Preparation
