How to Stop Making Assumptions About Answer Choices

[snoopy]

Hi all. I'm still in the processing of finishing Manhattan Prep's LR book - it's so great. I already see improvements in how I approach premise-conclusion relationships since much of the answers I had been choosing were out of scope or premise boosters.

However, I still run into the problem where I'm making assumptions about answer choices themselves.

For example, in PT54 S2 Q7, I assumed, for B, that multinational corporations would have a higher GNP in their best self-interest. I also assumed that multinational corporations extend across all nations. In PT73 S4 Q22, I assumed, for E, that consumers will buy either more milk or yogurt depending on which one is cheaper when, really, that would require the assumption that price influences sales.

If there's a MP LR chapter or pages that teach this, references are appreciated. Thank you!

[ohthatpatrick]

You DO have to make assumptions in order to make some correct answers work.

You should just always be thinking:
1. Is this a very conservative, common sense assumption? (for example: "prices influence sales" is a very safe assumption, because having an influence on something is a weak idea, and common sense tells you that prices have some effect on sales. "a multinational corporation exists in all nations" is a pretty strong leap. "Multi" means 'more than one', not 'all'. We don't assume that a "Multi-colored" blanket has ALL colors on it.)

2. Do any available answers make fewer assumptions?

The 2nd one is really the ticket, since we're ultimately choosing the "best available answer".

On Strengthen, Weaken, and Explain/Resolve questions, you'll often feel like you have to "add a thought", to connect the answer choice to the stimulus".

On Assumption, Principle, Inference, Flaw, etc. you'll usually not need to add anything to make the answer work, but some correct answers aren't written perfectly, so you're always just using your judgment to pick the best available answer.

So as much as you're stressing about avoiding what's making you LIKE an incorrect answer,
make sure you're spending at least as much time thinking about why you DIDN'T LIKE the correct answer (i.e. why wasn't it clear to you that the correct answer was better, and required fewer assumptions?)

[snoopy]

Thank you very much for the detailed advice. Happy new year!