Hello! I have a question about how to weaken an argument. When weakening an argument, do you weaken the conclusion or the premise? For example, if an argument says "X because of Y", would the correct answer weaken X (the conclusion, or Y (the premise)? I've been under the impression that we must take the evidence as true and weaken the conclusion, but now I'm seeing how the premise can be weakened too and it's confusing me. Please clarify if possible. Thanks so much! :)

Generally, either! When evaluating choices, assume the answers provide true information. If it weakens/strengthens the premise, then it indirectly weakens/strengthens the conclusion. The same applies if it directly weakens/strengthens the conclusion, because you would have your answer regardless of if it's a direct or indirect weakening/strengthening.

In the "Test each choice one at a time" it says to "add" your choice to the original passage. Can you clarify where we should "add" the choice to? maybe with an example?

I think that usually the choice would be added to the evidence/support (as opposed to the conclusion). Where exactly it should be added varies based on what the answer choices are, but there should be examples when you do practice questions (in the explanations after you answer the questions).

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Course: LSAT > Unit 1

Lesson 6: Logical Reasoning – Articles

Strengthen and weaken | Quick guide

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A quick guide to approaching questions that ask you to identify info that would strengthen or weaken an argument

This question asks you to identify a strengthener or weakener—information that, if added to the support, would make the conclusion more likely or less likely to be true. A strengthener or weakener won’t prove or disprove a conclusion beyond a shadow of a doubt—it’ll just improve or worsen the likelihood of the conclusion to follow from its support.

The choices in strengthen and weaken questions will always either strengthen the argument, weaken the argument, or not affect the argument. Therefore, if you're tackling a weaken question (for example), the wrong choices will either strengthen the argument or will not affect the argument.

A specific prediction is usually not recommended, since there are many different ways to strengthen or weaken a given argument. Therefore, it’s best to understand the pieces of the argument, and then assess the impact that each choice has when added to the argument.

Strategies

✓ Identify the conclusion and support: Make sure to separate the conclusion from the support—this will make the gap in the argument more visible to you. It can also be helpful to phrase the argument’s structure to yourself as, “The arguer believes [conclusion], because [support]” in order to detect any leaps in logic or scope.

✓ Identify any gaps in the argument: Is there a gap in scope between the support and the conclusion? Does the topic shift in a meaningful way? If so, then connecting the topic in the support and the topic in the conclusion in a logical way might strengthen the argument. In the same manner, making the topic in the support less related/connected to the topic in the conclusion may weaken the argument.

✓ Diagram if necessary: Is there conditional logic in the argument? If so, it can be very helpful to sketch a diagram.

✓ Identify any common patterns: If the argument's conclusion is causal in nature (X caused Y), a common weakener might be to provide an alternate cause (actually, Z caused Y). Or if the argument's support consists of a study, a strengthener might be an affirmation that the study was appropriately executed and relevant. These are just a few examples of common patterns you may see on the LSAT. For a closer look at these patterns, you may find it helpful to work through our article about Types of Flaws.

✓ Test each choice one at a time: Test the choice you picked by affirming: when you “add” your choice to the passage’s original support, it should improve or worsen the likelihood of the conclusion being true, based on the support provided.

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adolfo fregoso-glass
Posted 6 years ago. Direct link to adolfo fregoso-glass's post “In the "Test each choice ...”
In the "Test each choice one at a time" it says to "add" your choice to the original passage. Can you clarify where we should "add" the choice to? maybe with an example?
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- renatabetros
  Posted 3 years ago. Direct link to renatabetros's post “I think that usually the ...”
  I think that usually the choice would be added to the evidence/support (as opposed to the conclusion). Where exactly it should be added varies based on what the answer choices are, but there should be examples when you do practice questions (in the explanations after you answer the questions).
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Stef
Posted 2 years ago. Direct link to Stef's post “Hello! I have a question ...”
Hello! I have a question about how to weaken an argument. When weakening an argument, do you weaken the conclusion or the premise? For example, if an argument says "X because of Y", would the correct answer weaken X (the conclusion, or Y (the premise)? I've been under the impression that we must take the evidence as true and weaken the conclusion, but now I'm seeing how the premise can be weakened too and it's confusing me. Please clarify if possible. Thanks so much! :)
Button navigates to signup pageComment on Stef's post “Hello! I have a question ...”
(4 votes)
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- Liah
  Posted a year ago. Direct link to Liah's post “Generally, either! When e...”
  Generally, either! When evaluating choices, assume the answers provide true information. If it weakens/strengthens the premise, then it indirectly weakens/strengthens the conclusion. The same applies if it directly weakens/strengthens the conclusion, because you would have your answer regardless of if it's a direct or indirect weakening/strengthening.
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  (5 votes)