Some higher degree entrance exams such as LCAT and GMAT include reading comperhension. Native English speakers may function just fine in normal day to day corespondance but struggle to analyze and correctly answer LCAT and GMAT verbal reasoning type questions. The following provides a summary of the various parts of passages and terms.
Table of Content
Analyzing Passages
Arguments
An argument gives one or more ideas as reasons to accept one or more ideas. Often some of the ideas are implied but stated.
Example: The sidewalk is dry, so it must not have rained last night.
This argument give the observation that the sidewalk is dry as a reason
to accept that it did not rain last night. The argument implies but
does not say that rain typically leaves sidewalks wet.
Premise
A premise is an idea that an argument gives as a reason to accept another idea. An argument can have any number of premises. The words and phrases below often mark premises:
| after all | for one thing | moreover |
| because | furthermore | seeing that |
| for | given that | since |
| for the reason that | in light of the fact that | whereas |
Example: Our mayor shouldn’t support the proposal to expand the freeway
because the expansion’s benefits wouldn’t justify the costs. Furthermore,
most voters oppose the expansion.
This argument uses two stated premises: i.) …because the expansion’s cost would outweight the expansion’s benefit, and ii.) Furthermore, most voters opposed the expansion.
These premises are given as reasons why the mayor should not support the freeway expansion proposal.
Conclusion
A conclusion is an idea an argument supports with one or more premises. An intermediate conclusion is a conclusion the argument uses to support another conclusion. A main conclusion is a conclusion the argument does not use to support any other conclusion.
The following words and phrases often mark conclusions:
| clearly | it follows that | suggests that |
| entails that | proves | surely |
| hence | shows that | therefore |
| implies that | so | thus |
Example: Mark just finished running a 1/2 marathon, so he must be tired. Surely,
he's going to take a nap now.
This argument has a premise, an intermediate conclusion, and main conclusion. The word so marks the intermediate conclusion, that Mark must be tired. The word surely marks the main conclusion: that Mark is tired now.
The idea, premise, that Mark just ran a 1/2 marathon is used to support the intermediate conclusion. Most readers would support the premise that running a 1/2 marathon is tiring, which in turn is used to support the main conclusion: Mark is now tired.
A conclusion may be stated before, between, or after premises. Arguments may have a conclusion with no marker words.
Example: For healthy eating, Healthful Brand Donuts are the best donuts you
can buy. Unlike any other donuts on the market, Healthful Brand Donuts have
plenty of fiber and natural ingredients.
The first sentence is the conclusion. The statement that Healthful Brand donuts have plenty of fibre and natural ingredients is a premise because it has given a reason to accept the conclusion.
Explanations and Plans
Narratives and Descriptions
Inductive Reasoning
Inductive arguments, Generalizations and Predictions, Casual Reasoning, and Analogies
Deductive Reasoning
Debuctive arguments, Logical Operators, Reasoning with Logical Operators, Necessity, Probability, and Possibility, Quantifers, and Reasoning with Quantifers.