Prephrasing in Method of Reasoning Questions

Method of Reasoning questions are challenging because they involve abstract
thinking, which focuses on the form of the argument instead of the concrete
facts of the argument. The answer choices will therefore describe the argument
in abstract terms, and many students have difficulty because the test makers are
experts at manipulating those terms to describe the argument in unexpected and
deceptive ways. Often, students will have a firm grasp of the structure of the
argument only to struggle when none of the answers match their prephrase.
This situation occurs because the test makers can use one or two words to
describe entire sections of the stimulus, and you are rigorously tested on your
knowledge of the mechanics of the argument and your ability to discern the
references in the answer choice.
When prephrasing in Method of Reasoning questions, you may understand the
details of the stimulus but not understand the structure of the argument. Thus,
each answer may sound implausible since they are related primarily to the
logical organization of the argument. Therefore, you must think about the
structure of the argument before examining the answer choices. However, do
not expect to see your exact prephrase as the answer; there are simply too many
variations on the way an argument can be described. Instead, make a general,
abstract prephrase of what occurred in the argument and then rigorously
examine each answer choice to see if the test makers have created an answer
that paraphrases your prephrase. Many students are deceived by the description
used by the test makers, and the only way to overcome this problem is to
compare the description given in the answer choice to the stimulus.
You may not have noticed, but this book began with the most concrete questions and
slowly moved towards the most abstract questions. For example, we began with Must Be True questions, which require you to identify the details of an argument. Later we discussed
Weaken and Strengthen questions, which require you identify both the structure and details of an argument. Now we have arrived at Method questions, which focus much more on structure. Because abstract thinking requires more work than concrete thinking, most students
find abstract questions difficult.