Question types that appear infrequently, such as Evaluate the Argument and
Cannot Be True, tend to consume more time because students are not used to
seeing those types of questions.
When the word “cannot” is used in question stems, it is capitalized.
In Cannot Be True questions your task is to identify the answer choice that
cannot be true or is most weakened by the information in the argument.
As discussed in Chapter Three, Cannot Be True questions are the sole member
of the Fourth Question Family. The Fourth Family is very similar to the First
Family with the exception of the bar on the arrow. This bar signifies a
negative—instead of using the information in the stimulus to prove that one of
the answer choices must be true, you must instead prove that one of the answer
choices cannot occur, or that it disagrees with the information in the stimulus.
The following rules apply to the Fourth Question Family:
1. Accept the stimulus information and use only it to prove that one of the
answer choices cannot occur.
2. If an answer choice contains information that does not appear directly in
the stimulus or as a combination of items in the stimulus, then that
answer choice could be true, and it is incorrect. The correct answer
choice will directly disagree with the stimulus or a consequence of the
stimulus.
From an abstract standpoint, Cannot Be True questions can be viewed in two
ways:
1. Polar Opposite Must Be True Questions
Cannot Be True questions are the polar opposite of Must Be True
questions: instead of proving an answer choice, you disprove an answer
choice.
2. Reverse Weaken Questions
The information model of the Third Question Family (Weaken) is an
arrow with a negative pointing up to the stimulus. The Fourth Family
model is the same except that the arrow points down at the answer
choices. From this perspective, Cannot Be True questions are reverse
Weaken questions: use the information in the stimulus to attack one of
the answers.
Both question descriptions are similar, and neither sounds very difficult. In
practice, however, Cannot Be True questions are tricky because the concept of
an answer choice being possibly true and therefore wrong is counterintuitive.
This type of question appears infrequently, but the test makers are savvy and
they know Cannot questions can catch test takers off-guard and consume more
time than the average question. When you encounter a Cannot Be True
question, you must mentally prepare yourself to eliminate answers that could be
true or that are possible, and select the one answer choice that cannot be true or
that is impossible.
Fortunately, the stimuli in Cannot Be True questions rarely contain a conclusion
(just as in Must Be True and Resolve the Paradox questions). Therefore, you
will not need to assess an argument and you can instead focus on the facts at
hand.
Cannot Be True questions are worded in a variety of ways. The gist of the
question type is to show that an answer cannot follow, and this tasks tends to be
expressed in three separate ways:
1. Stating that the answer cannot be true or does not follow.
Question stem examples:
“If the statements above are true, which one of the following
CANNOT be true?”
“The argument can most reasonably be interpreted as an
objection to which one of the following claims?”
“The statements above, if true, most seriously undermine which
one of the following assertions?”
“The information above, if accurate, can best be used as
evidence against which one of the following hypotheses?”
2. Stating that the answer could be true EXCEPT.
This construction is frequently used to convey the Cannot Be True
concept. If the four incorrect answers could be true, then the one
remaining answer must be the opposite, or cannot be true.
Question stem example:
“If all of the claims made above are true, then each of the
following could be true EXCEPT: ”
3. Stating that the answer choice must be false.
The phrase “must be false” is functionally identical to “cannot be true.”
The use of this wording is just one more way for the test makers to
present you with unusual phrasing.
Question stem example:
“If the statements above are true, then which one of the
following must be false?”
The following LSAT question will be used to fully explore how the question
type works. Please take a moment to complete the following question:
1. Sharks have a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass than any other organism. They also have a greater resistance to cancer than any other organism. Shark cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor growth by stopping the development of a new
blood network. In the past 20 years, none of the responses among terminal cancer patients to various therapeutic measures has been more positive than the response among those who consumed shark cartilage.
If the claims made above are true, then each of the
following could be true EXCEPT:
(A) No organism resists cancer better than sharks
do, but some resist cancer as well as sharks.
(B) The organism most susceptible to cancer has a
higher percentage of cartilage than some
organisms that are less susceptible to cancer.
(C) The substance in shark cartilage that inhibits
tumor growth is found in most organisms.
(D) In the past 20 years many terminal cancer
patients have improved dramatically
following many sorts of therapy
(E) Some organisms have immune systems more
efficient than a shark’s immune system.
As with most Cannot Be True questions, the stimulus does not contain an
argument. Instead, a fact pattern is presented and you are tested on your
knowledge of those facts. Let’s review each statement, sentence-by-sentence,
keeping in mind that in Cannot questions you accept the statements in the
stimulus as true:
Statement: Sharks have a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass
than any other organism.
This is a very broad, global statement indicating that no other organism
has a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass than sharks.
Statement: They [sharks] also have a greater resistance to cancer than
any other organism.
This is another very broad, global statement indicating that no other
organism has a greater resistance to cancer than sharks.
Statement: Shark cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor
growth by stopping the development of a new blood
network.
This statement is narrower, and focuses only on shark cartilage. Since
no information is given about the cartilage of other organisms, it is
possible that other organisms contain the tumor-inhibiting substance
mentioned in this statement.
Statement: In the past 20 years, none of the responses among terminal
cancer patients to various therapeutic measures has been
more positive than the response among those who consumed
shark cartilage.
This statement is also narrower than the first two, but broader than the
last statement. While it is specific in stating that no therapeutic measures
have received more positive response than shark cartilage, the statement
is limited to the past 20 years and to terminal cancer patients. Note also
that just because shark cartilage has received a more positive response
than any other therapy does not mean that other therapies were
unsuccessful—they could have worked very well but not quite as well
as shark cartilage.
Of the four statements above, the first two are global and can never be violated.
The last two are possible sources of wrong answers as they are specific enough
to eliminate certain statements, but open enough to allow for a variety of others.
The makers of the test love to play with these “edges,” and you should make
sure that the answer you select directly violates a statement in the stimulus.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer. The answer violates the second
sentence of the stimulus, where the author indicates that sharks have a “greater
resistance to cancer than any other organism.” This statement means that no
other organisms matches or exceeds the cancer resistance of a shark.
Answer choice (B): This answer focuses on the susceptibility of an organism to
cancer. Other than stating that sharks are the least susceptible to cancer (greatest
resistance = least susceptibility), we know nothing about cancer susceptibility of
any other organism. Hence, this answer is possibly true and therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (C): The third statement in the stimulus notes that shark cartilage
contains the inhibiting substance. There is no mention that other organisms do
not have the substance or that the substance is the primary reason that sharks are
cancer resistant. Thus, this answer choice could be true and is incorrect.
Answer choice (D): From the discussion of the fourth statement you know this
answer choice could be true. Accordingly, it is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): The stimulus addresses sharks and cancer resistance.
Although cancer resistance would logically have some connection to the
immune system, cancer resistance is only one aspect of the immune system and
therefore other organisms could have an immune system that is overall more
efficient than the shark’s immune system. Consequently, this answer choice is
possibly true and therefore incorrect.
Cannot Be True, tend to consume more time because students are not used to
seeing those types of questions.
When the word “cannot” is used in question stems, it is capitalized.
In Cannot Be True questions your task is to identify the answer choice that
cannot be true or is most weakened by the information in the argument.
As discussed in Chapter Three, Cannot Be True questions are the sole member
of the Fourth Question Family. The Fourth Family is very similar to the First
Family with the exception of the bar on the arrow. This bar signifies a
negative—instead of using the information in the stimulus to prove that one of
the answer choices must be true, you must instead prove that one of the answer
choices cannot occur, or that it disagrees with the information in the stimulus.
The following rules apply to the Fourth Question Family:
1. Accept the stimulus information and use only it to prove that one of the
answer choices cannot occur.
2. If an answer choice contains information that does not appear directly in
the stimulus or as a combination of items in the stimulus, then that
answer choice could be true, and it is incorrect. The correct answer
choice will directly disagree with the stimulus or a consequence of the
stimulus.
From an abstract standpoint, Cannot Be True questions can be viewed in two
ways:
1. Polar Opposite Must Be True Questions
Cannot Be True questions are the polar opposite of Must Be True
questions: instead of proving an answer choice, you disprove an answer
choice.
2. Reverse Weaken Questions
The information model of the Third Question Family (Weaken) is an
arrow with a negative pointing up to the stimulus. The Fourth Family
model is the same except that the arrow points down at the answer
choices. From this perspective, Cannot Be True questions are reverse
Weaken questions: use the information in the stimulus to attack one of
the answers.
Both question descriptions are similar, and neither sounds very difficult. In
practice, however, Cannot Be True questions are tricky because the concept of
an answer choice being possibly true and therefore wrong is counterintuitive.
This type of question appears infrequently, but the test makers are savvy and
they know Cannot questions can catch test takers off-guard and consume more
time than the average question. When you encounter a Cannot Be True
question, you must mentally prepare yourself to eliminate answers that could be
true or that are possible, and select the one answer choice that cannot be true or
that is impossible.
Fortunately, the stimuli in Cannot Be True questions rarely contain a conclusion
(just as in Must Be True and Resolve the Paradox questions). Therefore, you
will not need to assess an argument and you can instead focus on the facts at
hand.
Cannot Be True questions are worded in a variety of ways. The gist of the
question type is to show that an answer cannot follow, and this tasks tends to be
expressed in three separate ways:
1. Stating that the answer cannot be true or does not follow.
Question stem examples:
“If the statements above are true, which one of the following
CANNOT be true?”
“The argument can most reasonably be interpreted as an
objection to which one of the following claims?”
“The statements above, if true, most seriously undermine which
one of the following assertions?”
“The information above, if accurate, can best be used as
evidence against which one of the following hypotheses?”
2. Stating that the answer could be true EXCEPT.
This construction is frequently used to convey the Cannot Be True
concept. If the four incorrect answers could be true, then the one
remaining answer must be the opposite, or cannot be true.
Question stem example:
“If all of the claims made above are true, then each of the
following could be true EXCEPT: ”
3. Stating that the answer choice must be false.
The phrase “must be false” is functionally identical to “cannot be true.”
The use of this wording is just one more way for the test makers to
present you with unusual phrasing.
Question stem example:
“If the statements above are true, then which one of the
following must be false?”
The following LSAT question will be used to fully explore how the question
type works. Please take a moment to complete the following question:
1. Sharks have a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass than any other organism. They also have a greater resistance to cancer than any other organism. Shark cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor growth by stopping the development of a new
blood network. In the past 20 years, none of the responses among terminal cancer patients to various therapeutic measures has been more positive than the response among those who consumed shark cartilage.
If the claims made above are true, then each of the
following could be true EXCEPT:
(A) No organism resists cancer better than sharks
do, but some resist cancer as well as sharks.
(B) The organism most susceptible to cancer has a
higher percentage of cartilage than some
organisms that are less susceptible to cancer.
(C) The substance in shark cartilage that inhibits
tumor growth is found in most organisms.
(D) In the past 20 years many terminal cancer
patients have improved dramatically
following many sorts of therapy
(E) Some organisms have immune systems more
efficient than a shark’s immune system.
As with most Cannot Be True questions, the stimulus does not contain an
argument. Instead, a fact pattern is presented and you are tested on your
knowledge of those facts. Let’s review each statement, sentence-by-sentence,
keeping in mind that in Cannot questions you accept the statements in the
stimulus as true:
Statement: Sharks have a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass
than any other organism.
This is a very broad, global statement indicating that no other organism
has a higher ratio of cartilage mass to body mass than sharks.
Statement: They [sharks] also have a greater resistance to cancer than
any other organism.
This is another very broad, global statement indicating that no other
organism has a greater resistance to cancer than sharks.
Statement: Shark cartilage contains a substance that inhibits tumor
growth by stopping the development of a new blood
network.
This statement is narrower, and focuses only on shark cartilage. Since
no information is given about the cartilage of other organisms, it is
possible that other organisms contain the tumor-inhibiting substance
mentioned in this statement.
Statement: In the past 20 years, none of the responses among terminal
cancer patients to various therapeutic measures has been
more positive than the response among those who consumed
shark cartilage.
This statement is also narrower than the first two, but broader than the
last statement. While it is specific in stating that no therapeutic measures
have received more positive response than shark cartilage, the statement
is limited to the past 20 years and to terminal cancer patients. Note also
that just because shark cartilage has received a more positive response
than any other therapy does not mean that other therapies were
unsuccessful—they could have worked very well but not quite as well
as shark cartilage.
Of the four statements above, the first two are global and can never be violated.
The last two are possible sources of wrong answers as they are specific enough
to eliminate certain statements, but open enough to allow for a variety of others.
The makers of the test love to play with these “edges,” and you should make
sure that the answer you select directly violates a statement in the stimulus.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer. The answer violates the second
sentence of the stimulus, where the author indicates that sharks have a “greater
resistance to cancer than any other organism.” This statement means that no
other organisms matches or exceeds the cancer resistance of a shark.
Answer choice (B): This answer focuses on the susceptibility of an organism to
cancer. Other than stating that sharks are the least susceptible to cancer (greatest
resistance = least susceptibility), we know nothing about cancer susceptibility of
any other organism. Hence, this answer is possibly true and therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (C): The third statement in the stimulus notes that shark cartilage
contains the inhibiting substance. There is no mention that other organisms do
not have the substance or that the substance is the primary reason that sharks are
cancer resistant. Thus, this answer choice could be true and is incorrect.
Answer choice (D): From the discussion of the fourth statement you know this
answer choice could be true. Accordingly, it is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): The stimulus addresses sharks and cancer resistance.
Although cancer resistance would logically have some connection to the
immune system, cancer resistance is only one aspect of the immune system and
therefore other organisms could have an immune system that is overall more
efficient than the shark’s immune system. Consequently, this answer choice is
possibly true and therefore incorrect.
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