Any synonym of the terms in the lists will also suffice.
Looking for conditionality is like being an air traffic controller: you must
recognize and track the elements when they appear in a problem. If no
conditional elements appear in a problem, then you do not have to worry about it.
Using the words from the indicator lists, let’s re-examine each of the five
statements in the previous page. In each sentence, the conditional indicator is
in italics:
1. To get an A+ you must study.
2. Studying is necessary to get an A+.
3. When someone gets an A+, it shows they must have studied.
4. Only someone who studies can get an A+.
5. You will get an A+ only if you study.
Comparing these five sentences reveals two critical rules about how
conditional reasoning appears in a given sentence:
1. Either condition can appear first in the sentence.
The order of presentation of the sufficient and necessary conditions is
irrelevant. In statements 1, 3, and 5 the sufficient condition appears
first in the sentence; in statements 2 and 4 the necessary condition
appears first. Thus, when you are reading, you cannot rely on
encountering the sufficient condition first and instead you must keep
an eye out for conditional indicators.
2. A sentence can have one or two indicators.
Sentences do not need both a sufficient condition indicator and a
necessary condition indicator in order to have conditional reasoning
present. As shown by statements 1, 2, 4, and 5, a single indicator is
enough. Note that once you have established that one of the conditions
is present, you can examine the remainder of the sentence to determine
the nature of the other condition. For example, in statement 5, once the
“only if” appears and you establish that “study” is the necessary
condition, return to the first part of the sentence and establish that “A+”
is the sufficient condition.
Looking for conditionality is like being an air traffic controller: you must
recognize and track the elements when they appear in a problem. If no
conditional elements appear in a problem, then you do not have to worry about it.
Using the words from the indicator lists, let’s re-examine each of the five
statements in the previous page. In each sentence, the conditional indicator is
in italics:
1. To get an A+ you must study.
2. Studying is necessary to get an A+.
3. When someone gets an A+, it shows they must have studied.
4. Only someone who studies can get an A+.
5. You will get an A+ only if you study.
Comparing these five sentences reveals two critical rules about how
conditional reasoning appears in a given sentence:
1. Either condition can appear first in the sentence.
The order of presentation of the sufficient and necessary conditions is
irrelevant. In statements 1, 3, and 5 the sufficient condition appears
first in the sentence; in statements 2 and 4 the necessary condition
appears first. Thus, when you are reading, you cannot rely on
encountering the sufficient condition first and instead you must keep
an eye out for conditional indicators.
2. A sentence can have one or two indicators.
Sentences do not need both a sufficient condition indicator and a
necessary condition indicator in order to have conditional reasoning
present. As shown by statements 1, 2, 4, and 5, a single indicator is
enough. Note that once you have established that one of the conditions
is present, you can examine the remainder of the sentence to determine
the nature of the other condition. For example, in statement 5, once the
“only if” appears and you establish that “study” is the necessary
condition, return to the first part of the sentence and establish that “A+”
is the sufficient condition.
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