Find the argument gap

An argument connects reasons to a claim. A premise is a fact offered as support. The conclusion is the claim the writer wants you to accept. First ask: what is being supported, and what supports it?

You need to cross a river, but the footbridge is closed today. Therefore, use another route. The bridge closure is a premise; the recommendation to use another route is the conclusion.

Treat the passage’s stated facts as given. A conclusion is not always the last sentence, and a sentence can sound convincing without answering the question. Find its job in this argument.

A workshop lends tools only to members. Dana wants to borrow a drill. Someone concludes that Dana can borrow it. The missing assumption is that Dana is a member.

Now deny that assumption: Dana is not a member. Under the stated rule, Dana cannot borrow a tool, so the reasoning fails. Membership is a necessary link between the rule and this conclusion.

Necessary does not mean enough on its own. Even a member might find every drill already lent out. Look for a fact the argument needs, rather than any fact that would merely make the conclusion more likely.

A cafe put a new sign in its window. It sold more lunches the following week. The owner concludes that the sign caused the increase. Which new fact would weaken this explanation?

Look for another explanation of the increase. A relevant alternative can weaken the claim without proving it false; evidence that strengthens a claim also need not prove it true.

This checkpoint offers two choices. Practice rounds have six questions and four choices per question: conclusions at level 1, necessary assumptions at level 2, and a mixture of strengthen and weaken questions at level 3.