Sample Questions: Method of Reasoning
Describe the technique the argument uses. Three original questions below. No timer. Check each answer and read the explanation before moving on.
You argue that homework should be banned because students are stressed. But students were stressed before homework existed in its current form, and countries with heavy homework loads report less student stress than we do. Stress must come from elsewhere.
The argument proceeds by
The speaker does not dispute the stress. It attacks the causal link: stress exists without the supposed cause and is lower where the cause is stronger.
The proposal cannot work. It requires unanimous approval, and two members have already said they will vote no. No unanimous vote is possible.
The reasoning method used is
Unanimous approval is required, and it is already impossible. The argument kills the proposal by removing a necessary condition.
Consider two towns: one fluoridated its water in 2010, one did not. Ten years later, the fluoridated town had 30 percent fewer cavities. The difference must be the fluoride.
The argument uses which method?
Two towns, one difference, one outcome gap. The method is comparing cases that differ in the suspected cause.
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Last updated October 12, 2026