Verbal: Critical Reasoning Assumptions Flashcards

A town says installing streetlights will cut crime because dark areas have more crime. The assumption is that:

Answer: Darkness, not some other trait of those areas, drives the crime

Lighting reduces crime only if darkness itself, not a confounder, caused the crime.

A publisher claims a book will sell well abroad because it sold well domestically. A necessary assumption is that:

Answer: Foreign readers have tastes similar enough to domestic readers

Cross-market success assumes the new audience shares relevant preferences.

A CFO argues automation will save money because machines do not earn wages. The argument assumes that:

Answer: Maintenance and setup costs will not exceed the wage savings

Net savings require that automation's own costs stay below the labor saved.

A doctor says a diet works because patients who followed it lost weight. A required assumption is that:

Answer: Those patients did not also change their exercise habits

The diet earns credit only if no other lifestyle change caused the weight loss.

A nonprofit claims its campaign raised awareness because website visits doubled. This assumes that:

Answer: The visit increase came from the campaign, not an unrelated event

Attributing the rise to the campaign assumes no other driver of traffic.

A planner argues a new highway will reduce congestion because it adds capacity. A necessary assumption is that:

Answer: The added capacity will not simply attract more drivers to fill it

Induced demand can negate the benefit if new capacity draws additional traffic.

A brand says a celebrity endorsement boosted sales because sales rose after the ad. The assumption is that:

Answer: No seasonal or promotional factor coincided with the ad

The endorsement gets credit only if no concurrent factor lifted sales.