GMAT Verbal : Identifying Flaws of Analogy

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for GMAT Verbal

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Critical Reasoning

Everyone who thinks the Rams would win the championship thought that Jones would receive the award for Most Valuable Player. But Jones did not receive the award for Most Valuable Player. Therefore, anyone who believes the Rams will win the championship is wrong.

Which one of the following arguments contains flawed reasoning most similar to that in the argument above?

Possible Answers:

Anyone who thinks chickens are ugly thinks ducks are ugly. Since there is no reason to think ducks are ugly there is no reason to think chickens are ugly.

If you believe in fairies then you do not believe in vampires. Since Cindy believes in vampires, she cannot believe in fairies.

Anyone who believes animals deserve better treatment believes that animals are capable of moral judgment. You do not believe that animals deserve better treatment so you do not think they are capable of moral judgment.

Anyone who thinks that eating before exercising is a good idea has never taken a health class. But Jim has never taken a health class and knows that he should not eat before exercising. Therefore, taking a health class is not necessary for you to know eating before exercising is not a good idea.

Anyone that believes that seagulls migrate based on advanced spatial recognition patterns believes that most bird species have highly developed frontal cortexes. But is has been conclusively proven that most bird species do not have highly developed frontal cortexes. Thus, the belief that seagulls migrated based on advanced spatial recognition patterns is false.

Correct answer:

Anyone that believes that seagulls migrate based on advanced spatial recognition patterns believes that most bird species have highly developed frontal cortexes. But is has been conclusively proven that most bird species do not have highly developed frontal cortexes. Thus, the belief that seagulls migrated based on advanced spatial recognition patterns is false.

Explanation:

The correct answer parallels the flawed reasoning of the stimulus. Both give a situation where the first argument is dismissed on the basis that the second argument presented is false.

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