Lsat Flaw Types

Front 1

Representativesness:

Back 1

Surveys/ Studies - ask if data is truly representative of the conclusion

Front 2

Absolute numbers vs. percents

Back 2

Confuses % with actual numbers:

5000 of people affected therefore the majority of people affected (50% of people could be more than 5000 unaffected)

Front 3

Scope shift

Back 3

Evidence and conclusion don't match correctly

Front 4

Necessity vs. sufficiency

Back 4

The conditions to make something a necessary condition (if then) are reversed in the conclusion

Front 5

Alternative explanations/ sources

Back 5

Ignoring a plausible, logical explanation to the cause

Front 6

Possibility vs. Certainty

Back 6

Something is considered to maybe the cause is concluded to be the cause

Front 7

One member vs. all members

Back 7

something true of certain members is extrapolated for each member of the entire group

Front 8

Individual members vs. group as whole

Back 8

something true of certain members extrapolated for entire group or entire group sharing characteristic among each member

Front 9

Lack of evidence = evidence against

Back 9

"Absence of evidence, is not evidence of absence" - Rumsfeld

Front 10

Inappropriate analogy

Back 10

An analogy that is totally unrelated to the argument and therefore cannot be used as evidence to advance the conclusion