Argument Analysis: Identifying Flaws

Methods in this video

Tap a time to jump to where the video teaches that method.

1. 1

   What else could it be?

   ▶ 1:46

   When to use it: The question asks which sentence shows the mistake, and the conclusion says 'must', 'can only' or 'so it is'; or a two-speaker question where the box lists only what usually or sometimes happens.

   • Treat every given fact as true; the flaw is in the 'so' step.
   • Circle 'must' and make up a story where every fact holds but the conclusion fails.
   • Your story is what they assumed without saying it; a story that leaves the conclusion standing does not count.
2. 2

   Where did the number come from?

   ▶ 4:51

   When to use it: In a flaw question the evidence is a number, or something that never happened (no one caught in five years, 14 hats left in the box).

   • When you see a number, ask how it came about.
   • Something else may have shaped it: no one caught may mean no one dared; what is left is not everything that happened.
   • For an option that sounds like criticism, check whose side it is really on.