How do I improve "weaken/strengthen" and "inference" questions in CARS?
MCAT Student
🔬Hi everyone!
I have taken the practice exams a couple times and I saw a pattern that my questions I usually get wrong talk about "weaken/strengthen" and "inference." I am wondering how to improve that with a different approach to the question or any tips is appreciated!
Best Answer
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Hi Dylan. For inference, it can be tough to consider what might be true vs what is definitely supported by the passage. If you're reading over an answer, and it seems plausible 🤷 but there's no definite proof, then it's likely the incorrect answer. Make sure you get that passage support!
For strengthen-weaken, there's two variants - one is reasoning within, so examining the parts of the argument set up in the passage. For this, the question often ask for something in the passage that is supporting or weakening a claim that's also in the passage. This might not necessarily be something you adjust in the question analysis, but might work better if you're reading beyond the content, and working on the structural features. For instance, let's say my conclusion is I think cilantro is the worst herb. Then I go on to tell this story about how I went to get some pho, and I picked out every single green thing in my soup before I started eating. Structurally, I'm looking at that story not for information, but asking myself why is this example here. If the question asked what strengthen my argument, then the correct answer is the example of me eating pho —> that's much easier to identify if I knew the function of that detail was while reading the passage.
The other type of strengthen-weaken is reasoning beyond the text. In this one, the question is referencing an argument from the passage (often the author's), and is asking what new info in the question stem is going to support or weaken the claim. In this one, you'll want to first recall or re-read the claim from the passage, and then look for the answer that works in the right direction. Initially, you might be looking for something that's just restating or negating the passage claim but it's more than that. If someone were to try and weaken my claim from earlier, a possible new piece of evidence would be that they saw me eating Chipotle rice in my burrito bowl, which definitely had cilantro in it.
Hope that helps!
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Answers
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Hi Dylan. For inference, it can be tough to consider what might be true vs what is definitely supported by the passage. If you're reading over an answer, and it seems plausible 🤷 but there's no definite proof, then it's likely the incorrect answer. Make sure you get that passage support!
For strengthen-weaken, there's two variants - one is reasoning within, so examining the parts of the argument set up in the passage. For this, the question often ask for something in the passage that is supporting or weakening a claim that's also in the passage. This might not necessarily be something you adjust in the question analysis, but might work better if you're reading beyond the content, and working on the structural features. For instance, let's say my conclusion is I think cilantro is the worst herb. Then I go on to tell this story about how I went to get some pho, and I picked out every single green thing in my soup before I started eating. Structurally, I'm looking at that story not for information, but asking myself why is this example here. If the question asked what strengthen my argument, then the correct answer is the example of me eating pho —> that's much easier to identify if I knew the function of that detail was while reading the passage.
The other type of strengthen-weaken is reasoning beyond the text. In this one, the question is referencing an argument from the passage (often the author's), and is asking what new info in the question stem is going to support or weaken the claim. In this one, you'll want to first recall or re-read the claim from the passage, and then look for the answer that works in the right direction. Initially, you might be looking for something that's just restating or negating the passage claim but it's more than that. If someone were to try and weaken my claim from earlier, a possible new piece of evidence would be that they saw me eating Chipotle rice in my burrito bowl, which definitely had cilantro in it.
Hope that helps!
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Thank you Ae-Ri! I will try again to add your perspective on the passages!
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