Key Steps:
- Read the question first
- Read the passage
- Find the conclusion, highlight keywords
- Find assumptions that the argument lies on
- Attack these assumptions with the answer options
- Discard any invalid options and you’ll have your answer
The author states their conclusion in the last line: “It’s impossible to learn anything without motivation.”. The author justifies this by stating that “our research suggested that the learners who felt they were most successful were all highly motivated”. They then go on to explain that for some students, early success was linked to “heightened motivation”, and that “motivation may be due to a special aptitude for learning”. Further information is given to explain when the conditions in which students felt more motivated. It is important to look at this passage and identify any assumptions, conditions and when the author uses the word “may”. Remember, that “may” indicates that it is not a definite and that something can or cannot be true. The assumptions and conditions in this argument are (in order from the beginning to the end of the passage):
Assumption: Something that the author must believe to be true for the conclusion
Condition: A situation that must exist before the argument / conclusion can be applicable.
- Condition: The results are limited to adult learners only
- Assumption: That students who felt they were successful actually were successful in their tasks.
- Assumption: That successful students are motivated.
- Assumption: That students who felt they were motivated actually were motivated when doing their tasks.
Let’s have a look at the options whilst referring to our assumption and condition list.
Which one of the following is NOT a flaw in the above argument?
A. It assumes that those who felt they were successful actually were:
Statement A is one of the assumptions that we have identified in the passage. This as a result, if this assumption is not fulfilled, the conclusion is invalid. This means that Statement A is a flaw in the argument. The question asked us to identify which statement is NOT a flaw. Therefore A is incorrect.
B. It assumes that those who felt they were motivated actually were:
Statement B is one of the assumptions that we have identified in the passage. This as a result, if this assumption is not fulfilled, the conclusion is invalid. This means that Statement B is a flaw in the argument. The question asked us to identify which statement is NOT a flaw. Therefore B is incorrect.
C. The research does not establish that there are no successful learners who lacked motivation:
We have identified the following as an assumption: That successful learners are motivated. However as seen in Statement C, the research fails to identify if there in fact students who are successful but are unmotivated. Therefore, this is a flaw in the argument. The question asked us to identify which statement is NOT a flaw. Therefore C is incorrect.
D. The research is only concerned with adult learners:
Statement D is the condition we have identified in the passage. The results of the research cannot be applied to any students who are not adult learners. This is a flaw in the argument. The question asked us to identify which statement is NOT a flaw. Therefore D is incorrect.
E. It assumes that in order to be motivated you have to have a special aptitude for learning:
Statement E is an inaccurate assumption. By using the word “assume”, Statement E is saying that this is something the author believes to be true. The passage states that “ saw that both success and motivation may be due to a special aptitude for learning.”. Remember, that “may” indicates that it is not a definite and that something can or cannot be true. As a result, the passage is saying that success and motivation can or cannot be due to a special aptitude for learning. Therefore the author does not believe that in order to be motivated you have to have a special aptitude for learning. The question asked us to identify which statement is NOT a flaw. Therefore E is correct.