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Sufficient Assumption Question - Coggle Diagram
Sufficient Assumption Question
Identify the Task
These ask
“Which of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?”
Goal
Find the missing link that makes the argument valid (100% airtight)
Steps
Find the conclusion
What the argument is trying to prove
Find the premises
What evidence is given
Spot the gap
What unstated assumption is required for the premises to guarantee the conclusion
Bridge with logic
The correct answer connects premises → conclusion directly
Common Patterns
Conditional Gaps
If argument goes
Premise: A → B
Conclusion: A → C
Missing link: B → C
Quantifier Shifts
Some vs all, most vs some
SA often requires upgrading or linking these
Causal Gaps
Premise says X causes Y
conclusion assumes no alternative cause / no reverse causation
Strategy
Symbolize
Translate to conditional logic when possible
Look for extremes
Correct answers often sound strong (eg, “all,” “only if”)
Unlike necessary assumption Qs, strength is good here
Check sufficiency
Plug answer in → does it guarantee the conclusion? If yes, it’s correct
Common Traps
Necessary but not sufficient assumptions (too weak)
Restating premises
Out-of-scope answers that don’t connect evidence → conclusion
Quick Checks
Ask: “If this answer is true, is the argument 100% valid?”
If yes → correct
If only helpful, but not airtight → wrong
Quick Diagnostic
Ask yourself:
Is it asking for what the argument depends on / requires? → Necessary Assumption
Is it asking for something that just helps? → Strengthen
Is it asking me to find what’s already entailed by the text? → Inference
Is the question asking me to fix the gap so the conclusion must follow? → Sufficient Assumption