Verbal: reading and argument structure
| English | 中文 | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| discourse/ˈdɪskɔːs/ | 语篇 | yǔ piān |
| assumption/əˈsʌmpʃn/ | 假设 | jiǎ shè |
A decision before an answer
- An argument can contain true facts and still have a missing link between its evidence and conclusion.
- Your goal: Analyse discourse and draw conclusions.
Read the relationship
- Reading comprehension includes single-answer, select-one-or-more and sentence-selection tasks. Follow each instruction exactly.
- Distinguish assumptions, evidence and author perspective.
“All enrolled students passed; Mei is enrolled.” What follows?
Apply the universal statement to the stated member.
Use the defining rule
- Identify the conclusion separately from observations. An assumption is an unstated bridge the argument needs.
- Select relevant points and understand text organisation.
A passage presents a theory then gives evidence against it. Its structure is:
Track the shift in the author’s purpose.
Check the conditions
- For select-all tasks, test each option independently. One correct option does not make the others false.
- Select relevant points and understand text organisation.
Sales rose after advertising increased. “Advertising caused the rise” assumes no sufficient alternative explanation, such as a price reduction. A passage that only reports the timing supports an association, not that causal conclusion.
An unstated premise connecting evidence to a conclusion is an ____.
It is not the same as an explicitly stated fact.
Apply the task format
- An author can describe a theory before challenging it. Track whose position each sentence reports.
- Select relevant points and understand text organisation.
Graduate verbal tasks reward precise scope. Avoid an answer whose always or only overstates the passage.
Which answer fits this case?
Analyse discourse and draw conclusions
A select-one-or-more task always has exactly two answers.
Follow the instructions and assess every option.
Keep the distinctions
- assumption 假设 — An unstated premise needed by an argument.
- discourse 语篇 — Connected language with structure and meaning.
- Analyse discourse and draw conclusions.
- Distinguish assumptions, evidence and author perspective.
- Select relevant points and understand text organisation.
Match each term with its precise meaning in this lesson.
Keep the distinctions stated in the teaching example.
Put this lesson’s reasoning or event sequence in order.
The order follows the stated process; check each stage before the next.