Overview: Strong & Weak Arguments | Logical Reasoning for CLAT PDF Download

What is Statement and Argument Reasoning?

In simple language, argument is a point of view on a particular matter supported by certain evidence. The candidate is required to check the forcefulness of the given argument such as if they are weak or strong. In technical terms, an argument may be said to be a sequence of two or more phrases, clauses, sentences that includes a claim or conclusion. Such a conclusion is arrived at with the help of one or more than one statement, which may be called premise or proposition. 

Apart from this, an argument has hidden premises also and such hidden premises are called assumptions. Different types of questions are covered in the Statement and Argument reasoning section such as sequential order or arrangement, position test, time sequence test, and so on. Several types of problems based on this logical reasoning sections are asked in various government competitive exams. 

Types of Statement and Argument 

As now we know what consists of the questions related to the Statement and Argument reasoning section. Let us see the various types of questions that may come one by one from below. 

Weak Arguments 

In this type of statement and argument reasoning, candidates will be given arguments, which are weak or absurd. Weak arguments are of various types and they are mentioned below.
(a) Ambiguous Arguments: In this type of weak argument, the question does not clarify how the argument is related to the course of action and what exactly the author wants to say, therefore these arguments are weak in nature.
(b) Superfluous Arguments: In this type of weak argument, arguments are superfluous and do not make an in depth analysis of it, therefore these arguments are weak in nature.

(c) Question-back Argument: In this type of weak argument, the arguments consist of a question thrown back by the arguer. 

Strong Arguments

In this type of statement and argument reasoning, candidates will be given arguments, which are strong in nature. Strong arguments are of various types and they are mentioned below.
(a) Established Facts: In this type of strong argument, the given argument is an established fact and usually true.
(b) Experiences predict that the result will follow: In this type of strong argument, the arguments are true because of the past experiences.
(c) Prevailing notion of truth: In this type of strong argument, the arguments are certainly or universally accepted or true. 

Statement and Argument Sample Questions

Q1: Statement: Should the government have helped the victims of triple talaq?
Argument: No, because they can face their problem.
Sol: This argument is weak as they all are not self-dependent and this is not an ideal situation for any person.

Q2: Statement: Should non-vegetarian food be totally banned in our country?
Argument: Yes, it is expensive and therefore beyond the means of most people in our country.
Sol: Logically this argument is probable because non-vegetarian food is ex- pensive and therefore, it is beyond the means of most people in our country. But only for this reason, a ban on non-vegetarian food is not desirable. So this argument is weak.

Q3: Statements: Import of foreign items should be banned.
Arguments: Yes. Importing foreign books is of no use.
Sol: These arguments do not delve into the core of the topic. Hence, these types of arguments are weak arguments.

Q4: Statement: Should India declare itself as a Hindu country?
Arguments: Yes, Because Hinduism is the largest religion in India, with 79.8% of the population identifying themselves as Hindu.
Sol: Besides these, there can be other types of arguments too, and these types of arguments are weak arguments.

Q5: Statement: Should learning self-defense be made compulsory for girl students?
Argument: Yes, in an environment where cases of assault on women are increasing, self-defense training becomes one essential part of women safety.
Sol: This is strong, because since cases of assault are increasing self- defense is useful for women.