Identify the flaw in the argument: “We conducted a poll of 20 thirteen-year-old American boys, all of whom go to Central Middle School. 70% of them agreed that 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Yoshihito-Simons, absolutely blows. The people have spoken! Most Americans clearly dislike Lauren Yoshihito-Simons.”
Answer
This is a sampling flaw. Luckily for all of us, the American people are not all thirteen-year-old boys at Central Middle School. Remember, polls need to be both large (which, for the LSAT, usually means at least 100 subjects) and representative. If you want to make a conclusion about the American people in general, you need to use a representative sample of those people.
Want to receive daily LSAT practice delivered right into your inbox? Sign up here for our LSAT Question of the Day emails!
Related Post
Search the Blog
Free LSAT Practice Account
Take a free practice LSAT, get a detailed score report and explanatory videos, and learn your odds of getting into your dream school just by checking out our FREE LSAT resources.
Learn MorePopular Posts
-
-
-
-
-
Entertainment Revisiting Elle's LSAT Journey from Legally Blonde
Submit a Comment