Free TARA guide, no signup, sources named and linked
Critical Thinking flaw taxonomy
UAT-UK names Detecting Reasoning Errors as one of seven Critical Thinking question types. These labels are a study tool, not an official marking scheme.
Map the argument before judging it
For test purposes, accept the stated reasons as true. Your job is not to fact-check the topic or announce your opinion. Test whether those reasons establish the conclusion.
- Conclusion: what is the writer trying to make you accept?
- Reasons: which statements are offered in support?
- Bridge: what unstated claim must connect them?
Six high-value flaw families
| Working label | Broken bridge | Fast question |
|---|---|---|
| Cause from association | Two things move together, so one caused the other | Could cause run backwards, or a third factor explain both? |
| Selection bias | The observed group stands for everyone | Who chose, entered or disappeared from the sample? |
| Necessary becomes sufficient | One required condition is treated as enough | What else must also be true? |
| False choice | Two options are presented as exhaustive | Is there a third route or a mixture? |
| Weak analogy | A shared feature carries the conclusion | Is the relevant feature actually shared? |
| Slippery chain | One step is said to trigger a severe sequence | Which link lacks support or a stopping point? |
Also recognise equivocation, where a key word changes meaning, and circularity, where the conclusion quietly supports itself.
Find the missing comparison
Worked example Optional seminars and higher scores
After a college introduced optional morning reasoning seminars, attendees scored higher on a TARA practice test than non-attendees. The seminars therefore caused the improvement, so all applicants should be required to attend. What is the main flaw?
- Some applicants may not apply to university.
- Seminar attendees may already have been stronger or more motivated.
- A practice test contains Critical Thinking and Problem Solving.
- Morning sessions may be inconvenient for commuters.
- The college cannot require students at other colleges to attend.
Why this works: The second option gives a rival explanation for the score difference. Self-selection breaks the causal bridge.
Why the tempting route fails: The inconvenience point may matter to policy, but it does not expose the inference from group scores to seminar-caused improvement.
See how the distractors are built
- True but idle: accurate, but leaves the inference untouched.
- Topic objection: attacks the policy or subject rather than the reasoning.
- Minor weakness: notices wording but misses the bridge carrying the conclusion.
- Reverse task: strengthens when the stem asks for a flaw, or weakens when it asks for an assumption.
Match the question type to the operation
| Official question type | Your operation |
|---|---|
| Identifying the Main Conclusion | Separate the final claim from reasons and intermediate conclusions |
| Drawing a Conclusion | Choose what follows without adding a stronger claim |
| Identifying an Assumption | Find the necessary unstated bridge |
| Assessing Additional Evidence | Ask whether the fact changes the bridge |
| Detecting Reasoning Errors | Name how the bridge fails |
| Matching Arguments | Ignore topic and match the structure |
| Applying Principles | State the general rule, then find a governed case |
For every miss, write the conclusion in fewer than twelve words, the stated reasons, the exact flaw and one new argument with the same structure but a different topic.
Sources
UAT-UK, TARA Question Guide. Argument structure, assumptions and the seven official Critical Thinking types. Read the Question Guidehttps://uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/24172250/TARA_Question_Guide_June2025.pdf
UAT-UK, TARA Content Specification. Critical Thinking as assessing whether reasons establish a claim. Read the specificationhttps://uat-wp.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/30103001/TARA_Content_Specification_April2025.pdf
The six flaw-family labels and worked seminar item are original UniGenius study tools.