Definition of VR Terms: ASSUME, IMPLIED, SUGGESTS

[SKaminski]

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I'm encountering some problems knowing exactly what the questions are looking for when they use the following terms in the follow manner:

The article suggests / implies that....

What is the EXACT definition of suggests? implies?

Can the article directly STATE something that it suggests, or does a question directly mirroring the passage become invalid?

Can the article directly STATE something that it implies, or does a question directly mirroring the passage become invalid? I believe (i'd have to do some scrounging) that EK has told me nothing can be too close to the passage, for even if it is directly stated, it is therefor directly implied. I have had Kaplan invalid answers on the basis that items are directly stated, and not implied.

What's correct?
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Imagine that the author presents an arguement, and provides SOME support for it. In the question section there is a question regarding: What does the author ASSUME in his argument... or... In his argument, the author assumes that...

Can THIS be an exact quote for the article? Can it be explicitly stated?

If the answers for ASSUME and IMPLIED are the same, how do the two terms differentiate on the MCAT?

Are their any other words i should watch out for?
And lastly, what does FUD stand for? Urban Dictionary and Wikipedia's abbreviations page havn't answered this for me, but KAPLAN loves to use it in its explinations.

TL;DR: How close can the terms ASSUME, IMPLIED, AND SUPPORT mirror an idea/sentiment/wording from the passage before being considered invalid?

 

[SKaminski]

Hey everyone,

I'm "bumping" this thread. I find that VR is the most enigmatic portion of the VR section. The rules for it are not as concrete as with the physical sciences. As it is a more 'abstract' section, understanding EXACTLY what the question is asking you is of the utmost importance. To this end, i'd like hopefully see some discussion around this section.

What I have found so far is that a passage can not "support" something too closely, as it can directly "support" or indirectly "support" something. Direct support is still support!

The word "assume" typically means that there is no direct support for an idea, but that the idea is indicated elsewhere.

The word "implied", however, i'm stuck on. The web resource http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/implied gives:

im·ply
[im-plahy] Show IPA
verb (used with object), im·plied, im·ply·ing.
1. to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated: His words implied a lack of faith.
2. (of words) to signify or mean.
3. to involve as a necessary circumstance: Speech implies a speaker.
4. Obsolete . to enfold.

Definition 1 would suggest that whatever is implied CAN NOT BE EXPLICITLY STATED.
Definitino 2 would suggest that whatever is implied CAN BE EXPLICITLY STATED. (If I say "I'm going to the store to pick up milk." I mean that I am going to the store to pick up milk.)

 

[Jepstein30]

Hey everyone,

I'm "bumping" this thread. I find that VR is the most enigmatic portion of the VR section. The rules for it are not as concrete as with the physical sciences. As it is a more 'abstract' section, understanding EXACTLY what the question is asking you is of the utmost importance. To this end, i'd like hopefully see some discussion around this section.

What I have found so far is that a passage can not "support" something too closely, as it can directly "support" or indirectly "support" something. Direct support is still support!

The word "assume" typically means that there is no direct support for an idea, but that the idea is indicated elsewhere.

The word "implied", however, i'm stuck on. The web resource http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/implied gives:

Definition 1 would suggest that whatever is implied CAN NOT BE EXPLICITLY STATED.
Definitino 2 would suggest that whatever is implied CAN BE EXPLICITLY STATED. (If I say "I'm going to the store to pick up milk." I mean that I am going to the store to pick up milk.)

You're overthinking this here but I'll try to help.

Implication questions generally ask you to use information in the passage to assess a topic that wasn't explicitly stated. I wouldn't expect the correct answer to be explicitly stated in the passage if I'm asked to imply something.

Both Assume and Imply ask you to work with information that isn't written in the passage.. but the questions are very similar but have subtle differences.

Ex. "Assume [situation X] occurs, what would the author think about his argument now?"
-Asks you to INFER based on information in the passage, reinterpret the author's argument based on a new experience

Ex. "Given the author's argument, what would the author think about [situation Y]?
- Situation Y would be something that works into one facet of the author's argument (for example, the author is talking about how war is bad and we are asked about what the author would think about other types of violence).
- Asks you to apply the author's argument to a new experience

That's what I would think based on these two words though. Maybe you have specific uses of the words in some of the questions you are wondering about?