#10 - Cotrell is, at best, able to write magazine articl

[drewwellnitz]

Hello! The sentence "who is incapable of writing an article that is better than average" makes the circular error obvious. However, if the test makers had excluded that line, would the error still be circular reasoning? Apologies for the hypothetical question, but I am stumped.

[Jeff Wren]

Hi drew,

The line that you cite is exactly what makes the argument circular since it is logically equivalent in meaning to the conclusion (the first sentence in the argument).

If that line had been excluded, the argument would not be circular. It would still be flawed because no evidence is provided that Cotrell plagiarized the superior articles, but it would be a lack of evidence flaw rather than circular reasoning.