Biff is at the beach unless it is raining.

　　Given this statement， we know that if it is not raining， then Biff is at the beach. Now if we symbolize Biff is at the beach as B， and it is rainingas R， then the statement can be diagrammed as ~RB.

　　CLASSIFICATION

　　In Logic II， we studied deductive arguments. However， the bulk of arguments on the GMAT are inductive. In this section we will classify and study the major types of inductive arguments.

　　An argument is deductive if its conclusion necessarily follows from its premisesotherwise it is inductive. In an inductive argument， the author presents the premises as evidence or reasons for the conclusion. The validity of the conclusion depends on how compelling the premises are. Unlike deductive arguments， the conclusion of an inductive argument is never certain. The truth of the conclusion can range from highly likely to highly unlikely. In reasonable arguments， the conclusion is likely. In fallacious arguments， it is improbable. We will study both reasonable and fallacious arguments.

　　We will classify the three major types of inductive reasoninggeneralization， analogy， and causaland their associated fallacies.

　　Generalization

　　Generalization and analogy， which we consider in the next section， are the main tools by which we accumulate knowledge and analyze our world. Many people define generalization as inductive reasoning. In colloquial speech， the　phrase to generalize carries a negative connotation. To argue by generalization， however， is neither inherently good nor bad. The relative validity of　a generalization depends on both the context of the argument and the likelihood that its conclusion is true. Polling organizations make predictions by　generalizing information from a small sample of the population， which hopefully represents the general population. The soundness of their predictions depends on how representative the sample is and on its size. Clearly， the less comprehensive a conclusion is the more likely it is to be true.　

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