#11 - A year ago several regional hospitals attempted to

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[MountainGirl234]

I got this correct, but I would like to reaffirm how it strengthens the argument.

Is this an example where D strengthens the argument because it reaffirms the cause-effect relationship, showing that the effect didn't occur until the cause occurred, in addition to the relationship irreversible?

[Robert Carroll]

Mountain,

Answer choice (D) is indeed saying that the time relationship is appropriate for the cause-and-effect relationship, and that it's unlikely some other causal factor was involved (because the supposed effect did not happen until the supposed cause happened, so any alternative explanation would also have had to have come about right at the time that the staff became aware of the closer observation).

Robert Carroll

[LawSchoolDream]

Can you please explain why not C? I got the answer correct intuitively. And how to identify this causal relationship in the future, I didn't see many indicator words unless I missed any?

[Luke Haqq]

Hi LawSchoolDream!

The conclusion of this stimulus is final sentence--"Clearly, the knowledge that their errors were being carefully monitored made the hospitals’ staffs much more meticulous in carrying out their patient-care duties."

To start with addressing the causal relationship in this conclusion, the word "made" seems key. That one thing made another thing happen is to say the first caused the second happen. So here the cause is "knowledge that their errors were being carefully monitored" and the effect was that workers were "much more meticulous in carrying out their patient-care duties."

Answer choice (D) reinforces the conclusion. As Robert explains, it suggests that it's unlikely that other causal factors were involved--the supposed effect did not happen until the cause occurred.

To address answer choice (C), that answer choice states "The plan did not call for the recording of staff errors that could have caused patient injuries but did not." This addresses something that is somewhat beside the point. All this is making a statement about is something that the plan did not do. We want something that reinforces or strengthens what it does do, as answer choice (D) does.