#12 - Legislator: The recently passed highway bill is

[lsatqueen22]

Hi! I was wondering if I could receive assistance on translating the answer choices, as I believe my struggle to understanding some of the answer choices is why I might've gotten the answer incorrect.
(A) essentially states that the author fails to prove that the effect (i.e., bill being unpopular with voters) can occur without the presumed cause (i.e., voters will lose a ton of seats in the upcoming election). This is the correct answer because it points out a weakness: cause, no effect.
(B) I was unsure about what "focuses on the popularity... to the exclusion of its merit" means, and whether or not the stimulus even does this?
(C) circular reasoning - assumes that the bill is unpopular and then concludes that the bill is unpopular. This is incorrect because the author does not employ circular reasoning.
(D) assumes that the bill is unpopular because of the author's attitudes toward its popularity. This is incorrect because the author does not make this assumption; rather, the conclusion itself is that the bill is unpopular.
(E) fails to effectively appeal to authority. This is incorrect because the author does not appeal to authority in order to make its conclusion.

Thanks so much in advance.

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi lsatqueen


I'm going to look at your translations answer choice by answer choice.

Answer choice (A): I think you have the cause and effect flipped here. The cause would be the bill passage. The effect would be the bad polling. However, otherwise your understanding was spot on here. It says the effect could have occurred without the cause, which is a classic way to weaken a causal argument.

Answer choice (B): The stimulus does focus on the popularity and not the merit of the bill. However, the merit of the bill is not at issue here. Answer choice (B) correctly describes the stimulus, but it isn't a flaw. The conclusion is about popularity, not merit.

Answer choice (C): Exactly! Circular answers are often used as incorrect answer choices.

Answer choice (D): Excellent. This one is not actually describing the stimulus we have. It's out.

Answer choice (E): Exactly right here too! The voters are the exact people who can comment on the views of....the voters. So it's not a flaw to cite them.

Your analysis was fairly strong except the tricky answer choice of answer choice (B). For Flaw in the Reasoning questions, try and remember that you need to have a combination of things for an answer to be true. You need the answer choice to correctly describe what the stimulus does, and you need that description to describe a problem with the reasoning in the stimulus. Answer choice (B) and answer choice (E) are describing the stimulus accurately, but they aren't describing flaws in it. Answer choice (C) and answer choice (D) both describe flaws, but not flaws that occur in this stimulus.

Hope that helps!