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- Sat Feb 04, 2017 10:43 am
#32451
Complete Question Explanation
Method of Reasoning—CE. The correct answer choice is (D)
Here, the accountant introduces the stimulus topic by using the “some people say...” technique, in which the author describes a viewpoint and then argues against it. The accountant tells us that the newspaper industry regularly blames (i.e., a version of “some people say...”) its falling profits on the rising cost of newsprint. Not surprisingly, the accountant disagrees with this view.
The accountant’s argument begins in the second sentence, where the accountant disputes the claim that newsprint costs are rising. Adjusted for inflation, newsprint costs no more than it did ten years ago, and is “cheap.” The “real threats” to the profitability of newspapers, the accountant concludes, are falling circulation and falling advertising.
The question stem tells us that this is a Method of Reasoning question, asking us to choose the answer that best describes how the accountant presented the argument. Stated in the abstract, our prephrase is that the accountant introduced a claim, provided evidence that disputed the claim, and then concluded that an alternative to the claim is true. In the context of the subject matter of the stimulus, the author introduced the newspaper industry’s explanation for falling profits, provided evidence about the cost of newsprint to dispute the industry’s explanation, and then concluded that an alternative explanation is true, that falling circulation and falling advertising are responsible for the industry’s falling profits.
Note that this argument is causal. The newspaper industry cites rising newsprint costs as the cause of its falling profits and the accountant cites two alternate causes, falling subscriptions and falling advertising. While you need to be aware that the argument is causal, it is not necessary that you diagram the causal relationships involved. This argument is a great example of how causal language can be subtle, and can occur in the absence of any traditional indicator words.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice fails the Fact Test, meaning that it describes an event that did not occur in the stimulus. Specifically, the author did not “reinterpret a popular analogy.”
Answer choice (B): This is an example of a Half Right, Half Wrong answer choice. While the accountant did “use economic data to raise doubts” about the newspaper industry’s view, the argument did not raise doubts about “the current effectiveness of a historically accepted approach.”
Answer choice (C): The argument did not criticize a “newly developed method.” So, this choice fails the Fact Test.
Answer choice (D): this is the correct answer choice, because it accurately describes each piece of the argument:
“challenging an explanation” - the accountant challenges the newspaper industry’s explanation
“for a phenomenon” - the explanation was about the industry’s falling profits
“in order to introduce a different explanation” - the accountant introduced falling circulation and falling revenue, rather than rising newsprint costs, as the explanation
Answer choice (E): This choice fails the Fact Test because the accountant did not call into question a “justification for a practice.” Instead, the accountant called into question the industry’s explanation for its falling profits.
Method of Reasoning—CE. The correct answer choice is (D)
Here, the accountant introduces the stimulus topic by using the “some people say...” technique, in which the author describes a viewpoint and then argues against it. The accountant tells us that the newspaper industry regularly blames (i.e., a version of “some people say...”) its falling profits on the rising cost of newsprint. Not surprisingly, the accountant disagrees with this view.
The accountant’s argument begins in the second sentence, where the accountant disputes the claim that newsprint costs are rising. Adjusted for inflation, newsprint costs no more than it did ten years ago, and is “cheap.” The “real threats” to the profitability of newspapers, the accountant concludes, are falling circulation and falling advertising.
The question stem tells us that this is a Method of Reasoning question, asking us to choose the answer that best describes how the accountant presented the argument. Stated in the abstract, our prephrase is that the accountant introduced a claim, provided evidence that disputed the claim, and then concluded that an alternative to the claim is true. In the context of the subject matter of the stimulus, the author introduced the newspaper industry’s explanation for falling profits, provided evidence about the cost of newsprint to dispute the industry’s explanation, and then concluded that an alternative explanation is true, that falling circulation and falling advertising are responsible for the industry’s falling profits.
Note that this argument is causal. The newspaper industry cites rising newsprint costs as the cause of its falling profits and the accountant cites two alternate causes, falling subscriptions and falling advertising. While you need to be aware that the argument is causal, it is not necessary that you diagram the causal relationships involved. This argument is a great example of how causal language can be subtle, and can occur in the absence of any traditional indicator words.
Answer choice (A): This answer choice fails the Fact Test, meaning that it describes an event that did not occur in the stimulus. Specifically, the author did not “reinterpret a popular analogy.”
Answer choice (B): This is an example of a Half Right, Half Wrong answer choice. While the accountant did “use economic data to raise doubts” about the newspaper industry’s view, the argument did not raise doubts about “the current effectiveness of a historically accepted approach.”
Answer choice (C): The argument did not criticize a “newly developed method.” So, this choice fails the Fact Test.
Answer choice (D): this is the correct answer choice, because it accurately describes each piece of the argument:
“challenging an explanation” - the accountant challenges the newspaper industry’s explanation “for a phenomenon” - the explanation was about the industry’s falling profits “in order to introduce a different explanation” - the accountant introduced falling circulation and falling revenue, rather than rising newsprint costs, as the explanationAnswer choice (E): This choice fails the Fact Test because the accountant did not call into question a “justification for a practice.” Instead, the accountant called into question the industry’s explanation for its falling profits.