- Mon Feb 28, 2022 7:34 pm
#93987
Not all the answers bring up problems with the argument, Adam. For example, answer A does nothing to poke holes in the explanation because it is about newly incurred disabilities. If anything, that strengthens the argument because it suggests that younger people will be less likely to have disabilities that might qualify them for disability payments, but the stats suggest that the opposite is true. The conclusion would help to explain that odd discrepancy.
I would not use the inclusion of "jobs" in the answer guide you here, because the correct answer could have nothing to do with jobs. For example, what if we had an answer that said something like "those with disabilities severe enough to qualify for payments have shorter lifespans than those who do not qualify"? That might be an alternate cause for the declining percentage of payments among older people with no reference whatsoever to jobs! Maybe it's just that the folks over 65 who qualified are dying off at a higher rate than those who don't qualify?
Matching key concepts like that works well on most Assumption and Justify the Conclusion questions, and many Strengthen questions, but it's not a reliable approach for most Weaken questions, especially ones that involve causal reasoning where the correct answer could invoke a previously unmentioned alternate cause.
I would not use the inclusion of "jobs" in the answer guide you here, because the correct answer could have nothing to do with jobs. For example, what if we had an answer that said something like "those with disabilities severe enough to qualify for payments have shorter lifespans than those who do not qualify"? That might be an alternate cause for the declining percentage of payments among older people with no reference whatsoever to jobs! Maybe it's just that the folks over 65 who qualified are dying off at a higher rate than those who don't qualify?
Matching key concepts like that works well on most Assumption and Justify the Conclusion questions, and many Strengthen questions, but it's not a reliable approach for most Weaken questions, especially ones that involve causal reasoning where the correct answer could invoke a previously unmentioned alternate cause.
Adam M. Tyson
PowerScore LSAT, GRE, ACT and SAT Instructor
Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LSATadam
PowerScore LSAT, GRE, ACT and SAT Instructor
Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LSATadam