#24 - Politician: Democracy requires that there be no

[Administrator]

Please post below with any questions!

[cpando1995@gmail.com]

Hi powerscore team:


I was able to identify the second sentence in the stimulus as the conclusion, since the first sentence didn't stir any reaction in me and the last sentence is a premise because it say "for...". However, I found myself choosing between A and B and chose B because I thought that each premise could independently support the main conclusion. Did I get that part wrong and is that why answer choice A is incorrect?

Thank you,
Cindel P.

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for the question about this complex Method-AP question, Cindel. Interestingly, I just wrote a post for our blog on the very subject of analyzing questions like this, and it will be posted next week - perhaps a little late for your needs. So, I'll recap here.

Many of these questions have multiple conclusions, and it's important to figure out which conclusion is which. One gets all the support and gives none - that's the Main Point. The other gets some support and gives some - that's an Intermediate Conclusion.

The second sentence here is an Intermediate Conclusion, supported by the first sentence (the one we are asked about in the stem) and supporting the last sentence, which is the Main Point. Since the first sentence supports the Intermediate Conclusion, which then supports the Main Point, the correct answer is B.

I see the cause of your confusion here - the use of the word "for" to introduce the Main Point is a bit odd, and we are used to seeing "for" as a premise indicator, as in "for the reason that" (aka "because"). Here, though, look at the interaction with the word "thus" (big conclusion indicator) in that same sentence. "For" is being used here more like "if" - paraphrase that sentence as "if they do that it would be wrong" and you'll see that it's a conclusion and not a premise.

Don't be too mechanical in relying on indicator words, but be sure to look at how those words are being used in the overall logic of the argument. Those words can help, but our authors are ready to set traps like this one to challenge us to go beyond mechanics and into true reasoning.

Keep up the good work, and good luck on the test!

[T.B.Justin]

Hey Adam!

Thanks for the explanation.

So, citizens are fearful of having their private conversations monitored by the government, if they are aware of such thing, and thats why unmonitored private conversations or perhaps being unaware of such monitoring is essential to democracy. If government did monitor correspondence on the internet, that would be bad for democracy, but would being unaware of that be bad for democracy!

[ShannonOh22]

Thanks for the question about this complex Method-AP question, Cindel. Interestingly, I just wrote a post for our blog on the very subject of analyzing questions like this, and it will be posted next week - perhaps a little late for your needs. So, I'll recap here.

Many of these questions have multiple conclusions, and it's important to figure out which conclusion is which. One gets all the support and gives none - that's the Main Point. The other gets some support and gives some - that's an Intermediate Conclusion.

The second sentence here is an Intermediate Conclusion, supported by the first sentence (the one we are asked about in the stem) and supporting the last sentence, which is the Main Point. Since the first sentence supports the Intermediate Conclusion, which then supports the Main Point, the correct answer is B.

Adam, you just blew me away with this explanation - somehow I had never thought of premise/intermediate conclusions/main conclusions in this way. It makes so much more sense now - I was really thrown off by the language of answer choices A and B because they both noted "for which no support is provided". I didn't understand this just means that claim is a premise. GAME CHANGER. Thank you so much! And are you able to point me to the blog you referenced in your explanation? I would love to read the full version if possible.

Thanks again!

[James Finch]

Thanks for the question about this complex Method-AP question, Cindel. Interestingly, I just wrote a post for our blog on the very subject of analyzing questions like this, and it will be posted next week - perhaps a little late for your needs. So, I'll recap here.

Many of these questions have multiple conclusions, and it's important to figure out which conclusion is which. One gets all the support and gives none - that's the Main Point. The other gets some support and gives some - that's an Intermediate Conclusion.

The second sentence here is an Intermediate Conclusion, supported by the first sentence (the one we are asked about in the stem) and supporting the last sentence, which is the Main Point. Since the first sentence supports the Intermediate Conclusion, which then supports the Main Point, the correct answer is B.

Adam, you just blew me away with this explanation - somehow I had never thought of premise/intermediate conclusions/main conclusions in this way. It makes so much more sense now - I was really thrown off by the language of answer choices A and B because they both noted "for which no support is provided". I didn't understand this just means that claim is a premise. GAME CHANGER. Thank you so much! And are you able to point me to the blog you referenced in your explanation? I would love to read the full version if possible.

Thanks again!

Hi Shannon,

Here is the blog post in question. Hope it helps!

[kupwarriors9]

Could you think of a sub-conclusion as a chain linking the main conclusion to the other premises (that don't necessarily support the main conclusion)?

Thanks for the question about this complex Method-AP question, Cindel. Interestingly, I just wrote a post for our blog on the very subject of analyzing questions like this, and it will be posted next week - perhaps a little late for your needs. So, I'll recap here.

Many of these questions have multiple conclusions, and it's important to figure out which conclusion is which. One gets all the support and gives none - that's the Main Point. The other gets some support and gives some - that's an Intermediate Conclusion.

The second sentence here is an Intermediate Conclusion, supported by the first sentence (the one we are asked about in the stem) and supporting the last sentence, which is the Main Point. Since the first sentence supports the Intermediate Conclusion, which then supports the Main Point, the correct answer is B.

I see the cause of your confusion here - the use of the word "for" to introduce the Main Point is a bit odd, and we are used to seeing "for" as a premise indicator, as in "for the reason that" (aka "because"). Here, though, look at the interaction with the word "thus" (big conclusion indicator) in that same sentence. "For" is being used here more like "if" - paraphrase that sentence as "if they do that it would be wrong" and you'll see that it's a conclusion and not a premise.

Don't be too mechanical in relying on indicator words, but be sure to look at how those words are being used in the overall logic of the argument. Those words can help, but our authors are ready to set traps like this one to challenge us to go beyond mechanics and into true reasoning.

Keep up the good work, and good luck on the test!

[Robert Carroll]

kup,

The premises still support the main conclusion, even if indirectly.

It IS accurate to think of the subconclusion as a link in a chain, with the premise(s) that support the subconclusion as links on one side, and the main conclusion as a link on the other side (although there may be links between the main conclusion and the subconclusion, if there are multiple subconclusions).

Robert Carroll