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#26216
Complete Question Explanation

Strengthen—PR. The correct answer choice is (E)

The conclusion of the bus driver’s argument is that the bus company should not reprimand him for the accident because he obeyed all traffic regulations. However, we also know that the bus driver might have been able to avoid the accident had he reacted quicker. The answer choices in this Principle question are much less abstract than many Principle questions. However, the correct answer choice still needs to apply to the facts in the stimulus and support the bus driver’s contention that he should not be reprimanded, despite the fact that he could have avoided the collision.

Answer Choice (A): If this answer choice is true, it establishes that the garbage truck driver is solely responsible for the accident. That alone does not prevent the bus driver from being reprimanded for his failure to avoid it. This is a Shell Game answer, as it supports a similar conclusion that is still different from the one contained in the stimulus.

Answer Choice (B): This answer choice is close, but does not quite fit the facts of the stimulus. The answer states that a bus driver should not be reprimanded if a police report confirms the collision was completely the fault of the other driver. However, the police report in the stimulus only confirms that the bus driver did not violate any traffic regulations. This does not mean that the collision is completely the fault of the other driver, as we have some evidence that the bus driver could have avoided the collision. Since the answer does not accurately address the facts in the stimulus, it is incorrect.

Answer Choice (C): This principle establishes when a company should reprimand a driver, not when they should not reprimand a driver. Also, the bus driver in the stimulus did not violate any traffic violations. Much like answer choice (B), this answer choice also fails to properly address the facts of the stimulus.

Answer Choice (D): This answer choice provides a sole criterion for reprimanding drivers—their failure to avoid a collision that they reasonably could have been expected to avoid. The contrapositive of this answer choice shows that if a driver could not have been reasonably expected to avoid the accident, then he should not be reprimanded. Unfortunately, the facts suggest the bus driver might have been able to avoid the collision. Therefore, it seems reasonable that he could have avoided the accident and so this principle does not help the bus driver’s argument.

Answer Choice (E): This is the correct answer choice. This answer choice states that if the bus driver did not violate any traffic regulations, then the bus driver should not be reprimanded. Here, we know the bus driver did not violate any traffic regulations, regardless of whether he could have avoided the collision or not. So, this principle supports the bus driver’s conclusion that he should not be reprimanded.
 ShannonOh22
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#70955
Question about how broad we should be looking to go on Principle questions in general. A) was a very attractive answer choice here, because if you broaden the message to a slightly wider degree than E, it would be reasonable to think that assuming "responsibility" for the accident would in fact warrant and/or lead to the driver being "reprimanded". I know the stimulus doesn't explicitly say anything about "taking responsibility", but I was under the impression that for Principle questions, the broader the "general rule", the more encompassing it will be, and therefore the stronger the answer choice?
 James Finch
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#70973
Hi Shannon,

We always need any Strengthen answer choice to help us get to the conclusion, either by directly linking a premise to the main conclusion, or by linking a premise to an intermediate conclusion that then supports the main conclusion. This is especially true in principle questions, which, similar to Justify questions, tend to be conditional answer choices that tie up loose ends between a premise and the conclusion.

The problem with (A) is that it doesn't get us to where the stimulus wants to go in the conclusion, which is that the bus driver shouldn't be reprimanded. Any answer that doesn't involve that phrase can thus be safely discarded, leaving only (B) and (E), of which (E) is the better choice as it fits the facts given in the stimulus, while (B) would require another assumption that the police report puts all blame on the garbage truck driver.

Hope this helps!

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