LR Problem Set #1 Q16

[smile22]

Hello,

I am having difficulty in understanding question #16 that appears in the LR Problem Set #1.
Fortunately, I chose correct answer A; however, to be honest I feel like it was more of a guess vs an educated narrowing down of incorrect answers. Furthermore, I don't really understand what the question stem is asking. The question stem is asking for the reader to establish that the doctor's second reason (patients not asking for access to their records) does not cancel the first. So, is this question stem a variation of a strengthen question? Even though I correctly answered this question, I was also struggling with eliminating answer E. Why is E wrong?


Thank you.

[BethRibet]

Hi Smile,

Thanks for writing in.

In essence, on the face of the stimulus, it would initially appear that the two reasons can't both be a serious issue. Meaning if no patients will ask for their records (the second reason), then why do we need to be concerned about staff having to spend precious time on getting the records (the first reason). Either one can be true, or the other, but not both. This is the flaw in the argument, and in order to strengthen it, we're looking for an answer choice that will fix that flaw to some degree at least, in this case by helping us understand why both reasons can simultaneously be valid concerns.

(A) fixes that flaw quite nicely in essence by telling us that as soon as a patient enters the office, the staff will need to spend time retrieving their records, and therefore will be wasting time, even if patients never ask to see their records. In other words, if answer choice A is true, then both reasons can be true, without contradicting or negating each other's importance. Answer choice E supports the second reason, but does nothing to address the first reason, and for that reason, A is a better answer.

Hope this helps clarify, let us know if not!

Beth

[smile22]

Thank you!