Logical reasoning PrepTest 101 · Section 2 · Question 10

Question prompt

Economist: The economy seems Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: E

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Argument Structure Questions

Stimulus Summary

People are buying more, so they expect economic growth, so the recession is seemingly ending.

Answer Anticipation

There are two things that tell us that the statement in question is a premise of this argument.
First, it’s introduced as what “[r]ecent figures” show. That’s introducing the statement in question as being a fact based on numbers, and that’s almost always indicative of a premise.
Second, these recent figures “indicat[e]” something is true - meaning that they support that contention.
What the recent figures indicate is an intermediate conclusion that then supports the main conclusion of the argument (that the economy seems to be heading out of a recession). We should look for an answer highlighting the statement in question as a premise of the argument.

Answer choices

  1. A
    It is the phenomenon Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    While consumers buying more durable goods is a phenomenon, the argument doesn’t attempt to explain why they’re doing so. Rather, it’s about what this indicates. This answer reverses the relationship in a way - recessions end because people buy more/the economy improves; people don’t buy more because a recession ends.

  2. B
    Its truth is required Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    While the Economist does use the statement in question as a premise, it’s not a necessary one. There could be other indicators that a recession is ending.

  3. C
    It is an inference Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer reverses the roles - the statement in question is what recent figures show, making it a premise that supports the conclusion/prediction that the recession is ending.

  4. D
    It is an inference Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    The statement in question indicates that consumers expect economic growth - it’s support for that view, not an inference drawn from it.

  5. E
    It is the primary Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E matches the stem
    This answer reflects the role of the statement in question - as a premise that serves as the basis for the argument. Since it is the sole premise, it’s the primary evidence - even though there’s also an intermediate conclusion in between it and the main point. Since the recent figures serve as the sole basis for that intermediate conclusion, and nothing else supports the main conclusion, we can say that it serves as the primary evidence.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 5%
  3. C 3%
  4. D 4%
  5. E Credited 85%

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