Logical reasoning PrepTest 104 · Section 1 · Question 21

Question prompt

In order to pressure Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

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

Strengthen with Necessary Premise Questions

Stimulus Summary

Goal - Get Country S to be less repressive
Approach - Ban all exports to Country S
Manufacturers: A country can’t be repressive with telecom equipment widely available, so this equipment shouldn’t be a part of the ban.

Answer Anticipation

We can break this stimulus up into two parts - the Goal/Approach brought up by Country R, and then the argument made by the Manufacturers of telecom equipment. It’s the latter that we’re tasked with analyzing to find a necessary premise.
The goal here is to force Country S to be less repressive, and the approach for that is to ban all exports to the country.
The Manufacturers bring up a point relevant to this - if their products are widely available in Country S, then it’s impossible for it to remain repressive. In other words, if their products are widely available in Country S, then the goal will be met.
However, they’re not calling for their products to be widely available in Country S - they’re asking for their products to be exempt from the export ban. There’s no indication that such an exemption would result in their products being widely available. There are plenty of ways that a product could be exportable while not ending up widely available in the country that’s allowed to import it. Let’s find an answer bringing up that disconnect.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The government of S Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    While the argument does assume that the telecom equipment would be imported to a level that would allow it to be widely available, that doesn’t require that the legal importation level has been increased, or that any increase was recent.

  2. B
    The telecommunication equipment that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This answer rules out one possibility that would undermine the Manufacturers’ argument - that the technology wouldn’t be widely available, instead going only to top government officials. If that happens, then exempting the telecom equipment from the ban wouldn’t help in achieving the goal of decreasing repression in Country S, as the technology wouldn’t be widely available. This answer is therefore a necessary premise.

  3. C
    A majority of the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Whether legislators are in support of an idea doesn’t speak to whether or not it’s a good idea, or one that should be adopted.

  4. D
    Of all exports that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Two issues here. First, telecom equipment wouldn’t have to be the most effective at achieving the goal stated by Country R in order for an exemption to be desirable - maybe Country R should exempt all technologies that would help to achieve their goal. Second, the telecom technology doesn’t have to lower repression by allowing citizens of S to oppose the repression - it’s possible that telecom technologies naturally lead to democratization, even if the population isn’t actively opposing the repressive technologies.

  5. E
    Without pressure from Country Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer is way too broad in talking about “indefinite[]” repression by Country S.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 9%
  2. B Credited 71%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 14%
  5. E 3%

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