Logical reasoning PrepTest 111 · Section 3 · Question 10

Question prompt

Goswami: I support the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Point at Issue Questions

Stimulus Summary

G: Most Ergon workers make under $20k, so they’re underpaid, and I support their strike.
N: The average salary is over $29k, so if they’re striking over pay, I don’t support them.

Answer Anticipation

There are several interesting points in this back-and-forth that we should note in our anticipation, so let’s dig in!
First, as with many Point at Issue questions, let’s start with the second speaker since she explicitly states that she disagrees with something. There, she notes that “if pay is the issue,” she disagrees with Goswami’s support for the striking workers. So there’s a point at issue, but it’s a little more subtle than normal! While Goswami supports the striking workers, we don’t know that Nordecki doesn’t. We just know that she doesn’t support them if pay is the issue. If they actually have other issues over which they’re striking (e.g., working conditions), she may support them. So what we can determine here is that Nordecki doesn’t believe the workers are underpaid, but they may have some other legitimate complaint.
Other than that, Nordecki and Goswami are talking about different things. Nordecki brings up the average salary of the striking workers, whereas Goswami brings up what most of them make. Those are different stats - Nordecki’s average might be brought up by, say, 5% of the workers making $200k, whereas Goswami is just looking at the bottom 50%. Since the premises they raise focus on different measurements, we don’t have a point at issue here.
So the only point at issue is whether the striking workers are underpaid - let’s find an answer saying that!

Answer choices

  1. A
    The average annual salary Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Goswami doesn’t discuss the average salary, so this answer is out of scope of his argument. Additionally, Nordeciki talks about the average salary of the striking workers, whereas this answer is about all salaries, so not even Nordecki is committed to agreeing with this!
  2. B
    Pay is the primary Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Goswami supports the striking workers because they’re underpaid, but they may be striking for other reasons. Nordecki doesn’t support the striking workers if they’re striking over pay, but that doesn’t tell us whether that’s the actual reason they’re striking. This is another answer that’s out of scope of both arguments.
  3. C
    It is reasonable to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Goswami is supporting striking workers because they’re underpaid, so he must agree that it’s reasonable to do so. Nordecki, on the other hand, doesn’t believe the striking workers are underpaid. She may support other striking workers who she does believe are underpaid, or she may not - we don’t know, so this answer is out of scope of her argument.
  4. D
    The striking workers at Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    Goswami states that the striking workers at Ergon Foods are underpaid, committing him to agreeing with this answer. Nordecki believes that the striking workers at Ergon aren’t justified in striking if pay is the issue, committing her to disagreeing with this answer. It is therefore correct.
  5. E
    It was unreasonable for Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Goswami provides a reason that the striking workers would be justified in striking, suggesting he believes it’s reasonable to do so (though they may be striking for another, unreasonable reason - at that point, it would come down to your definition of reasonable!). However, Nordecki states only that it’s unreasonable for them to strike if pay is the issue, so she may believe it’s reasonable for them to strike if they have another reason for doing so. Since this answer is out of scope of her argument, it can’t be correct.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 8%
  2. B 11%
  3. C 3%
  4. D Credited 74%
  5. E 3%

Deeper help

Ask follow-ups on any step

Optional AI tutor mode will let you interrogate assumptions, compare answers, and drill weak patterns without leaving the page.

Human-written explanations stay primary; AI is an add-on when you want it.

Discussion

  • Help 2 replies

    Started by Batman

View all discussions Start a discussion