Logical reasoning PrepTest 127 · Section 1 · Question 2

Question prompt

Economist: Some sociologists argue 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

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Strengthen with Necessary Premise Questions

Stimulus Summary

Modern capitalism requires large corporations, so modern capitalism strengthens communal ties.

Answer Anticipation

We’re tasked with strengthening the Economist’s argument with a necessary premise, and her argument is self-contained in that the substance of it doesn’t refer back to what some sociologists argue, so we can dismiss that first half of the argument outright!
The Economist pivots to her statements with an “Although,” showing that she’s making a concession (here, about the past) before moving on to her argument. And her argument is straightforward once simplified - modern capitalism has large corporations, so modern capitalism strengthens communal ties. That’s a jump between having large corporations and strengthening communal ties - there’s no reason to believe that these corporations have that effect - so the correct answer should connect those ideas.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Few economic systems are Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Capitalism doesn’t need to be one of the most successful systems at fostering communal ties for it to have that effect, so this answer isn’t necessary for the argument to work.
  2. B
    Modern capitalism is designed Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    What something is designed “primarily” to do doesn’t determine what it actually does, or what secondary effects it may have.
  3. C
    Corporations that compete with Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    There’s no indication that inter-corporation ties count as communal ties. Even if they are, this answer “picks” a specific type of communal tie that modern capitalism strengthens, but the argument doesn’t require such specificity, so this answer can be eliminated. (To look at it another way, even if corporations don’t form communal ties with each other, modern capitalism could still promote other types of communal ties.)
  4. D
    Having large corporations in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    This answer connects the term in the premise to the new concept in the conclusion. If large corporations don’t strengthen communal ties, then there’s no reason given to believe that modern capitalism has the effect stated in the conclusion.
  5. E
    An economic system that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Success of the economic system is out of scope - the argument discusses only the impact it has on fostering communal ties.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 3%
  2. B 1%
  3. C 4%
  4. D Credited 90%
  5. E 1%

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