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The conclusion of the argument is: the fact that politicians in a certain country are trying to reduce government spending does not by itself explain why they have voted to eliminate all government-supported scholarship programs. Why? Because government spending could have been reduced even more if instead they had cut back on military spending. The author is making her conclusion that the reason (trying to reduce government spending) behind an action (voting to eliminate all government-supported scholarship programs) could not solely be for the purported reason (trying to reduce government spending), since an alternative (cutting back on military spending) would bring about that reason even more (government spending could have been reduced even more). Answer choice (E) has similar reasoning in that the author makes her conclusion that the reason (Thelma's goal is to become famous) behind an action (her taking up theatrical acting) could not solely be for the purported reason (Thelma's goal is to become famous), since an alternative (writing or directing plays) would bring about that reason even more (it is easier to become famous). Hope that helps! Let us know if you have any other questions!

hey I'm having trouble with parallel reasoning questions.... sometimes I get them right,sometimes I get them wrong.... I've watched the lesson but I'm still having trouble. Are there any useful tips to get me through these types of questions? Like I thought the answer was C here but E came out of nowhere....

@Maybeillgetlucky, Happy to help. These questions can be difficult. It's very important on these questions to make sure that you're properly understanding the structure of the argument in the stimulus. This will better help you to match the argument in the answer choices that has the closest structure to the argument in the stimulus. This particular argument isn't really diagrammable, so it's best to look at the big picture of what it's saying. The argument is basically contending that a certain type of problem (a reduction in spending) can be solved better by taking a different approach (like cutting military spending instead of educational spending). The argument basically boils down to the author thinking that there is a better solution than what they've voted to do. Let's take a look at (C) and (E). (C) says, "The fact that Sallie and Jim have different work styles does not by itself explain why they could not work together. Sallie and Jim could have resolved their differences if they had communicated more with one another when they began to work together." The problem with (C) is that it's basically saying that the problem could have been solved, but it was not solved. This is different from the argument in the stimulus, which states that the problem is being solved (reducing spending) but that it could be better solved (by cutting military instead of education spending). Thus, (C) doesn't match the structure, so it's out. (E) says, "The fact that Thelma's goal is to become famous does not by itself explain why she took up theatrical acting. It is easier to become famous through writing or directing plays than through theatrical acting." (E) says that there exists a better way for Thelma to achieve her goal of becoming famous. Just like the argument in the stimulus with the government having a better way to reduce spending, (E) argues that there's a better solution for the problem at hand. This closely parallels the argument in the stimulus, so it's the correct answer choice. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!