PrepTest 134

Incorrect. This answer is background, a description of the process that is being critiqued by the argument.

Incorrect. This answer is background, further information about the ranking system that the argument critiques.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Background — Some companies have their workers graded on a scale
Opinion on that system — It's unfair to workers
Why? — An exceptional team might have a bottom 10% that's great, and managers are biased

Answer Anticipation:
This argument presents a process that's in place, and then it pivots ("But") to an opinion of the system. When there's a statement highlighting an opinion of a current process (which reflects an opposing point—someone implemented it and thus thought it was a good idea), it's almost always the main point.

The following two statements both explain why the process is unfair to workers, thus serving as premises for it.

(That one keyword—Furthermore—is most commonly used to indicate that the two statements linked with it serve the same purpose in the argument. If you determined either was a premise, you could have determined both were. Additionally, in a Main Point question, there won't be two equivalent main points, as "Furthermore" would suggest, so you could determine they were premises that way.)

The main point is therefore that the process outlined about ranking workers on a curve is unfair to workers.

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects the author's opinion of the ranking system, backed up by two primary reasons, so it's the main point of the argument.

Key Takeaway:
Pivot statements generally highlight a shift from an opposing point to the author's argument, but that could be a pivot to a rebuttal premise or a conclusion. Opinion statements tend to be conclusions, especially when they relate to an opposing point or current state of affairs. A pivot to an opinion is almost always a pivot to the main point.

Incorrect. This is one of the premises supporting the conclusion that the ranking system is unfair.

Incorrect. This is the other premise supporting the conclusion that the ranking system is unfair.