PrepTest 137

Incorrect. Having an obligation to do something doesn't require knowing what that thing is. Additionally, this answer brings up a term not in the stimulus—the knowledge of the corporate managers—and answers that bring in new terms are almost always out of scope in this question type.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

Stimulus Summary:
Corporate managers are obligated to serve shareholders as they want, so they have an obligation to act in their best interest.

Answer Anticipation:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise questions frequently feature term shifts, and those term shifts are frequently between a term in the premise and a related but new term in the conclusion. This question is a perfect example of that. And spotting this jump can be made easier by spotting the overlap between the premise and conclusion, and then the terms that don't overlap.

Here, both the premise and conclusion talk about the obligations of corporate managers. However, the premise brings up one obligation—serving shareholders as they want to be served—while the conclusion brings up another—serving the shareholders' best interests. That's a new term, so the correct answer is going to have to connect what is established in the premise to what is inferred in the conclusion:

Shareholders want corporate managers to act in their best interest.

Answer Explanation:
This answer choice connects the two terms that the argument jumped between, and so this answer justifies the conclusion.

Key Takeaway:
At their most basic, Strengthen with Sufficient Premise questions will task you with connecting a term established in the premise to a new term brought up in the conclusion. If you start by identifying a new term in the conclusion, head to the premises to see what term the author clearly believes is related to it, and find the answer that connects them.

Incorrect. Other obligations are out of scope, and they don't connect to the shareholders' best interests so this answer doesn't connect to the conclusion.

Incorrect. This answer doesn't address the desires of the shareholders, so it doesn't connect to the premise.

Incorrect. This doesn't connect their desires to their best interests, which is the missing connection from the stimulus.