PrepTest 145

Incorrect. Making the poll more representative by avoiding oversampling would, if anything, strengthen this argument.

Incorrect. By explaining how the views of those who have gone through 4 years of college change based on that experience, this answer, if anything, suggests that these views aren't representative of the general public (assuming that there are more people without college degrees than with).

Incorrect. Be careful with tracking the groups and views here. This answer shows that people without a degree are more likely to support reducing government programs—that aligns with what the polls from the stimulus found.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Weaken

Stimulus Summary:
Poll Ð Graduating students are more likely to want to keep social services at their current levels than entering students.
Conclusion Ð Those with a university degree are more likely to support these programs than the general public.

Answer Anticipation:
A poll is heavily featured in this stimulus, so we need to start by considering the two flaws most closely associated with polls—sampling, and correlation/causation.

We'll quickly discuss the latter—there's no causality in the conclusion, so there's no correlation/causation flaw here.

However, there is a sampling flaw on two ends.

First, it uses the opinion of graduating students to draw a conclusion about everyone with a university degree. It's possible that people change their minds as they get older, and those who are fresh out of college have beliefs that won't persist in the population of those with a college degree.

Second, it treats the opinion of those who are entering the school as being representative of the overall population. It's possible that these young students are less likely to favor these programs compared to the general public.

Any answer that calls either of these samples into question will weaken the argument.

Answer Explanation:
This answer suggests that those with a university degree and some work experience or distance from college tend to be more likely to want to reduce government services, thus running counter to the polls taken when that group is graduating. By highlighting a potential shift in their views, this answer calls the conclusion about the entire group of those with a university education—and not just those graduating when the poll is being taken—into question.

Key Takeaway:
Whenever an argument relies on a poll, survey, or study, start by considering sampling and correlation/causation flaws—they're by far the most likely to be present.

Incorrect. The strength of the opinion doesn't really relate to the opinion itself, but, if anything, it could suggest that the opinion would be persistent—and thus it would be more representative of long-term views of this group.