PrepTest 146

Incorrect. This is the background that established the motive for the retailers's actions that the author argues against.

Incorrect. This statement is what the author pivots away from, saying that they "too often" take advantage of it by cutting prices. Since the author pivots from it and argues against a specific practice the retailers use to take advantage of this feeling, it can't be the main point.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Consumers most like feeling lucky, which is used by retailers. But while price cuts make people feel lucky, they cut profits and loyalty, so they're too often used.

Answer Anticipation:
The argument starts with a bit of background on consumers before stating an implication on how this affects the behavior of retailers. However, it then immediately pivots ("but") to a statement about whether what the retailers are doing is effective ("too often they resort"). Since this is an opinion of a separate viewpoint, it's likely the main point of the argument. The rest of the stimulus explains why it's "too often" that price cuts are used—they cut into profits and erode loyalty—thus backing up the assertion from the pivot. That's all the evidence we need to conclude that the pivot statement is the main point.

Answer Explanation:
This answer paraphrases the pivot statement ("too often" being equivalent to "overused"). It's an opinion of a separate viewpoint backed up by the reasons in the following sentence, so it's the main point.

Key Takeaway:
Harder Main Point questions have two ways of increasing the difficulty in a question type that's usually on the easier end. The first is with more complex argument structures that hide the conclusion, but we can rely on structural words to help us through that. The second is with answer choices that are in the same ballpark as the conclusion, but shift a key term or push past what the author actually concludes, as (E) does here. Be careful when you run across a Main Point question later in the section—there's likely a trap waiting for you in the answer choices!

Incorrect. These are the reasons that price cuts shouldn't be overused, thus making them premises for the main point.

Incorrect. While the author does pivot away from the statement that retailers try to make consumers feel lucky, she doesn't state that it's usually a bad formula—just that, too often, retailers exploit this feeling with price cuts. This answer is in the same area as the conclusion, but it takes it a step further than the conclusion does and is thus incorrect.