PrepTest 115

Incorrect. This answer would represent an assumption of the argument if the Activist concluded that the legislators would vote against the bill, but it instead concludes that they should vote against it.

Incorrect. The argument isn't about the likelihood of passage, but rather whether it should pass.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Background - The bill is popular with voters but will hurt the economy
Principle - Great leaders vote based on whether a policy is good, not whether it is popular
Recommendation - Vote against the environmental bill

Answer Anticipation:
The Activist's conclusion here is a recommendation—the environmental bill should be voted against. Whenever an argument makes a recommendation, it needs to establish the considerations in making that recommendation, and then it needs to show that the course of action recommended meets those considerations.

Here, the argument does establish the relevant criteria for making a recommendation on a bill: it should be supported if it's sound policy, not just because it's popular.

However, the Activist fails to establish that the bill isn't sound policy. It does note that it will have negative economic consequences, but that's not the same as establishing that it's a bad policy. It could have other, noneconomic consequences that outweigh the economic downsides and thus would be good policy.

Since the argument fails to consider all the pros/cons of the policy, it's flawed, so let's find an answer reflecting that.

Answer Explanation:
This answer brings up the argument's assumption—that the economic downsides establish that the bill is bad policy. If there are noneconomic considerations that outweigh the economic ones, then the bill could still be good policy despite the economic downsides, and great leaders therefore should vote for the bill.

Key Takeaway:
Conclusions about what should/ought to be done don't make any presumptions about what will actually happen, so answers about that will be out of scope.

Incorrect. Similar to other answers, this is about whether the bill will pass, not whether it should.

Incorrect. The argument establishes that this one bill is both popular and bad for the economy, and the conclusion is about only this one bill, so it doesn't assume that such a connection exists.