Summarize Argument
The author concludes that one should choose a career in something other than art. He supports this by saying that an artist’s pay depends on subjective evaluations of their work, and it’s unacceptable for one’s pay to depend on subjective evaluations of one’s work.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The author argues that one should choose a career outside of art because it's unacceptable for pay to depend on subjective opinions of one's work. To draw this conclusion, he must assume that other careers don't have the same issue. But what if other careers do involve some level of pay being based on subjective evaluations of one’s work? In that case, it isn’t a reason to choose a career other than art.
A
takes for granted that people should choose careers solely on the basis of how much they pay
Like (D), the author never addresses how much artists are paid. Instead, he takes issue with the fact that their pay depends on subjective evaluations of their work. He also never argues that people should choose careers solely on this basis, just that it’s a relevant factor.
B
takes for granted that a work of art will be considered beautiful either by everyone or by no one
The author argues that it’s unacceptable for one’s pay to depend on subjective evaluations of one’s work. But he never makes any assumptions about what those subjective evaluations might be. He doesn’t assume that a work of art will be considered beautiful by everyone or no one.
C
overlooks the possibility that one’s pay in any profession involves a certain degree of subjective evaluation
In order to argue that one should avoid a career in art because it's unacceptable for pay to depend on subjective evaluation, the author must assume that pay in other careers isn't also based on subjective evaluation. But if it is, why should one choose a career other than art?
D
overlooks the possibility that some artists are paid very well
Like (A), the author never makes any claims or assumptions about how much artists are paid. Even if all artists are paid very well, this doesn’t change the fact that their pay is determined by subjective evaluations of their work, which the author claims is unacceptable.
E
treats a criterion that must be satisfied in order for a career choice to be a good one as a criterion that will ensure that a career choice is a good one
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of confusing necessary and sufficient conditions. The author doesn't make this mistake. He doesn't present any criteria that are necessary for a “good” career. He only says that it’s unacceptable for pay to be determined by subjective evaluation.
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The editorial concludes that Kramer’s contention that coal companies are responsible for the region’s economic problems is false. As evidence, it suggests that Kramer’s support is weak, since coal companies did invest significantly in other industries in the region.
Identify and Describe Flaw
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of assuming a conclusion is false simply because the argument in support of that conclusion is weak.
Here, the editorial argues that Kramer’s conclusion is false simply because his support— that those companies did not invest significantly in other industries in the region— is weak. The editorial successfully weakens Kramer’s support, but this isn’t enough to prove that his conclusion is false. Maybe coal companies are still responsible for the region’s economic problems, even though they did invest in other industries.
A
concludes that one party is not to blame for a particular outcome merely on the grounds that another party is to blame for that outcome
The editorial does conclude that coal companies are not to blame for the economic issues, but it doesn’t do so on the grounds that some other group is to blame. Instead, it does so merely on the grounds that Kramer’s support is weak.
B
concludes that a person’s statement is false merely on the grounds that, if accepted as true, it would impugn the reputation of an important industry
The editorial does conclude that Kramer’s statement is false, but it doesn’t do so on the grounds that Kramer’s statement would stain the coal industry’s reputation. Instead, it concludes that Kramer’s statement is false merely on the grounds that Kramer’s support is weak.
C
rejects an argument merely on the grounds that the person offering the argument has an ulterior motive for doing so
This is the cookie-cutter “ad hominem” flaw, where the author attacks the source of an argument rather than the argument itself. But the editorial never claims that Kramer has ulterior motives against coal companies; it just points out that Kramer’s support is weak.
D
takes a sufficient condition for the coal companies’ having made significant investments in other industries in the region to be a necessary condition for their having done so
This is the cookie-cutter flaw of confusing necessary and sufficient conditions. The editorial doesn’t make this mistake. It simply claims that the coal companies have made significant investments; it doesn't present a sufficient or a necessary condition for their having done so.
E
concludes that a person’s statement is false merely on the grounds that an inadequate argument has been given for it
The editorial concludes that Kramer’s statement is false merely because his support is weak. But weakening his support isn’t enough to prove that his conclusion is false. Maybe coal companies are responsible for the economic issues, even though they invested in other industries.
Summary
Waterlogged or desiccated wood can be preserved for significant periods. In contrast, wood normally disintegrates within a century or two in normal conditions. For this reason, archaeologists have not found many remains of early wheeled vehicles. However, archaeologists have found small ceramic models of wheeled vehicles made around the same time as early vehicles. These ceramic models have served as the main evidence for early wheeled vehicles because they are less susceptible to disintegration.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
More early wheeled vehicles were made of wood than of materials susceptible to disintegration.
A
Most of the small ceramic models of early wheeled vehicles were made by the very individuals who made the vehicles upon which the ceramic vehicles were modeled.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus who made early wheeled vehicles or the ceramic models.
B
Few, if any, small models of early wheeled vehicles were made of wood or other materials equally susceptible to disintegration under normal conditions.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know if few models were wooden. We only know archaeologists found ceramic models. It is possible that most models were made from wood. We cannot assume something about all of the models on the basis of only the models archaeologists found.
C
The individuals who made the early wheeled vehicles were not always aware that wood can be preserved through waterlogging or desiccation.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus whether the makers of early wheeled vehicles were aware of preservation methods.
D
An artifact will be more difficult for archaeologists to find if it has been preserved through waterlogging or desiccation than if it has been preserved under more normal conditions.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know from the stimulus which artifacts are more difficult to find. It could be that they are all equally difficult or equally easy to find.
E
Of the early wheeled vehicles not preserved, more were made of wood than were made of materials no more susceptible to disintegration than are ceramic items.
This answer is strongly supported. We know that under normal conditions wood disintegrates in a century or two, and the small models archeologists have found are ceramic. Therefore, more early wheeled vehicles were made from wood than materials like ceramic.
Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author concludes that we should not conclude that volcanic activity caused the short-term spike in sulfur dioxide on Venus. This is based on the fact that no active volcanoes have been identified on Venus, and planetary atmospheres are known to undergo cyclical variations in chemical composition.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that inactive volcanoes could not have produced a short-term spike in sulfur dioxide on Venus. The author also assumes that there aren’t any active volcanoes that we haven’t identified on Venus that could have produced the spike. Another assumption is that the cyclical variations in chemical composition could have accounted for the spike in sulfur dioxide.
A
Conditions on Venus make it unlikely that any instrument targeting Venus would detect a volcanic eruption directly.
This suggests that there might be active volcanoes on Venus that we haven’t identified. If we can’t identify eruptions directly, that raises the possibility that our failure to identify active volcanoes doesn’t guarantee the absence of active volcanoes on Venus.
B
Evidence suggests that there was a short-term spike in sulfur dioxide in Venus’s atmosphere 30 years earlier.
It’s not clear what a short-term spike 30 years ago has to do with the short-term spike detected recently.
C
Levels of sulfur dioxide have been higher in Venus’s atmosphere than in Earth’s atmosphere over the long term.
We detected a short-term spike in sulfur dioxide on Venus. Comparative levels of sulfur dioxide on Venus and Earth don’t shed light on the cause of a short-term spike.
D
Traces of the sulfur dioxide from volcanic eruptions on Earth are detectable in the atmosphere years after the eruptions take place.
This suggests that traces of sulfur dioxide can last a long time from volcanoes. But this doesn’t explain a short-term spike in sulfur dioxide. We’re not just trying to explain the presence of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere; we’re trying to explain a short-term spike.
E
Most instances of sulfur dioxide spikes in the Earth’s atmosphere are caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
If anything, this might strengthen the author’s argument by suggesting another explanation for the short-term spikes on Venus besides volcanoes.