A developing country can substantially increase its economic growth if its businesspeople are willing to invest in modern industries that have not yet been pursued there. But being the first to invest in an industry is very risky. Moreover, businesspeople have little incentive to take this risk since if the business succeeds, many other people will invest in the same industry, and the competition will cut into their profits.

Summary
If businesspeople invest in modern industries not yet pursued, then a developing country could increase its economic growth. However, being the first to invest in an industry is risky. Businesspeople have little incentive to take this risk since other investors in the same industry will cut into their profits if the business succeeds.

Strongly Supported Conclusions
If incentives are added for businesspeople to invest in modern industries not yet pursued, then a developing country could increase economic growth.

A
Once a developing country has at least one business in a modern industry, further investment in that industry will not contribute to the country’s economic growth.
This answer is not supported. We don’t know anything from the stimulus if there exists any type of investment that will not contribute to economic growth.
B
In developing countries, there is greater competition within modern industries than within traditional industries.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about traditional industries from the stimulus to make this comparison. The stimulus is limited to modern industries.
C
A developing country can increase its prospects for economic growth by providing added incentive for investment in modern industries that have not yet been pursued there.
This answer is strongly supported. The stimulus gives us a conditional statement for the prospect of improving economic growth. Since what’s preventing investment is risk, reducing this risk by providing incentives would increase the prospects for economic growth.
D
A developing country will not experience economic growth unless its businesspeople invest in modern industries.
This answer is unsupported. This answer choice reverses the conditional relationship. The stimulus provides that experiencing economic growth is a necessary condition to businesspeople investing in modern industries, not a sufficient condition.
E
Investments in a modern industry in a developing country carry little risk as long as the country has at least one other business in that industry.
This answer is unsupported. The stimulus tells us that there is risk for the first to invest, but we don’t know if there is little risk for subsequent investors. It could be the case that investment is just as risky for them.

9 comments

A survey of a city’s concertgoers found that almost all of them were dissatisfied with the local concert hall. A large majority of them expressed a strong preference for wider seats and better acoustics. And, even though the survey respondents were told that the existing concert hall cannot feasibly be modified to provide these features, most of them opposed the idea of tearing down the existing structure and replacing it with a concert hall with wider seats and better acoustics.

"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do most concertgoers oppose the idea of tearing down the existing concert hall and replacing it with a new concert hall, even though almost all concertgoers aren’t satisfied with the existing concert hall?

Objective
The correct answer should help explain why the concertgoers wouldn’t want to tear down the existing concert hall despite their dissatisfaction with it.

A
Before any of the survey questions were asked, the respondents were informed that the survey was sponsored by a group that advocates replacing the existing concert hall.
The identity of the group that conducted the survey has no clear impact. Would learning the identify influence the concertgoers’ statements? We have no reason to think so.
B
Most of the people who live in the vicinity of the existing concert hall do not want it to be torn down.
The discrepancy involves a survey of the “city’s concertgoers.” The opinion of people who live near the existing concert hall doesn’t matter, because we have no reason to think the “city’s concertgoers” are among those who live near the hall.
C
The city’s construction industry will receive more economic benefit from the construction of a new concert hall than from renovations to the existing concert hall.
How the construction industry will benefit has no clear impact. We’re concerned about the opinions of the city’s concertgoers, not of the construction industry.
D
A well-publicized plan is being considered by the city government that would convert the existing concert hall into a public auditorium and build a new concert hall nearby.
Citizens might be aware of this well-publicized plan, which could explain why they don’t want to tear down the existing hall. They might prefer the conversion of the existing hall and the construction of a new building for a new concert hall.
E
Many popular singers and musicians who currently do not hold concerts in the city would begin to hold concerts there if a new concert hall were built.
If this does anything, it only deepens the discrepancy. Why wouldn’t people want to replace the existing hall with a new one if it would get many popular musicians to perform there?

36 comments

Student: Before completing my research paper, I want to find the book from which I copied a passage to quote in the paper. Without the book, I will be unable to write an accurate citation, and without an accurate citation, I will be unable to include the quotation. Hence, since the completed paper will be much better with the quotation than without, _______.

Summary

I want to find the book containing a passage I quoted before completing my research paper. Including the quotation requires an accurate citation, and an accurate citation requires the book. The completed paper will be much better with the quote included than without.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

My research paper will be deficient without the book.

A
I will have to include an inaccurate citation

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know if we need to include an inaccurate citation. We could, alternatively, find the book.

B
I will be unable to complete my research paper

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know if we will in fact be unable to complete the research paper. We only know that the paper will be better with the citation.

C
if I do not find the book, my research paper will suffer

This answer is strongly supported. If the paper would be better with the citation from the book included, then the paper will suffer without finding the book.

D
if I do not find the book, I will include the quotation without an accurate citation

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know if we will for a fact include the quotation without an accurate citation.

E
if I do not find the book, I will be unable to complete my research paper

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know if we will in fact be unable to complete the research paper. We only know that the paper will be better with the citation.


13 comments

If you're having trouble deciding between (A) and (E), here's a very subtle hint.

Think about the grammar.

In terms of grammar, (A) is subject dense and (E) is predicate dense. In other words, the subject of (A) is heavily modified whereas the predicate of (E) is heavily modified.

The main subject of (A) is farmers. All farmers? No. It zooms in onto a subset of all farmers called farmers in the region. All of those? No. It further zooms in onto a subset of all farmers in the region who abandon the use of chemical fertilizers. All of those? No. It further zooms into a subset of those called "most". Okay, now that we've finally got the right zoom level, those farmers, what about them? What's the predicate? Well, just that they will periodically grow alfalfa.

Contrast that with (E). The subject is "some farmers in the region". In other words, at least one farmer in the region. What about them? (What's the predicate?) It's complicated. It's a conditional predicate. We're saying for at least one farmer in the region, the follow is true: if they grow green-manure crops, then they abandon the use of chemical fertilizers. In other words - remember your lawgic / translation lessons - their growing green-manure crops depends on their abandoning their use of chemical fertilizers.

Can you negate this statement?

When I say for some people, X is true, the negation of that is for no person is X true. (Review this lesson.) And that means for all persons, X is not true. (No dogs like to eat salmon = all dogs do not like to eat salmon.) So apply that here. For no farmer in the region is growing green-manure crops dependent on their abandoning use of chemical fertilizers. That means for all farmers in the region, not[growing green-manure crops dependent on their abandoning use of chemical fertilizers]. Remember how to negation conditional statements? Negated, the statement is that growing green-manure crops can happen alongside with not abandoning (that means continuing to use) chemical fertilizers. For all farmers in the region, that's true.


64 comments

A carved flint object depicting a stylized human head with an open mouth was found in a Stone Age tomb in Ireland. Some archaeologists believe that the object was a weapon—the head of a warrior’s mace—but it is too small for that purpose. Because of its size and the fact that an open mouth symbolizes speaking, the object was probably the head of a speaking staff, a communal object passed around a small assembly to indicate who has the right to speak.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that the carved flint object was the head of a speaking staff. This is based on the size of the object and how it looks like a human head with an open mouth, which symbolizes speaking. In addition, a competing hypothesis — that the object was the head of a warrior’s mace — isn’t reasonable because the object is too small to be a weapon.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that there’s no other applicable explanation for the object’s purpose besides that it was the head of a speaking staff.

A
The tomb in which the object was found did not contain any other objects that might have been weapons.
This is consistent with the author’s theory that the object wasn’t a weapon.
B
Communal objects were normally passed from one generation to the next in Stone Age Ireland.
This makes the author’s hypothesis less plausible. The object was found in a tomb. Speaking staves are communal objects. If, as (D) says, communal objects are normally passed to the next generation, we wouldn’t expect such objects to be found in a tomb.
C
The object was carved with an artistry that was rare in Stone Age Ireland.
The rarity of its artistry has no clear impact on the argument. Does more rarity indicate that the object is less likely to be a speaking staff? We have no reason to think so.
D
The tomb in which the object was found was that of a politically prominent person.
If anything, this might support the author’s theory. We might associate speaking staves with politics. Even if we don’t know whether speaking staves were associated with politics, that just means (D) has no impact.
E
A speaking staff with a stone head is thought to symbolize a warrior’s mace.
(E) still refers to a “speaking staff.” Even if a speaking staff might symbolize a warrior’s mace, the object would still be a speaking staff. So, (E) doesn’t help suggest that the object was not a speaking staff.

73 comments

The advent of chemical fertilizers led the farmers in a certain region to abandon the practice of periodically growing a “green-manure” crop, such as alfalfa, in a field to rejuvenate its soil. As a result, the soil structure in a typical farm field in the region is poor. So to significantly improve the soil structure, farmers will need to abandon the use of chemical fertilizers.

Summary
The author concludes that to significantly improve soil structure, farmers will need to stop using chemical fertilizers.
Why does the author think this?
Because the introduction of chemical fertilizers led farmers in the region to stop the practice of periodically growing a “green-manure” crop for rejuvenating the field. The stopping of this practice led to damage to the soil structure.

Notable Assumptions
We know that the introduction of chemical fertilizers caused, in this one case, farmers to stop growing “green-manure” crops. And this damaged soil structure. But does this prove that in order to improve the soil structure, we need to abandon the use of chemical fertilizers? No — why couldn’t we just get the farmers to start growing “green-manure” crops again? The premises never established that we can’t use both the chemical fertilizers and grow “green-manure” crops.
The author is assuming that we can’t use both — that in order to get farmers to grow “green-manure” crops again, we have to stop using chemical fertilizers.

A
most, if not all, farmers in the region who abandon the use of chemical fertilizers will periodically grow alfalfa
Not necessary, because alfalfa is just one example of a “green-manure” crop. But other “green-manure crops” could be grown instead. Also, the author doesn’t need to assume that “most” farmers will grow crops. As long as enough farmers grow the crops to improve soil structure, the reasoning still works.
B
applying chemical fertilizers to green-manure crops, such as alfalfa, has no positive effect on their growth
Not necessary, because even if chemical fertilizers have a positive effect on “green-manure” crop growth, it could still be necessary to abandon their use in order to get farmers to grow “green-manure” crops again.
C
the most important factor influencing the soil quality of a farm field is soil structure
The argument concerns what’s required to improve soil structure. Whether soil structure influences other things, such as soil quality, is not relevant to the argument. And even if it were, there’s no reason the author must assume that soil structure is the “most” important factor in soil quality.
D
chemical fertilizers themselves have a destructive effect on the soil structure of farm fields
Not necessary, because the effect of chemical fertilizers was to cause farmers to abandon “green-manure” crops. Even if the chemical fertilizers do not directly destroy the soil structure, they still had the effect of causing abandonment of the practice that rejuvenated soil structure.
E
many, if not all, farmers in the region will not grow green-manure crops unless they abandon the use of chemical fertilizers
Necessary, because if it were not true — if many farmers in the region WILL grow “green-manure” crops even if they keep using chemical fertilizers — then there’s no reason farmers would need to stop using chemical fertilizers to improve the soil structure. They could keep using the fertilizers and start growing the crops again.

If you're having trouble deciding between (A) and (E), here's a very subtle hint.

Think about the grammar.

In terms of grammar, (A) is subject dense and (E) is predicate dense. In other words, the subject of (A) is heavily modified whereas the predicate of (E) is heavily modified.

The main subject of (A) is farmers. All farmers? No. It zooms in onto a subset of all farmers called farmers in the region. All of those? No. It further zooms in onto a subset of all farmers in the region who abandon the use of chemical fertilizers. All of those? No. It further zooms into a subset of those called "most". Okay, now that we've finally got the right zoom level, those farmers, what about them? What's the predicate? Well, just that they will periodically grow alfalfa.

Contrast that with (E). The subject is "some farmers in the region". In other words, at least one farmer in the region. What about them? (What's the predicate?) It's complicated. It's a conditional predicate. We're saying for at least one farmer in the region, the follow is true: if they grow green-manure crops, then they abandon the use of chemical fertilizers. In other words - remember your lawgic / translation lessons - their growing green-manure crops depends on their abandoning their use of chemical fertilizers.

Can you negate this statement?

When I say for some people, X is true, the negation of that is for no person is X true. (Review this lesson.) And that means for all persons, X is not true. (No dogs like to eat salmon = all dogs do not like to eat salmon.) So apply that here. For no farmer in the region is growing green-manure crops dependent on their abandoning use of chemical fertilizers. That means for all farmers in the region, not[growing green-manure crops dependent on their abandoning use of chemical fertilizers]. Remember how to negation conditional statements? Negated, the statement is that growing green-manure crops can happen alongside with not abandoning (that means continuing to use) chemical fertilizers. For all farmers in the region, that's true.


72 comments