This question is an MSS/Fill in the blank question, which we know from the question stem: Which one of the following most logically completes the market analyst’s argument?
Oooh market research! Exciting! Let’s dig in:
Ok so our trusty market analyst tells us that according to her research, 59 percent of consumers think they will pay off their credit card balances before the card companies start to charge interest. Furthermore, they suggest that they’re just using credit cards to avoid the hassle of using checks and cash.
What’s a quantifier we could fill in for 59%? How about most? Most is a quantifier that indicates a range that captures every value over half, right? What’s 59%? It’s over half! Therefore, we can say most. So let’s put a pin in that thought, and move on to the rest of the stimulus.
Ok without tackling the question of whether or not we really think 59 percent of consumers are going to pay their credit card bills on time–let’s see what other information our friendly market analyst has to share with us.
She goes on to say that her research also indicates that in order to win business, credit card companies focus on improving the services that their customers are most interested in. Hmm. Interesting! Are we seeing any overlap between these two arguments?
Let’s think about it: We already identified that most consumers don’t plan to carry a balance or accrue interest on credit card debt. We likewise determined that most consumers use credit cards primarily to avoid carrying cash or checks. We also know that credit card companies concentrate on improving the services that their customers are most interested in. Do you see why identifying that “most” is consistent with“59%” is useful? It connects these two sentences. We already know what services customers are most interested in! They’re interested in convenience( and they’re not interested in carrying a balance).
Now obviously, I read this question before I wrote this description (cat’s out of the bag!), so I knew that drawing this connection explicitly would be useful. But the fact of the matter is, once you are familiar enough with quantifiers, this connection is automatic! You don’t have to think about it. You will intuitively understand that 59% fits in the “most” category and alarm bells should be ringing when you see “most consumers” in the second sentence. If you’re struggling that’s ok! Go back and review the lessons on quantifiers.
Ok so we’ve synthesized the information in our first two sentences. Now let’s turn to the answer choices:
Answer Choice (A) We have no information to support this. We know from our first sentence that most consumers have specific wants and needs when it comes to credit cards. Presumably they would utilize the credit card company that best matches their needs.
Correct Answer Choice (B) Let’s revisit what we know about most consumers: they intend to pay off their credit card balances before they start to accrue interest. If credit card companies concentrate on services that most customers are interested in, they definitely shouldn’t focus on interest rates–because most consumers are not interested in carrying a balance and accruing interest. Therefore, this answer choice is strongly supported by the information in our stimulus.
Answer Choice (C) The only thing we know about consumers is most of them are explicitly not interested in paying interest in credit card debt. We have no information about bank loans and therefore, have no information on which to base a comparative statement like the one found in this AC.
Answer Choice (D) This answer choice completely clashes with the information we are given in the stimulus. Most consumers want to pay their balance before it starts to accrue interest. We don’t have any information to suggest they wouldn’t care about the timeline–and it stands to reason that they would be keenly aware of the payment due date so that they can avoid paying interest.
Answer Choice (E) There are a few things wrong with this answer choice. First, we have to provide it with an assumption to make the leap from what we do know (people use credit cards to avoid carrying cash and checks) to what we don’t (so I guess that would mean people care where the credit card is accepted). We also don’t know anything about the quality of competition between credit card companies. We know that, “in order to win business from their competitors” they tend to concentrate on areas that appeal to most consumers. But think about it this way, just because 59 percent of consumers are interested in replacing checks and money with credit cards doesn’t mean that a similar (or larger) percentage of consumers aren’t interested in some other aspect of credit cards. We don’t know which popular aspect of credit cards the companies might end up choosing to focus on or where the intensity of competition would be greatest.
An additional note to (B).
So what we see here is quite common with correct SA answer choices. Given that the bar for correct answer in SA is sufficient, the LSAT writers have room to maneuver. They can give us something that's sufficient for the SA. In other words, they can give us a subset of what we anticipate. Allow me to illustrate.
Let's say that "all mammals are lovely therefore, Skittles is lovely." That's a crap argument but nevermind that. What's the missing SA? Simple... right... ?
Right?
Skittles is a mammal. That's what we need.
We scan the answers and don't see any answer that says Skittles is a mammal. Okay.
But (B) says Skittles is a cat. Well, don't we know that cats --> mammals? (You should.)
So choose (B) because it's a subset of what we need. In other words, (B) is sufficient for our anticipated SA answer choice. In other words, cats sufficient mammal. Cats are subsets of mammals. Subsets are sufficient for supersets.
See, one fairly common way to hide a SA answer choice is to give us an answer choice that's sufficient for the SA answer choice.
We anticipated looking for "buyers CANNOT compare prices charged for the item to see what the item is worth." (B) gave us "cannot determine worth". (B) implies what we anticipated. If it's true that we cannot determine worth, then of course it's true that we cannot compare prices to determine worth. That's like say that you cannot get to Canada implies that you cannot drive to Canada.
A
bases its conclusion on too small a sample of items tested by the laboratory
B
presumes, without providing justification, that the field inspectors were just as likely to choose a defective item for testing as they were to choose a nondefective item
C
overlooks the possibility that a few of the manufacturing sites are responsible for most of the defective items
D
overlooks the possibility that the field inspectors tend to choose items for testing that they suspect are defective
E
presumes, without providing justification, that the field inspectors made an equal number of visits to each of the various manufacturing sites of the supplier
A
Animals weakened by disease are not only less able to avoid hunters but are also less able to avoid their other predators.
B
Human beings generally have a substantial degree of biological immunity to the diseases carried by other species.
C
Very few species of North American animals not hunted by the new arrivals from Asia were extinct 2,000 years after the first migrations.
D
Individual humans and animals can carry a disease-causing microorganism without themselves suffering from the disease.
E
Some species of North American animals became extinct more than 2,000 years after the arrival in North America of the first prehistoric human migrants from Asia.
A
Few workers in Plant B consumed nutritious breakfasts during the month of the study.
B
Workers in the study from Plant A and Plant B started work at the same time of day.
C
During the month before the study, workers at Plant A and Plant B were equally productive.
D
Workers from Plant A took fewer vacation days per capita during the month than did workers from Plant B.
E
Workers in Plant B were more productive during the month of the study than were workers from Plant A.
A
People are more likely to aid people they know than they are to aid strangers.
B
Those who have received aid are more likely to be in favor of government relief programs than are those who have not.
C
The amount of aid that victims of a disaster receive is unrelated to the extent to which the disaster is publicized.
D
Once a disaster has struck them, people are more likely to aid others in need than they were before the disaster.
E
People are more likely to aid those who have experienced a hardship similar to one they themselves have experienced than to aid those who have experienced a dissimilar hardship.
Market analyst: According to my research, 59 percent of consumers anticipate paying off their credit card balances in full before interest charges start to accrue, intending to use the cards only to avoid carrying cash and writing checks. This research also suggests that in trying to win business from their competitors, credit card companies tend to concentrate on improving the services their customers are the most interested in. Therefore, my research would lead us to expect that _______.
Summary
The market analyst's research indicates that over half of consumers plan to pay off their credit card balances in full before interest charges accrue. The research also suggests that credit card companies, in an effort to compete, focus on improving the services their customers care about most.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Credit card companies do not focus on interest rates as one of their main selling points.
A
most consumers would be indifferent about which company’s credit card they use
This is too strong to support. The stimulus only says that most consumers intend to pay off their account balance before interest starts to accrue. Even if you read this as being “indifferent,” you have to assume that the interest rate is the only factor consumers care about.
B
credit card companies would not make the interest rates they charge on cards the main selling point
Most consumers do not intend to make late payments with interest. The stimulus states that credit card companies focus on what consumers care about most. It is reasonable to assume that these companies would focus on something other than interest rates to compete for business.
C
most consumers would prefer paying interest on credit card debts over borrowing money from banks
This comparative statement is not supported because there is no mention of consumers’ willingness to borrow money from banks.
D
most consumers would ignore the length of time a credit card company allows to pay the balance due before interest accrues
This anti-supported. The stimulus says that most consumers intend to pay off their balance before interest accrues. There is no evidence that consumers ignore the length of time banks set before interest accrues.
E
the most intense competition among credit card companies would be over the number of places that they can get to accept their credit card
There is no mention of banks caring about the number of places they can get to accept their card. Even if you make that assumption, there is no support that this would elicit the “most intense” competition.
A
Sufficient heat to keep the oceans liquid 3 billion years ago could not have been generated through geological processes such as volcanic activity.
B
Geological studies indicate that there is much less methane in Earth’s atmosphere today than there was 3 billion years ago.
C
Geological evidence indicates that the oceans contained greater amounts of dissolved minerals 3 billion years ago, but not enough to alter their freezing points significantly.
D
The increase in the Sun’s luminosity over the past 3 billion years roughly coincided with an increasing complexity of life forms on Earth.
E
Because the distance from Earth to the Sun has not changed significantly over the last 3 billion years, the increase in the Sun’s luminosity has resulted in more radiation reaching Earth.
In order for a free market to function properly, each potential buyer of an item must be able to contact a large number of independent sellers, and compare the prices those sellers charge for the item to what the item is worth.
A
People do not usually shop for auto repairs but instead take their autos to their regular repair shop out of habit.
B
Some persons who are shopping for auto repairs cannot determine what these repairs are worth.
C
Not all auto repair shops give customers written estimates.
D
Many auto repair shops charge more for auto repairs than these repairs are worth.
E
Because it is not regulated, the auto repair industry does not have standardized prices.
An additional note to (B).
So what we see here is quite common with correct SA answer choices. Given that the bar for correct answer in SA is sufficient, the LSAT writers have room to maneuver. They can give us something that's sufficient for the SA. In other words, they can give us a subset of what we anticipate. Allow me to illustrate.
Let's say that "all mammals are lovely therefore, Skittles is lovely." That's a crap argument but nevermind that. What's the missing SA? Simple... right... ?
Right?
Skittles is a mammal. That's what we need.
We scan the answers and don't see any answer that says Skittles is a mammal. Okay.
But (B) says Skittles is a cat. Well, don't we know that cats --> mammals? (You should.)
So choose (B) because it's a subset of what we need. In other words, (B) is sufficient for our anticipated SA answer choice. In other words, cats sufficient mammal. Cats are subsets of mammals. Subsets are sufficient for supersets.
See, one fairly common way to hide a SA answer choice is to give us an answer choice that's sufficient for the SA answer choice.
We anticipated looking for "buyers CANNOT compare prices charged for the item to see what the item is worth." (B) gave us "cannot determine worth". (B) implies what we anticipated. If it's true that we cannot determine worth, then of course it's true that we cannot compare prices to determine worth. That's like say that you cannot get to Canada implies that you cannot drive to Canada.