Summarize Argument
Barr concludes that tea is not more popular now than in previous years. As support, he references the fact that the Survey Group, a neutral polling company, found no change in the amount of tea sold over the past 20 years.
Notable Assumptions
Barr assumes that the survey conducted by the Survey Group was conducted with a representative sample that was large enough to produce generalizable results. Barr also assumes that the survey was high quality, and not conducted in a way that would bias the results.
A
The National Tea Association has announced that it plans to carry out its own retail survey in the next year.
The fact that the National Tea Association plans to do its own study does nothing to cast doubt on the validity of the Survey Group’s study; this is irrelevant to Barr’s argument.
B
A survey by an unrelated polling organization shows that the public is generally receptive to the idea of trying new types of tea.
Barr’s argument is about whether or not tea is more popular; the public’s willingness to try new types of tea is irrelevant to how popular tea is in general.
C
The Survey Group is funded by a consortium of consumer advocacy groups.
(C) doesn’t provide any information about how the survey was actually conducted, so it doesn’t weaken the argument.
D
The stores from which the Survey Group collected information about tea sales are all located in the same small region of the country.
This weakens the argument because it shows that the survey wasn’t representative. If all of the stores were from the same small region of the country, then we can only make a conclusion about that specific region; we can’t make broad, generalized conclusions.
E
Tea has been the subject of an expensive and efficient advertising campaign funded, in part, by the National Tea Association.
The argument is about whether or not tea is more popular now; we don’t care about factors that could have impacted the popularity of tea.
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that dramatic changes, such as switching to a vegetarian diet, may be necessary for people to reduce their cholesterol levels. As support, the author says that moderate dietary changes are often unsuccessful in lowering cholesterol levels.
Identify Argument Part
The statement in question stem provides support for the conclusion that dramatic changes may be necessary by eliminating the option to take a more moderate path.
A
It is presented to counter doctors’ suggestions that cholesterol levels can be reduced through dietary changes.
The doctors’ recommendations do not specify moderate or dramatic changes, so the claim that moderate changes are often unsuccessful cannot be said to counter the doctors’ suggestions.
B
It is a premise offered in support of the claim that vegetarian diets are more healthful than any diets containing meat.
The argument does not claim that vegetarian diets are more healthful in general; the scope of the argument is limited to cholesterol levels.
C
It is a premise offered in support of the claim that reducing cholesterol levels may require greater than moderate dietary changes.
The statement in the question stem is a premise that supports the claim that dramatic changes may be necessary, because moderate changes often are not enough.
D
It is offered as an explanation of the success of vegetarian diets in reducing cholesterol levels.
The statement in the question stem does not explain why vegetarian diets can be successful; it just demonstrates that moderate dietary changes may not be enough to cause lower cholesterol levels.
E
It is a conclusion for which the claim that dramatic changes in one’s diet are sometimes required to reduce cholesterol levels is offered as support.
(E) mixes up the support relationship; the claim in the question stem is a premise, and the conclusion is the claim that dramatic changes may be needed.