Summarize Argument
The columnist concludes that it is reasonable to doubt statements from anonymous sources in news stories. To support this position, the columnist draws an analogy to doubting the truth of an unsigned letter, reasoning that in either case, anonymity gives a writer more freedom to speak dishonestly without worrying about personal consequences.
Describe Method of Reasoning
The columnist concludes that a response is reasonable in one case by offering an analogous case where that response is considered reasonable, and showing that the response can be justified by the same reasoning in both cases.
A
pointing out that a certain attitude would presumably be adopted in one situation, in order to support the claim that a similar attitude would be justified in an analogous situation
The attitude of doubt adopted in the situation of receiving an unsigned letter is used to justify an attitude of skepticism toward reading statements from anonymous sources in newspapers—two situations presented as analogous.
B
drawing an analogy between an attitude commonly adopted in one situation and a different attitude commonly adopted in another situation, and establishing that the latter attitude is better justified than the former
The columnist doesn’t argue about different attitudes being adopted in two different situations. Rather, the columnist argues that the same attitude should be adopted in analogous situations.
C
inferring that an attitude would be justified in all situations of a given type on the grounds that this attitude is justified in a hypothetical situation of that type
The columnist doesn’t make any generalizations about a “type” of situation, only justifying one situation—doubting anonymous sources in newspapers—using another, analogous situation of doubting the contents of unsigned letters.
D
calling into question a certain type of evidence by drawing an analogy between that evidence and other evidence that the argument shows is usually false
The columnist isn’t showing that any evidence is false, instead only arguing that it is reasonable to doubt statements from certain sources by comparing them to analogous sources that are usually doubted—not shown to be false.
E
calling into question the motives of those presenting certain information, and concluding for this reason that the information is likely to be false
The columnist doesn’t conclude that any information is likely to be false, only concluding that skepticism about some information is justified.
"Surprising" Phenomenon
Why do many students who could afford tuition when they first enrolled now claim that they can’t afford tuition anymore, even though the cost of tuition is based on the number of courses enrolled in and the cost per course hasn’t increased in the last four years?
Objective
This is an EXCEPT question. The four wrong answers will tell us something that might have changed for students that would make it more difficult to pay for tuition today compared to when they first started at the school.
A
Faculty salaries at the university have risen slightly over the past four years.
We’re told tuition is based on the number of courses enrolled in, and the cost per course has not gone up. We have no reason to think faculty salaries influence the way tuition is calculated.
B
The number of courses per semester for which full-time students are required to enroll is higher this year than any time in the past.
This could explain why tuition has gone up for some students, even though the cost per course is the same. More courses enrolled in means higher tuition.
C
The cost of living in the vicinity of the university has risen over the last two years.
This is a change that could explain why some students find it harder to afford tuition today. If cost of living has gone up recently, that means students spend more on things besides tuition, which could make tuition harder to afford.
D
The university awards new students a large number of scholarships that are renewed each year for the students who maintain high grade averages.
Some students might have had scholarships when they first started, but lost those scholarships later. This could explain why some students find it more difficult to afford tuition today.
E
The university has turned many of its part-time office jobs, for which students had generally been hired, into full-time, nonstudent positions.
Some students might have had university job in the past, which helped them afford tuition. If those students lost those jobs, that might explain why some students find it harder to afford tuition today.
Summary
To be happy, people need to feel that they are needed by others. Most people in modern society can only feel needed by others within family and friend relationships. Almost everyone knows that their job could be done by any one of thousands of others.
Strongly Supported Conclusions
Fewer than most people can find happiness outside of family and friend relationships.
A
People who realize that others could fill their occupational roles as ably as they do themselves cannot achieve any happiness in their lives.
This answer is unsupported. To say that these people cannot achieve “any” happiness is too strong. Moreover, it’s likely that the people who realize this fact are the same people who can only find happiness within family and friend relationships.
B
The nature of modern society actually undermines the importance of family life to an individual’s happiness.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about the nature of modern society from the stimulus.
C
Most people in modern society are happy in their private lives even if they are not happy in their jobs.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know whether most people in modern society are in fact happy. We only know that most of these people can achieve happiness through family and friend relationships.
D
A majority of people in modern society do not appreciate having the jobs that they do have.
This answer is unsupported. We don’t know anything about what people do or do not appreciate from the stimulus.
E
Fewer than a majority of people in modern society can find happiness outside the sphere of private interpersonal relationships.
This answer is strongly supported. If most people in modern society can only achieve happiness through family and friend relationships, then some people in modern society can achieve happiness elsewhere. This statement is a logically opposite relationship from the stimulus.