PrepTest 109, Section 1, Question 7
Consultant: Most workers do not have every item(23 more words not shown)
The consultant's statements, if true,(8 more words not shown)
- AA piece authored(17 more words not shown)
- BBy having every(13 more words not shown)
- CNo other workers(8 more words not shown)
- DOnly freelance writers(8 more words not shown)
- ESome workers produce(17 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Maybe freelance writers produce good work because they're good at what they do. Someone might choose freelancing because they already write well enough to attract clients, or might work carefully because they hold themselves to a high standard. Having every piece evaluated doesn't, by itself, prove that evaluation caused the quality.
That is my reaction to the consultant's explanation. We are told that most workers don't have every item checked, while each piece a freelance writer produces is evaluated. I want to know what the evaluation contributes before accepting “That is why.”
But the question changes our job. It asks what the consultant's statements support if they are true. That means we accept the stated explanation for this task, including the claim that evaluation causes the writers' high-quality work. We aren't being asked to weaken it.
What we’re looking for
My first impulse is to say more evaluation means better work, but that would be too broad. The consultant gives us this particular group. Let's look for an answer that follows from what is said about freelance writers without turning it into a rule for every worker.
Working the answers
- A
Having every piece evaluated tells us how much of the output gets checked. It doesn't tell us how demanding the evaluation is. Another worker might have only occasional items checked, but face a very strict standard on those items. We can't move from more frequent evaluation to stricter evaluation.
- BCorrect
Freelance writers supply the “some workers” in this answer. According to the statements we are accepting, having each piece evaluated causes them to produce high-quality work. B says no more than that this happens for some workers.
Our initial doubts about the cause don't prevent this from being the supported answer. The stem tells us to take the consultant's statements as true; B accurately carries their claim into a modest statement about some workers.
- C
High quality doesn't mean the highest quality of any profession. The consultant doesn't compare writers' output with that of painters, plumbers, or anyone else on this scale. Other workers could produce equally good or better work without contradicting the passage.
- D
Freelance writers have every piece evaluated, but we aren't told they are the only workers who do. “Most workers do not” still leaves room for other kinds of workers who do. A different profession could have every item checked too. D turns a description of one group into an exclusive claim.
- E
This might happen, but it isn't established here. The passage tells us some workers don't have everything evaluated; it doesn't describe the quality of those workers' output. The high-quality group it does identify—the freelance writers—has every piece evaluated. E needs a different group for which both facts are supplied.
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