PrepTest 112, Section 3, Question 7
Medical doctor: Sleep deprivation is the cause of(39 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(9 more words not shown)
- AThe primary cause(5 more words not shown)
- BEmployees would get(12 more words not shown)
- CIndividuals vary widely(7 more words not shown)
- DMore people would(22 more words not shown)
- EThe extent of(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Would choosing your hours actually help you sleep more?
I can imagine a rigid schedule causing trouble. A person might have a long commute, late evening commitments, and an early start at work. But changing who chooses the work hours doesn't automatically change how much sleep that person gets. They might simply choose to work later into the night. Or the lost sleep might come from something unrelated to the job.
There's also a possible cost on the other side. If people need to work together at the same time, flexible schedules might make coordination harder. That doesn't show flexibility is a bad idea. It shows that identifying a harm from too little sleep isn't yet a complete case for this particular fix.
What we’re looking for
For the strengthen question, my first priority is the missing practical connection: does flexibility lead to more sleep? An answer showing that the proposed change actually helps with the stated problem would improve the argument, even if it doesn't settle every possible cost.
Working the answers
- A
Overwork concerns how much people work. The recommendation concerns when they work. Someone could choose the timing of a very long workday and still be overworked. A might support reducing the total hours, but it doesn't show that giving people more control over their schedules would help them sleep.
- BCorrect
'Greater latitude' means more flexibility or freedom in choosing the hours. B says that giving employees that freedom would result in more sleep. That supplies the connection the doctor needs between the proposed scheduling change and the problem used to justify it.
We already have the doctor's claims that sleep deprivation is widespread and causes social harm. B gives us a reason this recommendation would address it. We don't need to prove that flexible schedules solve every sleep problem or have no drawbacks for the answer to strengthen the case.
- C
Different people could need different amounts of sleep without flexible schedules helping any of them get that amount. The variation might make us interested in different arrangements, but it doesn't tell us what happens when people gain control over their work hours. B supplies that missing result.
- D
This concerns a reduction in the average number of hours worked and what might have happened without it. The doctor hasn't recommended reducing hours. A benefit from working less doesn't establish a benefit from choosing when to do the same amount of work.
- E
The length of the workday is again different from flexibility in its timing. Even a precise relationship between longer days and greater sleep deprivation would leave open whether shifting the hours helps. E points toward shortening the day, which isn't the recommendation we're evaluating.
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