PrepTest 121, Section 4, Question 1
While 65 percent of the eligible voters who(57 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(10 more words not shown)
- AThe poll was(7 more words not shown)
- BSamuels's supporters believe(10 more words not shown)
- CThe poll's results(14 more words not shown)
- DSamuels is quite(11 more words not shown)
- EThose who designed(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Sixty-five percent of whom? A poll can accurately report what its respondents said and still give us a poor picture of the voters as a whole.
Imagine polling only members of one candidate's party. Getting 65 percent of that group would tell us something different from getting 65 percent of all voters. We need to know who was asked before treating the percentage as a forecast of the election.
Here, the surveys took place at expensive shopping malls, and Perkins mainly advocates for the upper-middle class. That gives us a sensible reason to worry that the poll reached too many Perkins supporters. It isn't airtight: some visitors might just be window-shopping, and we haven't established everyone's income or politics. Still, I can see why the author distrusts the sample.
What we’re looking for
The question asks for the main conclusion. Follow what the reasons support. The location of the survey helps explain why Perkins supporters were probably overrepresented; that, in turn, explains why the poll's results are dubious. The point is that we shouldn't trust this poll to represent the electorate. We haven't established who will actually win.
Working the answers
- A
The poll could be poorly designed without anyone deliberately trying to help Perkins. The author challenges the sample, not the pollsters' intentions. Adding “intentionally” changes the claim.
- B
We never hear from Samuels's supporters. The author is making a judgment about the poll's reliability, not reporting what one candidate's supporters believe about it.
- CCorrect
This captures the criticism of the poll: its results probably don't accurately represent the voters' opinions. The concern about where the survey took place supplies a reason to believe that claim. We can identify the conclusion without deciding that the author's concern proves the poll wrong.
- D
A questionable poll doesn't establish that Samuels has a good chance. Perkins could still be extremely popular, even if this particular survey measures that popularity poorly. The argument gives us a reason to doubt one source of evidence, not a new prediction about the election.
- E
“They should have planned this more carefully” might be a reasonable reaction. But the author doesn't make that recommendation. The stated conclusion concerns the accuracy of the results. Don't replace it with advice about how to conduct a better survey.
More Role/Main Point questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Role/Main Point questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.