PrepTest 130, Section 4, Question 14
Editorial: A recent survey shows that 77 percent(31 more words not shown)
The reasoning in the editorial's(12 more words not shown)
- Aappeals to survey(23 more words not shown)
- Bpresumes, without providing(17 more words not shown)
- Cfails to consider(12 more words not shown)
- Dfails to distinguish(15 more words not shown)
- Epresumes, without providing(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
We know what people feel. We have not yet been shown the crime data.
The survey reports two opinions: 77 percent think crime is increasing, and 87 percent want tougher sentences. I can accept those results while still asking whether those beliefs and preferences are justified.
What we’re looking for
My initial concern with the conclusion is the jump to what the government must do. Does public opinion by itself establish that a particular government response is required? People could be mistaken, and a popular demand would still need to be assessed. For the flaw question, I would keep that gap between the survey and the policy conclusion in mind.
Working the answers
- A
The percentages answer different questions, so they do not conflict. Someone could think the crime rate is stable and still favor tougher sentences for crimes that occur. Also, believing crime is increasing is not the same as being concerned about crime at all. A misdescribes the survey and invents an inconsistency.
- B
The editorial does not explain the crime rate by saying offenders are treated leniently. It reports a preference for tougher sentencing, then calls for government action. That is not an assertion that lenient treatment and a high crime rate are correlated.
- C
Other surveys might show that opinions have changed, but the problem does not depend on whether earlier surveys exist. Even a consistent record of the same opinions would leave the gap between what people believe and what the government must address.
- DCorrect
This identifies a more specific jump within the conclusion. The editorial calls it “the rising crime rate,” treating the rise as an established fact. But its evidence only says that people believe crime is increasing.
Those are different things. Crime could be stable or falling while many people think it is rising. The survey would still be accurately reported, but it would not establish the problem the conclusion tells the government to address.
- E
The editorial does not say tougher sentences are the most effective remedy. It calls for firmly addressing the problem without specifying how. Reporting that respondents want tougher sentences is not the same as endorsing those sentences as the best solution.
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