PrepTest 145, Section 2, Question 6
Political analyst: Several years ago, McFarlane, the military(64 more words not shown)
The political analyst's argument depends(4 more words not shown)
- ABrooks's joining McFarlane's(9 more words not shown)
- Bthere is less(12 more words not shown)
- CBrooks's political positions(7 more words not shown)
- Dmost people in(9 more words not shown)
- Ethe charges on(6 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
What about people who neither support nor oppose McFarlane?
The analyst considers two groups. Almost all of McFarlane's supporters think Brooks is corrupt. Almost all of his opponents will oppose someone who joins his government, which Brooks has now agreed to do. Those facts could make it hard for her to attract support from either camp.
But are those camps most of the country? Imagine they account for just 1 percent of the population. The remaining 99 percent might have no settled opinion about McFarlane and could still support Brooks. Describing the two committed sides wouldn't tell us much about her popularity nationwide.
What we’re looking for
That's the assumption I'd look for: supporters and opponents of McFarlane make up a large share of the population. We're predicting whether Brooks will have supporters, not deciding whether her arrest was justified or joining the government was morally right.
Working the answers
- A
Whether Brooks lends the government an inappropriate appearance of legitimacy is a judgment about her decision. The conclusion predicts how many supporters she will have. The analyst doesn't have to assume the arrangement is inappropriate in order to predict that people will reject her.
- B
The country could have more corruption, less corruption, or the same amount while these two groups still react to Brooks as described. The argument concerns their beliefs and political loyalties, not a before-and-after measurement of actual corruption.
- C
Their positions could overlap on some issues and the argument could still proceed. McFarlane's supporters might distrust Brooks despite the overlap, and his opponents are described as rejecting anyone who joins his government. Complete disagreement between the two politicians isn't required.
- DCorrect
This addresses the people the argument has left out. If most people are in one of the two camps, the analyst's evidence concerns most of the country. Without that assumption, a large neutral population could provide Brooks with substantial support.
D doesn't say every person belongs to a camp or prove that every member will oppose Brooks. It supplies the missing coverage the prediction needs: we cannot draw a nationwide conclusion about her few supporters while leaving most of the nation out of the reasoning.
- E
The analyst doesn't need the charges to have been false. McFarlane's supporters are said to believe Brooks is guilty, and his opponents object to joining his government. Those reactions could occur whether she was actually guilty or innocent. The truth of the charges is a different question from how much support she will receive.
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