PrepTest 145, Section 4, Question 11
Polls have shown that a higher percentage of(56 more words not shown)
Which one of the following,(7 more words not shown)
- AThe polls of(12 more words not shown)
- BThe political views(25 more words not shown)
- CPolls of retired(33 more words not shown)
- DPolls of those(32 more words not shown)
- EIn the polls(25 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Graduating students are more supportive than first-year students. More supportive than everyone else, though?
On the first sentence, I might wonder why the two student groups differ. Perhaps age matters, or professors influence students, or their social groups change. But the conclusion isn't about what caused the difference. It compares university-educated people with the overall population. That's a different comparison from the one in the polls.
Try some numbers. Suppose 5 percent of entering students oppose reducing services, compared with 10 percent of graduating students. The second percentage is higher, just as the evidence says. But suppose 50 percent of the overall population oppose reducing services. The graduates could be more supportive than the first-year students while still being much less supportive than the general population.
What we’re looking for
For the weakening question, I'd look for evidence about that missing comparison. We need a reason to doubt that university-educated people are more supportive than the population overall, rather than an explanation of why the two student groups differ.
Working the answers
- A
Avoiding overrepresentation of one discipline makes the poll less vulnerable to that particular sampling concern. It doesn't undermine the argument. Even a well-balanced poll of graduating students would still leave us needing the comparison with the overall population.
- B
Professors might help explain why students' views change. But the conclusion isn't that university instruction causes the change. It says university-educated people are more supportive than the general population, and B doesn't tell us how supportive that population is.
- C
Among retired people, those without degrees are more likely to favor cuts than those with degrees. That points in the direction the author wants: the university-educated group looks more favorable to retaining services. This is only a comparison within the retired population, so it doesn't prove the overall conclusion. But it doesn't provide the opposing comparison we need to weaken it.
- DCorrect
Read the direction carefully. Among people who graduated more than five years ago, a higher percentage favor reducing services than in the overall population. The author wants university-educated people to be more supportive of retaining or increasing services. D gives us a group of university graduates who are instead more favorable to cuts.
This is especially useful because the original evidence concerns people who are just graduating. Their views needn't represent everyone with a university education later in life. D doesn't establish the views of every graduate, but its directly relevant counterevidence weakens the broad conclusion.
- E
Holding an opinion strongly is different from how many people hold a particular opinion. Graduating students could be more emphatic without being more supportive of social services than the overall population. E doesn't supply the needed comparison.
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