PrepTest 150, Section 3, Question 5
Pundit: Clearly, the two major political parties in(28 more words not shown)
The reasoning in the argument(11 more words not shown)
- Aconfuses the cause(11 more words not shown)
- Bpresumes, without argument,(7 more words not shown)
- Chas a conclusion(10 more words not shown)
- Dfails to indicate(15 more words not shown)
- Etakes for granted(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A close vote doesn't tell us how far apart the parties' policies are.
The last four elections were nearly tied. That tells us about how voters divided their support. It doesn't tell us what either party proposed. Two parties could receive almost equal shares while holding very similar positions on the major issues. Or they could receive those same shares while holding sharply opposed positions.
What we’re looking for
The pundit jumps from one kind of division to the other without giving us the connection. For the flaw, look for that move: nearly even votes are treated as evidence of sharply different views.
Working the answers
- A
The argument doesn't identify a causal relationship and then run it backward. It uses election totals as evidence about the distance between the parties' positions. The missing connection between those two things is the problem, rather than a demonstrated confusion about which one causes the other.
- B
The pundit claims the parties are sharply divided, but doesn't say whether that division is good or bad. A descriptive claim can be poorly supported without relying on a negative judgment about what it describes. B adds an evaluation the argument doesn't make.
- C
The conclusion isn't a restatement of the premise. Almost equal vote shares and sharply different positions are different claims—that is exactly why the conclusion needs more support. This isn't the same assertion being used to prove itself.
- D
We don't need a comparison with other cities to assess how divided these parties are. We need information about their positions on issues in this city. Even if election results elsewhere looked very different, that wouldn't fill the gap between this city's vote totals and its parties' policies.
- ECorrect
The vote is almost evenly split, but the author assumes that means the parties are far apart on the issues. We haven't been given their policy positions. The possibility of a nearly tied race between parties with similar views shows why the evidence doesn't establish the claimed sharp division.
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