PrepTest 153, Section 3, Question 9
Political organizer: Our group needs to assemble at(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(11 more words not shown)
- AMarcia Garson will(4 more words not shown)
- BThe political organizer's(11 more words not shown)
- CIf winning the(21 more words not shown)
- DIf the public(14 more words not shown)
- EAt least 30(22 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Why thirty volunteers? Fully informing the public might be important for winning, but that alone doesn't tell us how many people the campaign needs. At first, the organizer seems to have left that number unexplained.
The next sentence answers us: at least thirty people must campaign to get the public fully informed. All right, let's accept that requirement. But why must they all be volunteers? What if the campaign had fifteen paid workers? Then fifteen volunteers could bring the total to thirty. Needing thirty people isn't automatically the same as needing thirty unpaid people.
The passage answers that too: the group can't afford to pay anyone for this work. So paid workers cannot fill part of the required group. The people needed for the campaign will have to volunteer.
What we’re looking for
This argument has dealt with the questions I raised. For the main conclusion, look back at what those answers support: the group must assemble at least thirty volunteers to give Garson a chance of winning. Fully informing voters, needing thirty campaigners, and lacking money explain that requirement. They don't promise that meeting it will guarantee victory.
Working the answers
- A
The organizer doesn't predict that Garson will probably lose. Perhaps the group will find enough volunteers and run a successful campaign. We are told what has to happen for her to have a chance, not whether the campaign is likely to accomplish it.
- B
The lack of money is given, but it answers our question about why the needed workers must be volunteers. It is a reason for the conclusion, not the conclusion itself. By itself, it says nothing about how many workers are needed or why assembling them matters.
- CCorrect
This includes the entire claim's condition and requirement: if Garson is to have a chance of winning, the group needs at least thirty volunteers. The later statements explain both the number and the need for unpaid help. C returns us to the claim those statements were supporting.
- D
This restates a requirement the organizer accepts: an uninformed public would rule out winning. That is why informing the public matters. The argument goes further, using the staffing and money information to conclude what the organizer's group must assemble. D stops before that final step.
- E
This answers the first question we raised—why thirty people? It doesn't answer the second—why volunteers? Nor does it state the ultimate connection to giving Garson a chance of winning. It is the staffing requirement used to support the fuller conclusion in C.
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