Full Explanation What does the stem tell us: Weakener Breakdown the stimulus: First, we get a 3-fold phenomenon. Then, it concludes an explanation of the phenomenon. Any prephrase? Weaken by alternative explanation. A) correct! Alternative explanation that covers all 3 aspects of the phenomenon. B) ...

What does the Question Stem tell us? ID the Conclusion. Keep your eye out for intermediary conclusions, and be wary of the last sentence. The main point tends to appear before that. Break down the Stimulus: The argument opens with a rather confusing criticism of a criticism, stating that the articl...

What does the Question Stem tell us? Weakener Except. That means the correct answer either strengthens the argument or, more likely, has no impact. It also means that the incorrect answers we deem to weaken the argument may not weaken quite as we would want them to if we were going to pick them as ...

What does the Question Stem tell us? "Must also be true" = Inference Question, of the Must Be True variety Break down the Stimulus: Whew...this one is a bear. It's conditional and science-y, which can be intimidating for a lot of folks. The key here is not to panic and not to rush. 1st li...

What does the Question Stem tell us? "depends on assuming" = Necessary Assumption Break down the Stimulus: What's this argument trying to prove? That rocks chosen for Japanese gardens should vary widely in appearance. How do we know? The word "hence" introduces our conclusion . ...

What does the Question Stem tell us? "most seriously calls into question" = Weaken Question Break down the Stimulus: A chimp gets a bunch of bananas and screams about it, and the other chimps come and take it. Next time, he gets just 1 banana and he keeps quiet. From this, the zookeeper c...

What does the Question Stem tell us? "logically completes the argument" means fill in the blank. Check what language introduces the blank to figure out which piece of the argument our answer choice needs to be. In this case, the word "because" introduces the blank so we know the...

Full Explanation What does the stem tell us: “properly drawn if” = Sufficient Assumption Breakdown the stimulus: The first statement is an “unless” statement, which means it’s conditional. The next two statements are about continuums: the more of X, the more of Y, which is also diagrammable. That me...

Full Explanation What does the stem tell us: This is a unique one, but since an analogous argument is an argument that is a structural match, we know this is a Matching Family question. We’re told the original argument is flawed, so that makes this a Match Flaw question. Breakdown the stimulus: We h...

Full Explanation What does the stem tell us: “account for the apparent discrepancy” = Explain a Result! Breakdown the stimulus: If most students would prefer to hire someone with experience, we would expect them to choose an experienced candidate from the list of potential candidates the poll provid...

The passage discussion is attached below. Hope it helps!

Full Explanation What does the stem tell us: Inference Family, Must Be True Flavor. Gotta be air tight! Breakdown the stimulus: Lots of conditionals + a MBT stem means this question is a great candidate for diagramming. Statement 1: $ success + indiv lib success → overall success Statement 2: begins...

Full Explanation: What does the stem tell us: “vulnerable to criticism” makes this a Flaw question. Breakdown the stimulus: Mary is responding to a statement Jamal made that we don’t get to see, but we can infer what he said based on her response. He seems to have told her that she has the legal rig...

21. (D) Question Type: Synthesis (20-22, 58-69) Looking back at the line reference given to us in the question, we see that the generalization is that caries tends to increase as reliance on agriculture increases. The final paragraph of Passage B tells us that the Ban Chiang population does not fal...

20. (C) Question Type: Identification (1-3, 29-31, 66-69) This question asks that we identify a statement that is suggested by both passages. For this type of question, we must look for solid evidence in each passage that a statement is true. In paragraph one of Passage A, it’s suggested that those...

19. (D) Question Type: Synthesis (7, 23-31,48-50, 58-69) The authors of these two passages do not have tunnel vision. Although both passages focus on the relationship of caries to the increased carbohydrate consumption that characterizes a move to a more agrarian lifestyle, both authors acknowledge...

18. (B) Question Type: Identification (11-22, 39-50; 14-16, 41-42) This question refers to "the prevailing view regarding dental caries and carbohydrate consumption." Our first task, then, must be to determine what that prevailing view is. We find that in the second paragraph of each passage. More...

17. (A) Question Type: Inference. (45-50) In paragraph two of Passage B, it is stated that grit and fiber promote tooth wear, which, depending on its severity, can promote or prevent caries, thus (A) must be correct. (B) is unsupported. In fact, lines 45-48 suggest that fiber and grit consumption m...

16. (B) Question Type: Synthesis (23-31, 51-53) This question asks us to identify a difference between two populations addressed in the passages. Since the third paragraph of Passage B tells us that the Ban Chiang ate cultivated foods, and the populations mentioned in the last paragraph of Passage ...

Here's my take on it... 15. (A) Question Type: Synthesis (1-5, 13-22, 36-38, 55-63) This question requires that we assess the similarities between the two passages and identify the subject matter that is central to both. Because both passages look at dental records in order to assess when agricultur...