Need help to think in a better way

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Need help to think in a better way

by gauraku » Wed Mar 14, 2012 8:21 pm
More and more companies have begun to consume less energy by making themselves more efficient. Over time,these efforts could place the United States at the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies.Such efforts are also essential to tackling the two big energy-related issues of the age: global warming and the dependence on precarious supplies of oil. The federal government should encourage these efforts by providing the necessary incentives, whether as loans, direct grants or targeted tax breaks.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most effective support for the argument?

A On the average, Canadian companies are more energy efficient than those in the United States.
B Experts believe that energy efficiency could lower the energy use of the United States to the level of 1995.
C In the past, government incentives have made advances in energy conservation feasible, especially in the auto industry.
D The dependence on foreign oil is a greater problem in the present than global warming.
E The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

C is the winner here and I am confused with E. I have seen previous thread in BTG for the same question but I need help here to improve the way in which I think (irrelevant outside information/assumption)

As per E: The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

This choice tells me about the current market size (seems irrelevant) but at the same time it states the reason behind the market size to be small (lack of infrastructure). Keeping the conclusion in mind: (Government should encourage by providing necessary incentives) If Government does so, it will help to overcome the problem of infrastructure and the market can grow rapidly, helping United States to be the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies.

Please help me with my approach.

Thanks
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by agarwalmanoj2000 » Thu Mar 15, 2012 12:09 am
I was also stuck between C & E, but selected C because C is more related to the conclusion.

E The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

We can rule out E because even if govt. gives grant, it is not guaranteed that cleaner technologies will be developed. It is possible that because of the grant the companies may become lethargic and may not put in efforts to improve cleaner technologies.

C In the past, government incentives have made advances in energy conservation feasible, especially in the auto industry.

Option C strengthens the conclusion because earlier govt. grants made energy conservation feasible in the auto industry, so there is a bright chance that govt. grants may improve cleaner technologies.

HTH.

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by gauraku » Thu Mar 15, 2012 5:41 am
Yeah b/w C and E, probably C strengthens the conclusion with more certainty than E does. Thanks Again!!

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by GMATGuruNY » Thu Mar 15, 2012 8:11 am
gauraku wrote:More and more companies have begun to consume less energy by making themselves more efficient. Over time,these efforts could place the United States at the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies.Such efforts are also essential to tackling the two big energy-related issues of the age: global warming and the dependence on precarious supplies of oil. The federal government should encourage these efforts by providing the necessary incentives, whether as loans, direct grants or targeted tax breaks.

Which of the following, if true, provides the most effective support for the argument?

A On the average, Canadian companies are more energy efficient than those in the United States.
B Experts believe that energy efficiency could lower the energy use of the United States to the level of 1995.
C In the past, government incentives have made advances in energy conservation feasible, especially in the auto industry.
D The dependence on foreign oil is a greater problem in the present than global warming.
E The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

C is the winner here and I am confused with E. I have seen previous thread in BTG for the same question but I need help here to improve the way in which I think (irrelevant outside information/assumption)

As per E: The market for cleaner technologies is currently relatively small because of the infrastructure requirements.

This choice tells me about the current market size (seems irrelevant) but at the same time it states the reason behind the market size to be small (lack of infrastructure). Keeping the conclusion in mind: (Government should encourage by providing necessary incentives) If Government does so, it will help to overcome the problem of infrastructure and the market can grow rapidly, helping United States to be the forefront of an emerging global market for cleaner technologies.

Please help me with my approach.

Thanks
If Government does so, it will help to overcome the problem of infrastructure and the market can grow rapidly.

Your statement here is not a FACT but an ASSUMPTION.
It could be that the infrastructure requirements will be hard to satisfy REGARDLESS of how much money is available.

It should be noted that you typed an entire PARAGRAPH in defense of answer choice E.
There is a reason that so many words were needed.
Whereas the passage links FINANCIAL INCENTIVES to ENERGY EFFICIENCY, answer choice E links INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS to ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
For E to support the link between financial incentives and energy efficiency, it would have to be true that FINANCIAL INCENTIVES are linked to the INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS -- a link that is not necessarily valid.

A word of advice:
If you have to tell a story to justify an answer choice, the answer choice is probably not correct. The correct answer choice should be easy to justify.
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by gauraku » Thu Mar 15, 2012 9:08 am
If Government does so, it will help to overcome the problem of infrastructure and the market can grow rapidly.

Your statement here is not a FACT but an ASSUMPTION.
It could be that the infrastructure requirements will be hard to satisfy REGARDLESS of how much money is available.

It should be noted that you typed an entire PARAGRAPH in defense of answer choice E.
There is a reason that so many words were needed.
Whereas the passage links FINANCIAL INCENTIVES to ENERGY EFFICIENCY, answer choice E links INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS to ENERGY EFFICIENCY.
For E to support the link between financial incentives and energy efficiency, it would have to be true that FINANCIAL INCENTIVES are linked to the INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS -- a link that is not necessarily valid.

A word of advice:
If you have to tell a story to justify an answer choice, the answer choice is probably not correct. The correct answer choice should be easy to justify.

Thanks a lot!!! I am very satisfied. The explanation and the advice given by you is going to help me a lot with my approach.

Thanks Again!!

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by tanviet » Tue Mar 20, 2012 1:29 am
Thank you Mitch Hunt,
pls, help me
there are 2 way to strengthen a argument: 1,provide new information which confirm the assumption, 2, provide new information which support the conclusion directly

I get right this question quickly but I do not understand the correct answer is type 1 or type 2. Pls, clarify.

is the correct answer type 2, which support the conclusion directly? pls, help