Critical Reasoning

Advertisement:Anyone who exercises knows from firsthand experience that exercise leads to better performance of such physical organs as the heart and the lungs, as well as to improvement in muscle tone. And since your brain is a physical organ, your actions can improve its performance, too. Act now. Subscribe to Stimulus: read the magazine that exercises your brain.

The advertisement employs which one of the following argumentative strategies?

(A) It cites experimental evidence that subscribing to the product being advertised has desirable consequences.
(B) It ridicules people who do not subscribe to Stimulus by suggesting that they do not believe that exercise will improve brain capacity.
(C) It explains the process by which the product being advertised brings about the result claimed for its use.
(D) It supports its recommendation by a careful analysis of the concept of exercise.
(E) It implies that brains and muscle are similar in one respect because they are similar in another respect.

[spoiler]OA-E; [/spoiler] [spoiler]Confused btn C & E[/spoiler] - pls explain. Looking for views on how to address this kind of problem

C and E are close
C will be the second best choice
E says that working out your brain will improve your brain much in the same way that working out your physical organs improve their performance

The question ask to identify the arg strategy used.

the strategy used here comparing brain with physical organ.Since working out improves the perfomance of physical organ,the same can be used to improve brain.

Option C just tell us about the advertisement of product and its use that is described by certain process.But this does not what is the strategy used.

Option E tell us the strategy used in the argument.

C explains how the product advertised brings about the change.
The stimulus takes a different rout. the stimulus says the following,
1. Exercising the physical organ leads to the better performance of the organ.
2. exercise improve the muscle tone
3. Brain is a physical organ
4. you can improve the performance of brain too by using the product.

This is mentioned in E

hw D is eliminated ?

We don't actually learn HOW this product is meant to exercise our brain. So, there is no explanation of "process". On this basis, we can eliminate C.

Choice E correctly describes the method of argument. Brains and muscles are similar in one respect--they are both "physical organs". Thus, the ad concludes they must be similar in another respect: our actions can improve their performance.

But, I don't think I've ever come across a method of argument question in any officially released GMAT material.

Testluv wrote:We don't actually learn HOW this product is meant to exercise our brain. So, there is no explanation of "process". On this basis, we can eliminate C.

Choice E correctly describes the method of argument. Brains and muscles are similar in one respect--they are both "physical organs". Thus, the ad concludes they must be similar in another respect: our actions can improve their performance.

But, I don't think I've ever come across a method of argument question in any officially released GMAT material.

Thanks Testluv.

In OG 11, found 2 question 87,90 from a total of 120 questions. Do you recommend not focussing on this type of question.

Hi pnk,

yes those are indeed method of argument questions in OG11. Wow! So, I got curious and flipped through OG 12. There are 4 method of argument questions in OG12: 37, 54, 85, and 86.

So, yes, you should definitely practice this type of question.

But, it is a relatively rare kind of question and it is very unlikely that you will see more than 1 on test day.

So, practice them, yes.

Focus on them? No, I would focus on stn/wkn, assumption, inference, paradox, boldface, and relevant informtion.

In the category of low-frequency questions on the GMAT, we have: flaw, main point, and now method of argument.

Thanks!

Testluv wrote:Hi pnk,

yes those are indeed method of argument questions in OG11. Wow! So, I got curious and flipped through OG 12. There are 4 method of argument questions in OG12: 37, 54, 85, and 86.

So, yes, you should definitely practice this type of question.

But, it is a relatively rare kind of question and it is very unlikely that you will see more than 1 on test day.

So, practice them, yes.

Focus on them? No, I would focus on stn/wkn, assumption, inference, paradox, boldface, and relevant informtion.

In the category of low-frequency questions on the GMAT, we have: flaw, main point, and now method of argument.

Thanks!

Lots to learn from your energy level. Thanks a lot Testluv

Testluv wrote:We don't actually learn HOW this product is meant to exercise our brain. So, there is no explanation of "process". On this basis, we can eliminate C.

Choice E correctly describes the method of argument. Brains and muscles are similar in one respect--they are both "physical organs". Thus, the ad concludes they must be similar in another respect: our actions can improve their performance.

But, I don't think I've ever come across a method of argument question in any officially released GMAT material.

hi,

the stimulus says ' better performance of such physical organs as the heart and the lungs, as well as to improvement in muscle tone'.
Therefore it doesn't bring muscl into the same category.....

In option E , it implies that muscle and brain are in the same category.isn't that incorrect? Pl. advise....

Hi,

the stimulus says ' better performance of such physical organs as the heart and the lungs, as well as to improvement in muscle tone'.
Therefore it doesn't bring muscl into the same category.....

...in the next sentence, it does!

Could anybody shed some more light on what's wrong with option D?