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a good assumption question...

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a good assumption question...

by Ozlemg » Sun Jul 10, 2011 8:57 am
The media claim that the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity. They point to lower unemployment rates and increased productivity. Their analysis is false, though. The number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months and bankruptcy lawyers report that they are busier than they have been in years.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A. Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity.
B. Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity.
C. Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain.
D. There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers.
E. The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs.

OA will follow
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by Tani » Sun Jul 10, 2011 11:20 am
Try the denial test. If by denying an assumption you kill the argument, then that assumption was necessary to the argument.

Our argument says we are not experiencing growth and prosperity. Evidence? Increased bankruptcy filings. We want another reason for increased bankruptcy filings, one that does not contradict the assertion that the economy is growing.

If we deny C, we say that legislation HAS been passed to make it easier to obtain bankruptcy. That would mean filings are up because of the laws, not the economy. That kills the argument and therefore is the needed assumption.
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by rishijhawar » Mon Jul 11, 2011 1:48 am
Tani Wolff - Kaplan wrote:Try the denial test. If by denying an assumption you kill the argument, then that assumption was necessary to the argument.

Our argument says we are not experiencing growth and prosperity. Evidence? Increased bankruptcy filings. We want another reason for increased bankruptcy filings, one that does not contradict the assertion that the economy is growing.

If we deny C, we say that legislation HAS been passed to make it easier to obtain bankruptcy. That would mean filings are up because of the laws, not the economy. That kills the argument and therefore is the needed assumption.
Tani, from my understanding perspective: would you the bold explanation helps to zero-in C on a test day.
If we deny C, we say that legislation HAS been passed to make it easier to obtain bankruptcy. That would mean filings are up because of the laws, not the economy (whereas economic downturn is the cause of higher unemployment resulting higher bankruptcy filing). That kills the argument (by stating "passage of legislation" as a cause of higher unemployment whereas the actual cause is "poor economy") and therefore is the needed assumption.
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by tanviet » Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:54 am
The hard thing here is to separate main argument from NOISY INFORMATION- the thing to cover main argument the testmaker make to test reading capacity. in this case, noisy information includes a opposite full argument-the first 2 sentences. Once you separate the MAIN ARGUMENT, you feel very nice.
C is a defender assumption in context of evidence.
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