Bold Faced part questions on the GMAT...

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The city government should invest surplus funds in improving the city's transportation network. Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population. The subway system is outdated and understaffed. The buses rarely run on schedule and their routes are inconvenient. If the city does not make changes soon to the network, it will see many of its prized industries relocate to more convenient cities and, as a result, the city's financial health will be jeopardized.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A] The first is an explanation of a current state of affairs; the second is a prediction based on that state of affairs.

B] The first is a statement of fact in opposition to the author's conclusion; the second is that conclusion.

C] The first emphasizes an existing problem; the second offers a proposal to solve that problem.

D] The first is information the author suggests has been overlooked in the situation at hand; the second describes that situation.

E] The first is a justification of an impending problem; the second describes the consequences of that problem.



The OA given is A and I really do not understand why???


According to me the argument can be bifurcated in the following way...

Conclusion: The city government should invest surplus funds in improving the city's transportation network.


Premises or the Reasonings: Reason 1: Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population.

Reason 2: The subway system is outdated and understaffed.

Reason 3: The buses rarely run on schedule and their routes are inconvenient.

Reason 4: If the city does not make changes soon to the network, it will see many of its prized industries relocate to more convenient cities and, as a result, the city's financial health will be jeopardized.

The only question is that do we actually consider the conclusion mentioned in the argument as a problem or current state of affairs...

The first bold faced part is no doubt an explanation, but we have to know that whether it is a current state of affairs or no.

I personally chose E as the answer, I thought that the first bold faced part can be considered a justification. Please tell me where am going wrong really... I am a bit confused between the options A and E...
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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by [email protected] » Sun May 20, 2012 4:43 am
Also please answer my question, What is the Difference between a Justification and an Explanation? Of course in terms of GMAT exam...
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by [email protected] » Sun May 20, 2012 4:54 am
Well got one part of my question as to why the option E is wrong...

The basic difference between an Explanation and a Justification is that:

Explanation presents fact sets to support or favor any argument.

Justification does not present fact sets to support a particular argument.

eg: You must not abuse a child. This is a conclusion.

If the reason you give to support this argument is that: The child gets affected or the child will also follow your words and you present proper psychological evidence for those same reasons, then they are the explanations but if you cannot give evidences or fact sets, then they are justifications as to you are trying to justify your point that you must not abuse a child.

In the end comes down to how genuine your reasoning is really...

Since in this particular stimulus, the reasonings given are all legitimate and fact sets, the first bold faced part is an explanation and not a justification.

That is why option E is out and A is the answer. But please explain that how come it is a current state of affair...
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by patanjali.purpose » Sun May 20, 2012 3:54 pm
[email protected] wrote:The city government should invest surplus funds in improving the city's transportation network. Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population. The subway system is outdated and understaffed. The buses rarely run on schedule and their routes are inconvenient. If the city does not make changes soon to the network, it will see many of its prized industries relocate to more convenient cities and, as a result, the city's financial health will be jeopardized.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A] The first is an explanation of a current state of affairs; the second is a prediction based on that state of affairs.

E] The first is a justification of an impending problem; the second describes the consequences of that problem.
IMPENDING = that is going to happen

With this understanding, lets read 1st bold statement: Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population

This says networks were placed when city was smaller ...AND THEREFORE THE PROBLEM WITH THE PRESENT TRANSPORTATION NETWORK. Thats why CURRENT STATE is used.

IMO 1st statement does not justify an IMPENDING PROBLEM (ie problem that is going to come), rather it describes A PROBLEM THAT HAS ALREADY COME.

Hope it helps

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by karthikpandian19 » Sun May 20, 2012 5:38 pm
Amit,

To be honest, when i did the CR diagramming and then read the answer choice A, i stuck to that.

The others were not the suitable ones: reasoning below:

B,C & D are not required to be explained

E - is rejected for the sole reason of "impending" - future or going to happen

Hence A is the right one.
[email protected] wrote:The city government should invest surplus funds in improving the city's transportation network. Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population. The subway system is outdated and understaffed. The buses rarely run on schedule and their routes are inconvenient. If the city does not make changes soon to the network, it will see many of its prized industries relocate to more convenient cities and, as a result, the city's financial health will be jeopardized.

In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A] The first is an explanation of a current state of affairs; the second is a prediction based on that state of affairs.

B] The first is a statement of fact in opposition to the author's conclusion; the second is that conclusion.

C] The first emphasizes an existing problem; the second offers a proposal to solve that problem.

D] The first is information the author suggests has been overlooked in the situation at hand; the second describes that situation.

E] The first is a justification of an impending problem; the second describes the consequences of that problem.



The OA given is A and I really do not understand why???


According to me the argument can be bifurcated in the following way...

Conclusion: The city government should invest surplus funds in improving the city's transportation network.


Premises or the Reasonings: Reason 1: Most of the network was put in place at a time when the city was much smaller in both area and population.

Reason 2: The subway system is outdated and understaffed.

Reason 3: The buses rarely run on schedule and their routes are inconvenient.

Reason 4: If the city does not make changes soon to the network, it will see many of its prized industries relocate to more convenient cities and, as a result, the city's financial health will be jeopardized.

The only question is that do we actually consider the conclusion mentioned in the argument as a problem or current state of affairs...

The first bold faced part is no doubt an explanation, but we have to know that whether it is a current state of affairs or no.

I personally chose E as the answer, I thought that the first bold faced part can be considered a justification. Please tell me where am going wrong really... I am a bit confused between the options A and E...

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by LalaB » Mon May 21, 2012 9:36 am
IMHO the answer is A.

the first part is definitely an explanation of a current state of situation. it is not a justification of a problem (as stated in E), since it is by itself a problem.

the second part is definitely a prediction, since the author used the phrase "if smth is done, then smth will happen"
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