A prominent investor who holds a large stake in the Burton Tool Company has recently claimed that the company is mismanaged, citing as evidence the company's failure to slow down production in response to a recent rise in its inventory of finished products. It is doubtful whether an investor's sniping at management can ever be anything other than counterproductive, but in this case, it is clearly not justified. It is true that an increased inventory of finished products often indicates that production is outstripping demand, but in Burton's case it indicates no such thing. Rather, the increase in inventory is entirely attributable to products that have already been assigned to orders received from customers.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
(A) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence to show that the generalization does not apply in the case at issue.
(B) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second clarifies the meaning of a specific phrase as it is used in that generalization.
(C) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second is evidence that has been used to support the position that the argument as a whole opposes.
(D) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second states that conclusion.
(E) The first and the second each provide evidence against the position that the argument as a whole opposes.
A
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BTGmoderatorDC
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Brent@GMATPrepNow
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For boldfaced questions, students must be sure to generically summarize the roles that each part plays BEFORE examining the answer choices. Otherwise, it is much more difficult to determine the correct answer.BTGmoderatorDC wrote:A prominent investor who holds a large stake in the Burton Tool Company has recently claimed that the company is mismanaged, citing as evidence the company's failure to slow down production in response to a recent rise in its inventory of finished products. It is doubtful whether an investor's sniping at management can ever be anything other than counterproductive, but in this case, it is clearly not justified. It is true that an increased inventory of finished products often indicates that production is outstripping demand, but in Burton's case it indicates no such thing. Rather, the increase in inventory is entirely attributable to products that have already been assigned to orders received from customers.
In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?
(A) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second provides evidence to show that the generalization does not apply in the case at issue.
(B) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes; the second clarifies the meaning of a specific phrase as it is used in that generalization.
(C) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second is evidence that has been used to support the position that the argument as a whole opposes.
(D) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole; the second states that conclusion.
(E) The first and the second each provide evidence against the position that the argument as a whole opposes.
A
So here's my generic summary:
The first boldfaced part describes the TYPICAL cause of a certain situation (i.e., the typical reason for increased inventory).
The second boldfaced part explains that the ACTUAL cause of the current situation is different from the TYPICAL cause.
Once we have used generic language to describe the roles, we need only check the answer choices to locate the answer choice that matches our description of the rules.
When we do that, we see that the only match is answer choice A.
Answer: A
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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ceilidh.erickson
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I'd like to add a bit of advice to Brent's for boldface questions:
Once you've determined the role of each statement in generic terms, don't read through each entire answer choice. Instead, read just the 1st part first and eliminate. Then look at the 2nd part only for the answer choices that remain.
Using Brent's assessment, for the 1st bold we want: a TYPICAL cause of a certain situation
(A) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes... --> yes, it's a typical cause that the author is saying isn't true here.
(B) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes... --> yes, same.
(C) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole... --> no, this does not support the author's point.
(D) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole... --> no, ditto.
(E) The first and the second each provide evidence against the position that the argument as a whole opposes. ---> no, the 1st supports the position that the author argues against, it doesn't go against.
Just look at the 2nd part for the remaining answers. Goal: the ACTUAL cause of the current situation.
(A) ...the second provides evidence to show that the generalization does not apply in the case at issue. --> yes.
(B) ...the second clarifies the meaning of a specific phrase as it is used in that generalization. --> no, it goes against the previous generalization; it doesn't clarify it.
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For more on applying this strategy, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-offici ... tml#818059
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-offici ... tml#818265
Once you've determined the role of each statement in generic terms, don't read through each entire answer choice. Instead, read just the 1st part first and eliminate. Then look at the 2nd part only for the answer choices that remain.
Using Brent's assessment, for the 1st bold we want: a TYPICAL cause of a certain situation
(A) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes... --> yes, it's a typical cause that the author is saying isn't true here.
(B) The first states a generalization that underlies the position that the argument as a whole opposes... --> yes, same.
(C) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole... --> no, this does not support the author's point.
(D) The first provides evidence to support the conclusion of the argument as a whole... --> no, ditto.
(E) The first and the second each provide evidence against the position that the argument as a whole opposes. ---> no, the 1st supports the position that the author argues against, it doesn't go against.
Just look at the 2nd part for the remaining answers. Goal: the ACTUAL cause of the current situation.
(A) ...the second provides evidence to show that the generalization does not apply in the case at issue. --> yes.
(B) ...the second clarifies the meaning of a specific phrase as it is used in that generalization. --> no, it goes against the previous generalization; it doesn't clarify it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more on applying this strategy, see:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-offici ... tml#818059
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-offici ... tml#818265
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
