LR Question 7 Explanation
QUESTION TEXT: It is widely believed that the most environmentally…
QUESTION TYPE: Role in Argument
CONCLUSION: Sometimes it’s better for the environment to buy food from far away.
REASONING: Transport only has a tiny environmental impact. And in some far away places, we can produce certain foods with much less environmental impact.
ANALYSIS: The question asks about the role of the statement that some people believe it’s always best to buy local. This statement is an opposing opinion. The author states it in order to disagree with it.
___________
- Nonsense. The author disagrees and says we shouldn’t always buy locally.
- This is really far off. It didn’t happen.
Example of answer: Generally, it’s good to exercise. Therefore, playing squash is a good idea. - You might have picked this because it said “reject”. It’s true there was disagreement in the argument, but this answer doesn’t match the stimulus. The author didn’t use the statement to reject anything. Instead, they rejected the statement!
- CORRECT. Indeed. The statement is “always buy local”. The conclusion is “sometimes, it’s better not to buy local”.
- Nonsense. The conclusion of the argument rejects the statement in question.
More Resources for Role in Argument Questions
- Intro Course lesson: This intro course lesson covers Role in Argument questions.
- Mastery Seminar lesson: This LR Mastery seminar lesson covers role in argument questions.
I had an issue with rejected in AC D. It was not rejected in my mind. It was weakened. Rejected to me is much stronger than ” sometimes this is not the case”.
Any thoughts about that would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Good question! If someone gives a conditional statement, you can reject it simply by providing a counterexample. So if I say “Always wear a hat” you can disagree by saying “That’s not true, I shouldn’t wear a hat inside”. A single counterexample is enough to reject a conditional statement. Hope that helps!