aalriy wrote:
Distance learning offers a potentially lucrative option for learning institutions. Money that would otherwise be spent on classroom space, parking facilities, climate control, and other particulars associated with providing a location-specific service can be diverted to marketing and quality control, two crucial factors that can drive new business.
Which of the following can be correctly inferred from the statements above?
A. The costs associated with offering distance learning are lower than those of other instruction methods.
B. Online classes are more convenient for both instructors and students than are classes held at specific geographic locations.
C. Distance learning does not required climate control or parking facilities.
D. Most types of instruction can be effectively conducted in an online setting.
E. Computers and internet access are uniformly available to people in the developed world.
fameatop wrote:
Hi Mike,
I am not able to understand why option A is preferred over C. Can you explain kindly where am i making a mistake.
Waiting for your valuable inputs
Fame
I'm happy to help with this.
First of all, I will say ---- I don't think this is a very high quality question. This source is not an excellent source for GMAT questions --- see:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/princeton- ... ok-review/In particular, I think this question does not have a single clear right answer, the way any good GMAT CR would. Instead, it has a "more gray" answer and a "less gray" answer.
(C) is a reasonably good answer, and if the other four answers were wrong,
(C) would be the correct answer. BUT,
(A) is a stronger answer. First of all, notice that
(C) is very close to being explicitly stated. This is never a pattern for an incorrect answer on the GMAT CR, but perhaps this source is trying to teach some lesson along the lines of "
it can't be an inference if it's stated directly." I would say ---
(C) is oddly close to what is stated explicitly, whereas
(A) has more the proper distance from what is explicitly stated for a good CR inference. Let me make clear --- this judging I am doing is from the perspective of someone who writes CR questions. This criterion --- too explicit to be an inference ---- is something a question writer need to keep in mind, but if the question writer has done the job well, this is never a consideration that the test taker needs to address.
Secondly, notice that
(A) is really aligned with the thrust of the argument. Overall, the argument is about ---- look how much money we can save, offering distance learning instead of on-site learning. Choice
(A) is very much about the central point the argument is making --- that's also a characteristic of a good CR inference. By contrast,
(C) is a detail, a throwaway mention, not vital to the argument overall. Once again, this is also a criterion that should be employed in question creation, but if a question is well-written, this shouldn't really be a concern for the test taker.
As is often the case, the questions that generate a great deal of discussion on these forums are the poorly written questions that ultimately raise a bunch of issues that really are of little use to someone studying for the GMAT. What most helps folks preparing for the GMAT are quality questions. Here's a practice GMAT CR question:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/questions/3150When you submit your answer, the following page will have a complete video solution.
Let me know if anyone reading this has any questions.
Mike
I have a doubt here regarding option A. here we are comparing distance learning with other learning method. option A tells The costs associated with offering distance learning are lower than those of other instruction methods. here we are talking about multiple methods could you please clarify C?