Hello, everyone. I see a few comments already, and I thought I would take a moment to disqualify a few answer choices. I will pick off the easier ones (to my eye) first.
AndrewN wrote:
A product that represents a clear technological advance over competing products can generally command a high price. Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the maximum possible price for such a product. But large profits on the new product will give competitors a strong incentive to quickly match the new product's capabilities. Consequently, the strategy to maximize overall profit from a new product is to charge less than the greatest possible price.
In the argument above, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?
(A) The first is a consideration that has been raised to argue that a certain strategy is counterproductive; the second presents that strategy.
It is clear that the second
boldface is the strategy that the argument endorses, so it would not make sense to say that that very strategy is
counterproductive. This ought to be an easy elimination.
Quote:
(D) The first is an assumption, rejected by the argument, that has been used to justify a course of action; the second presents that course of action.
There is no
assumption to be found in the first
boldface. Consider the line on the whole:
Quote:
Because technological advances tend to be quickly surpassed and companies want to make large profits while they still can, many companies charge the maximum possible price for such a product.
The
because clause provides an observation, not an assumption—notice the verb
tend to. The main clause informs us of a logical consequence of the first part: some companies pursue a certain strategy
to make large profits while they still can. This answer choice should be another easy elimination.
Quote:
(E) The first is a consideration that has been used to justify pursuing a goal that the argument rejects; the second presents a course of action that has been adopted in pursuit of that goal.
You have to be really careful here. The
goal in question is
to make large profits (first boldface) or
to maximize overall profit (second boldface). The goal itself is consistent throughout the passage. It is only the manner in which that goal is pursued that the passage creates a dichotomy. Thus, this answer choice does not hold up to scrutiny.
Now, the other two are close, for reasons I will explain below. How about we look at them together?
Quote:
(B) The first is a consideration raised to support the strategy that the argument recommends; the second presents that strategy.
(C) The first is a consideration raised to help explain the appeal of a certain strategy; the second presents that strategy.
There is no debate whether
the first is a consideration, nor whether
the second presents that strategy. It is really a matter of interpreting just what
that refers to in the second part. Both answer choices take a
positive spin on the first
boldface: take your pick between
support and
help. There is a difference, however, between the references to
the strategy in (B) and
a certain strategy in (C). In the former, we
must interpret
the strategy as the one given at the end of the passage. It seems a bit strange, though, in light of the fact that the
boldface covers the opposing strategy—
many companies charge the maximum possible price for such a product. That is,
on its own, the first statement of the answer choice seems to refer to the wrong strategy. I would mark this as a doubt.
Meanwhile, answer choice (C) emphasizes
the appeal of a certain strategy, and
on its own, that strategy could be interpreted either as the one at the end of the first boldface
or the one at the end of the passage, as in,
Most companies do something in an effort to maximize profits, but, with this in mind, here is a better way to do so. Of course, the latter part of the answer choice steers us into the second interpretation—again,
that strategy—but if the first
boldface were thought of more as a
consideration that spanned the entire passage, then
the appeal of a certain strategy (i.e. not the first one in bold), would make sense.
Either way we look at it, answer choices (B) and (C) require a more holistic view to justify, but the phrasing of (C) is less debatable to me—more cautious and vague language is not as easy to challenge as specific and narrow language. In short, if my back were against the wall, I would choose (C) over (B). The rest of the options would not be in my mind, for reasons explained above.
I would be happy to listen to opposing viewpoints from others, both non-Experts and Experts alike. The goal is to enhance the community and help one another ace this _____ test.
- Andrew
_________________
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close
07 Mar 2022, 10:32
77%
(02:17)
wrong 
