A recent survey conducted in the New Homes magazine indicated that mor

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

In this argument, the editor makes an inference about broad market trends based on the results of the survey conducted in the New Homes magazine. The argument will be weakened if it is shown that the results of the survey are not representative of the public in general and thus cannot serve as a basis for far-reaching, market-wide conclusions.

(A) This answer choice would simply demonstrate that the survey was based on a large sample size representative of all age groups. This information, if anything, would support the integrity of the survey.

(B) While the approach described in this answer choice would likely facilitate obtaining higher response rates for the survey, it provides no information that would question the conclusion of the editor.

(C) CORRECT. This answer choice demonstrates that the data collected from the survey are unlikely to be representative of the general population, thus weakening the editor’s conclusion about the trend in the broad market. Naturally, if the magazine maintains a strong focus on new homes, its readers are, by definition, interested in buying or building a home; therefore, their responses cannot be used to make conclusions about the overall market trends.

(D) The fact that the number of readers of the magazine has more than doubled does nothing to weaken the argument of the editor. In fact, a greater number of readers may indicate higher interest in real estate, thus supporting rather than weakening the argument of the author.

(E) While receiving modest compensation for filling out the survey could potentially increase the response rate, this factor is unlikely to affect the results of the survey and is therefore outside the scope of the argument.