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OE for reference:

Overview:
The main conclusion of the argument is that in areas that have been hit by natural disasters, retailers that raise prices on new shipments of plywood to well above predisaster prices are not taking advantage of the disaster to make more money on each sheet of plywood that they sell. We are given one piece of evidence in support of this conclusion: that transporting plywood into devastated areas is difficult and expensive. The argument infers from this evidence that plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster. And this inference is the basis for the argument's main conclusion.
The inference on which the main conclusion is based seems fairly safe. If shipping costs go up, the overall cost to the retailer for new shipments of plywood is almost certainly going to go up as well. So to avoid making less on each sheet of plywood than before, retailers will have to raise prices by enough to cover the increased shipping costs. But the argument's main conclusion is that the retailers' profit on each sheet of plywood is no higher than before. For that to be true, the price increase cannot be greater than the increase in the retailers' costs.

The Correct Answer:

C From the discussion in the "Overview," you see that the clause "the plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster" is an intermediate conclusion that the argument draws from a certain piece of evidence. And this intermediate conclusion is then used to support the main conclusion of the argument. (C) is therefore a good description of the role played by the clause.

The Incorrect Answer Choices:

A The argument as a whole is directed to countering the accusation that certain retailers take advantage of a disaster to make more money on each sheet of plywood sold. It does not do this, however, by giving a counterexample—an example that would undermine the support for the accusation.

B The argument as a whole is directed toward the main conclusion that in areas that have been hit by natural disasters, retailers that raise prices on new shipments of plywood to well above predisaster prices are not taking advantage of the disaster to make more money on each sheet of plywood that they sell. The clause at issue only supports the main conclusion.

D The argument does not treat the position it argues against as implausible. Rather, the argument takes that position seriously and attempts to make a reasoned case against it. The clause at issue is part of a careful attempt at a rebuttal, not an example used to illustrate the implausibility of the position being argued against.

E As illustrated in the "Overview," the statement that plywood's cost to retailers is higher than it was before the disaster plays a central role in how the argument goes. It is not there to provide background information.
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