Briannas has been feeling jittery over the last three weeks. She has

Let's jot down the points:
Premise: B feeling J since for last 3 weeks.
Premise: B working double shift so having 6-7 cups of coffee than usual 2-3cups.
Premise: J hampering work efficiency
Conclusion:Stop drinking coffee to stop J

As to the question, it is implied that there will be 4 weakners, so we need to find that 5th option that would either strengthen or have no relevance with the argument.

Probable answer: We can weaken by saying that it's not coffee but the excess work is affecting B's work efficiency.

A. the jitters may be due to lack of sleep, not excessive caffeine.
INCORRECT. Weakens the argument. Similar to the probable answer.

B. the jitters may be worsened by her total withdrawal from caffeine.
INCORRECT. Weaken. Since she was having extra work and having extra coffee, stopping consumption of coffee might make the condition worse, just like in real life when you stop an addiction, you feel discomfort and distracted.

C. Brianais has never had the jitters before.
CORRECT. I chose this option after cancelling out 4 weakners. This sentence makes sense. If B never had , it's strange she's getting it now. She must fo something. This doesn't affect the argument IMO.

D. Brianais only gets the jitters when she drinks too much coffee.
INCORRECT. A contender. But if you look keenly in the sentence, it says she gets jitters only when she has too much coffee. So the sentence is suggesting us that if she cuts foen her coffee intake, everything will be fine. This weakens the argument which says coffee must be stopped altogether.

E. the jitters may be caused by anxiety due to personal problems or stress at work.
INCORRECT. If jitters are due to personal problem, why stop coffee? Simple weakner.

Now, I am confident that the answer is option C after POE.

Posted from my mobile device

Valid criticism except means we are looking for a supporting statement. I will apply POE to solve this

A.) This actually weakens her plan of action [reject]
B.) This also weakens the statement [reject]
C.) Irrevaleng to the argument[reject]
D.) Not strongly supporting [hold]
E.) Weaken the plan of action [reject]

So best possible solution is D

Posted from my mobile device

The right answer is C. It only states that Brianas has never had the jitters before, implying something is responsible for it and hence there is a need for her to do something about it.

All the other options directly or indirectly criticized her plan to quit taking coffee altogether. For instance, A says the jitters may be due to lack of sleep and excessive caffeine. So if it is due to lack of sleep, her decision to quit taking coffee is criticized. In addition, if it is due to excessive coffee intake, then her decision not to take coffee altogether is also criticized.
B says her jitters may worsen with total withdrawal from coffee. This is basically saying she does not need to completely withdraw from taking coffee instead she needs to take it in moderation.
D also says she only gets the jitters when she drinks excessive coffee, which is also basically saying, she doesn't need to totally withdraw from coffee but rather need to drink it in moderation in order to remedy the jitters.
E also presents alternative cause, implying the jitters may have nothing to do with coffee intake, hence no need to withdraw it.

Briannas has been feeling jittery over the last three weeks. She has also been putting in extra hours at work, sometimes pulling double shifts. To stay alert, she has been drinking six or seven cups of coffee a day rather than her usual two or three cups. The jitters are interfering with her ability to do her work, so she has decided to stop drinking coffee altogether to eliminate the jitters.
All of the following are valid criticisms of Brianaiss plan of action EXCEPT

Briannas has been doing extra hours at works and feeling jitters for last three weeks. To remain alert, she is drinking 6-7 cup of coffee which is more than her usual 2-3 cups. But, jitters are interfering in her work.

Conclusion: Briannas decides to put an absolute stop to eliminate the jitters.

A. the jitters may be due to lack of sleep, not excessive caffeine. – WRONG. It is actually a criticism to her decision that even after stopping the coffee the jitters might not stop.
B. the jitters may be worsened by her total withdrawal from caffeine. – WRONG. This is again an statement that goes against Briannas’s decision since the caffeine in the coffee is actually helping her with the jitters, thus her work.
C. Brianais has never had the jitters before. – CORRECT. If Briannas never had jitters earlier then drinking coffee might help her and stopping it would not be good. So, this goes against her decsion. But if she releases that drinking coffee is not helping her and decides to stop it then this option is supporting her decision.
D. Brianais only gets the jitters when she drinks too much coffee. – CORRECT. If too much coffee gives Briannas jitters then it’s good to stop the coffee intake to stop them. So in a way this is supporting her decision.
E. the jitters may be caused by anxiety due to personal problems or stress at work. – WRONG. Similar to option ‘A’ this option gives other reasons that are behind her jitters. So stopping coffee might not help her.

Marking answer as D since option C looks open at both ends.

The best way to weaken an argument is to -
1) Suggest something new
2) Suggest something wrong with the current argument(the reason isn't actually the reason)
3) Suggest that c doesn't cause y but y causes x (reverse causation)

A. the jitters may be due to lack of sleep, not excessive caffeine. (Point 2)
B. the jitters may be worsened by her total withdrawal from caffeine.(kind of point 3)
C. Brianais has never had the jitters before.(point 1)
D. Brianais only gets the jitters when she drinks too much coffee.(Strengthens)
E. the jitters may be caused by anxiety due to personal problems or stress at work.(Poin 1)

ALSO NOTE- ON JUST READING THE QUESTION WE CAN ELIMINATE ALL OPTIONS BUT C AND D.
BUT D STRENGTHENS AND HENCE THE ANSWER.

ARGUMENT
[con] she is feeling jittery, and this is interfering with her work, so she has decided to stop drinking coffee;
[asump] drinking coffee is causing her to feel jittery, not something else, such as working long hours, stress, anxiety etc…;
[premise] she went from drinking 2-3 cups of coffee to 6-7 cups of coffee, recently, to stay alert since she is working more hours;

WEAKEN
find the choices that criticizes her plan;

A. cutting coffee won't stop jitters;
B. cutting coffee won't stop jitters;
D. but she uses coffee for work, this would weaken the plan;
E. cutting coffee won't stop jitters;

Answer (C)

A. the jitters may be due to lack of sleep, not excessive caffeine....correct
B. the jitters may be worsened by her total withdrawal from caffeine.....required is the reason for stopping coffee.....not its after effects
C. Brianais has never had the jitters before....out of context
D. Brianais only gets the jitters when she drinks too much coffee....supports the conclusion
E. the jitters may be caused by anxiety due to personal problems or stress at work.....not correct

Official Explanation

Correct Answer: C

Because she has never had the jitters before, it is important for Brianais to try to do something to stop them. Therefore, this is not a criticism of her plan of action.
The other options, however, all point out reasons why her plan of action may not be effective. If the jitters are caused by lack of sleep (choice a) or anxiety (choice e), then her plan will fail. Similarly, if her jitters worsen by a total withdrawal from caffeine (choice b), her plan will also fail. The fact that Brianais often gets the jitters when she drinks too much coffee (choice d) suggests that Brianais does not need to stop drinking coffee altogether; she just needs to cut back to her regular amount.

I doubt C could be real contender if we see it from different prospective.

C says " Brianais has never had jitters before.". And argument premise says "six or seven cups of coffee a day rather than her usual two or three cups". So she never had a problem of jitters with 2-3 cup of coffee.
Thus in this case also we can say she don't need to totally stop rather she can cut short it as in case of option D we have inferred.


Experts pls suggest in such scenario, how come C is different from D. I can see both of them hold same position.

Moreover option D looks more preferable. In option C it just says that she was regular drinker and she never had a problem of jitters. So there should be something else.
WHereas in option D it somewhere stresses on coffee being one of certain reason to jitters. SO avoiding it will alleviate the situation.

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