Last visit was: 28 Apr 2026, 07:44 It is currently 28 Apr 2026, 07:44
Home
Messages
Tests
Schools
Events
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Go to My Error Log Learn more
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
Events & Promotions
Back to Forum
Create Topic
505-555 (Easy)|   Weaken|         
User avatar
souvik101990
User avatar
Joined: 19 Mar 2012
Last visit: 11 Nov 2025
Posts: 4,314
Own Kudos:
53,384
 [10]
Given Kudos: 2,326
Location: United States (WA)
Concentration: Leadership, General Management
Schools: Ross '20 (M)
GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42
GMAT 2: 740 Q49 V42 (Online)
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
GPA: 3.8
WE:Marketing (Non-Profit and Government)
Products:
My Reviews
Expert
Expert reply
Schools: Ross '20 (M)
GMAT 3: 760 Q50 V42 (Online)
Posts: 4,314
Kudos: 53,384
 [10]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 07 Apr 2015, 21:01
Kudos
Add Kudos
10
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
00:00
Start Timer
Pause Timer
Resume Timer
Show Answer
Hide
Show
History
A
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

Difficulty:

15% (low)

Question Stats:

76% (01:13) correct 24% (01:27) wrong based on 1029 sessions

History

Date
Time
Result
Not Attempted Yet
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as they used to. Almost all of the papers that my students have done for me this year have been poorly written and ungrammatical.

Which one of the following is the most serious weakness in the argument made by the professor?

(A) It requires confirmation that the change in the professor's students is representative of a change among college students in general.

(B) It offers no proof to the effect that the professor is an accurate judge of writing ability.

(C) It does not take into account the possibility that the professor is a poor teacher.

(D) It fails to present contrary evidence.

(E) It fails to define its terms sufficiently.
ShowHide Answer
Official Answer
A
User avatar
JarvisR
User avatar
Joined: 05 Nov 2012
Last visit: 05 Jan 2017
Posts: 317
Own Kudos:
4,990
 [1]
Given Kudos: 606
Concentration: Technology, Other
Schools: IIMA Simon '17 (D) IIMB Carlson '18 (D) UConn FT "18 (A$) Katz '17 (A$) IIML'17 (A)
Products:
My Reviews
Schools: IIMA Simon '17 (D) IIMB Carlson '18 (D) UConn FT "18 (A$) Katz '17 (A$) IIML'17 (A)
Posts: 317
Kudos: 4,990
 [1]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 08 Apr 2015, 04:41
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
answer is A.
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as they used to. Almost all of the papers that my students have done for me this year have been poorly written and ungrammatical.

Professor is making a general assessment abt the college students based upon the writing skills of its student.
(A) It requires confirmation that the change in the professor's students is representative of a change among college students in general.
User avatar
sony1000
User avatar
Joined: 31 May 2015
Last visit: 14 Nov 2025
Posts: 201
Own Kudos:
312
 [1]
Given Kudos: 220
Location: Fiji
Schools: IE
GPA: 1
Schools: IE
Posts: 201
Kudos: 312
 [1]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 06 Apr 2020, 00:57
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
I think A, B and C are correct however, A has the best argument.
User avatar
CEdward
User avatar
Joined: 11 Aug 2020
Last visit: 14 Apr 2022
Posts: 1,161
Own Kudos:
289
 [1]
Given Kudos: 332
Posts: 1,161
Kudos: 289
 [1]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 18 Mar 2021, 18:52
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
A is clearly the answer, but why are B and C necessarily wrong?
User avatar
BLTN
User avatar
Joined: 25 Aug 2020
Last visit: 19 Dec 2022
Posts: 227
Own Kudos:
288
 [1]
Given Kudos: 215
Posts: 227
Kudos: 288
 [1]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 23 Nov 2022, 02:56
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
CEdward
A is clearly the answer, but why are B and C necessarily wrong?
Show more


Dear CEdward
B and C can be dismissed on the reason that the professor made the generalization: If one student is poor writer then all students in the college are illiterate. We do not care whether the professor has good judgment ability or not.
User avatar
Destroyer906
User avatar
Joined: 10 May 2022
Last visit: 18 Dec 2022
Posts: 1
Given Kudos: 48
Posts: 1
Kudos: 0
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 15 Dec 2022, 22:09
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
CEdward
A is clearly the answer, but why are B and C necessarily wrong?
Show more

For option "C" : It is talking about good teacher [ie, teaching skill] and not judging one . Hence , broad idea so can be rulled out!!.
User avatar
unraveled
User avatar
Joined: 07 Mar 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2025
Posts: 2,706
Own Kudos:
2,330
Given Kudos: 763
Location: India
WE:Sales (Energy)
Posts: 2,706
Kudos: 2,330
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 05 Jan 2023, 08:46
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as they used to. Almost all of the papers that my students have done for me this year have been poorly written and ungrammatical.

Which one of the following is the most serious weakness in the argument made by the professor?

(A) It requires confirmation that the change in the professor's students is representative of a change among college students in general. - CORRECT.

(B) It offers no proof to the effect that the professor is an accurate judge of writing ability. - WRONG. This is like C only, focusing on non-core issue.

(C) It does not take into account the possibility that the professor is a poor teacher. - WRONG. Did professor argued that he is good or bad? Not hitting the core of the argument of professor.

(D) It fails to present contrary evidence. - WRONG. Irrelevant.

(E) It fails to define its terms sufficiently. - WRONG. It's just a simple argument and need not to be complicated.

B and C might confuse some for simple reason that they might not have understood question stem properly. The question is about weakness in professor's argument not overall as presented.

Answer A.
User avatar
DmitryFarberMPrep
User avatar
Manhattan Prep Instructor
Joined: 22 Mar 2011
Last visit: 03 Mar 2026
Posts: 3,005
Own Kudos:
8,627
 [1]
Given Kudos: 57
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT Focus 1: 745 Q86 V90 DI85
Posts: 3,005
Kudos: 8,627
 [1]
College professor: College students do not write nearly as well as the 31 May 2023, 11:13
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
We don't have to worry about B because we generally accept the truth of the given premises. If the professor says the writing is bad, we accept that. We only address the logic that gets us from this premise to the conclusion. As for C, there's no indication that it was the professor's job to teach these students writing and grammar. (Hopefully they've had some instruction by the time they get to college, and we don't even know what subject the professor teaches.) Therefore, we don't know whether the professor's teaching has any effect on the issue.
Moderators:
GMATNinja
GMAT Club Verbal Expert
7391 posts
AbhishekP220108
507 posts
bhanu29
363 posts