A is wrong because the United States government's system of classifying occupations covers the said type of worker.

D is a trap. It reverses the whole essence of the United States government's definition. It says in the passage that according to the United States government's definition, a type of worker is classified on the basis of the company's final product and not on the on the basis of worked performed. This is very common in RC answer choices.

Remember this: The correct answer choice will ALWAYS be backed up by the passage. So before you determine your answer make sure that EVERYTHING in the answer choice is backed up by the passage. One, I say ONE (1), word can make or break an answer choice. This also applies to critical reasoning. Hope you learned something.

PUNEETSCHDV : Line 23-26: Thus, the many service workers employed by manufacturers bookkeepers or janitors, for example-would fall under the industrial rather than the services category.

From the passage we can not infer many as most. This will change the meaning completely. Watch out for extreme words.

26. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with

It is clear that the author discusses both the advantages and disadvantages of two definitions. Anything less would not be the answer. Hence, A is too passive for this passage.

(A) Incorrect.
(B) the author is not arguing for anyone particular definition. Incorrect.
(C) Correct.
(D) not just advantages but also disadvantages... Anything less is incorrect.
(E) this is not about ambiguity but both advantages and disadvantages. Incorrect.

27. In comparing the United States government's definition
of services with the classical definition, the author
suggests that the classical definition is
(A) classical is less pragmatic than government definition
(B) more difficult to apply - " more hard to sustain" Correct.
(C) nothing was more ambiguous than the other... The issue is more of scope and not ambiguity....
(D) widely used.... Not mentioned....
(E) not mentioned.,,,

28. The passage suggests which of the following about
service workers in the United States?
(A) Correct. Some service workers fall under industry using the government definition. Hence, there will be an underestimation.
(B) and (C) and (D) mention exact statistical comparison which we don't know about....
(E) What falls under classical is irrelevant to the definition of the government... The issue is some workers not being counted based on the gov definition,, Incorrect...

29. The author of the passage mentions which of the
following as one disadvantage of the United States
government's definition of services?

(B) It is actually broader than classical
(C) It is based on the final product produced rather
than on the type of work performed. correct.
(D) Not the disadvantage....
(E) It misclassifies many workers who are employed
in service industries. * this is tempting but those that were not classified as service workers fall in the industry not those in the industry were misclassified. This will tend to confuse especially given the time constraint during the test.... But we do not know whether service industries workers were misclassified....

30. The author refers to "service workers employed by
manufacturers" (line 23) primarily in order to point out

(B) a flaw in the United States government's
definition of services

I think Answer for 27 should be A because of below. Author did not talk about any 'difficult to apply' talk...

The United States government's definition is more practical[/color ..... Such ambiguities reveal the arbitrariness of this definition and suggest that, [color=#ff0000]although practical for government purposes, it does not accurately reflect the composition of the current United States economy.

The above sentences meant that the government's definition was more practical than the classical definition. Practical means pragmatic. SO the classical definition is "less pragmatic".

Also, the word "practical" means "can be applied in reality". So "less practical" means "more difficult to apply" -> Choice B is CORRECT

I think in this question, Choice C "less ambiguous" is a contender to the Choice B. The word "Such ambiguities ...." in the last sentence mean that the government's definition is somewhat ambiguous. But it does not mean that it is more or less ambiguous than the classical definition.

Dear experts,

My problem is with question no. 27.

Can we assume that practicality of a particular definition and difficulty of applying a particular definition are correlated ??

Moreover, the passage says that the classical definition is hard to sustain. Does this mean that it is more difficult to apply this definition ??

How do we go about tacking such a question ? What's the idea or logic here ?

Thanks
Ranjan

---------------------------------------------------
P1 - service > manufacturing ; 2 definitions.
P2 - new USG definition; some problems in this definition.
Main idea - A few definitions of service are given. and problems in a definitions are described.


26. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing research data underlying several definitions - no
(B) arguing for the adoption of a particular definition - though he rejected one, not in favor of any definition.
(C) exploring definitions of a concept - yes this one is close.
(D) comparing the advantages of several definitions --- no.
(E) clarifying some ambiguous definitions --- no clarification

C
------------------------------------------------

27. In comparing the United States government's definition of services with the classical definition, the author suggests that the classical definition is

lines to look for - the classical definition is hard to sustain. (B) more difficult to apply

------------------------------------------------

28. The passage suggests which of the following about service workers in the United States?

lines to look for - Thus, the many service workers employed by manufacturers bookkeepers or janitors, for example-would fall under the industrial rather than the services category. ---- so many worker employed by many organizations are not considered service worker.

(A) The number of service workers may be underestimated by the definition of services used by the government. --- if above lines are true then this should also be true.
(B) There were fewer service workers than agricultural workers before 1988. --- this one is not discussed.
(C) The number of service workers was almost equal to the number of workers employed in manufacturing until 1988. --- we don't know about prior to 1988.
(D) Most service workers are employed in service occupations rather than in service industries. --- opposite and wrong.
(E) Most service workers are employed in occupations where they provide services that do not fall under the classical definition of services. --- this is about US gov definition.
-------------------------------------------------

29. The author of the passage mentions which of the following as one disadvantage of the United States government's definition of services?

lines to look for - It categorizes workers based on their company's final product rather than on the actual work the employees perform.
(C) It is based on the final product produced rather than on the type of work performed.
-------------------------------------------------

30. The author refers to "service workers employed by manufacturers" (line 15) primarily in order to point out
(B) a flaw in the United States government's definition of services
_________________

26. The author of the passage is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing research data underlying several definitions --> Out of scope, no research data mentioned in the passage
(B) arguing for the adoption of a particular definition --> Author does not support or propose any definition but merely points out flaws
(C) exploring definitions of a concept --> Correct. Author merely explores the definitions and analyzes them.
(D) comparing the advantages of several definitions --> There are no advantages mentioned in the passage to compare
(E) clarifying some ambiguous definitions --> No clarifications provided in the passage but merely flaws are pointed out.

27. In comparing the United States government's definition of services with the classical definition, the author suggests that the classical definition is
(A) more pragmatic --> 2nd para line 1 the author says US govt. definition is more practical hence implying classical def is less practical.
(B) more difficult to apply --> Correct. 2nd para line 1 the author says US govt. definition is more practical hence implying classical def is less practical.
(C) less ambiguous --> At the end of 2nd para the author proves how ambiguous the classical definition is.
(D) more widely used --> Out of scope. No mention of extent of usage in the passage.
(E) more arbitrary --> 2nd para last line clearly mentions arbitrariness of 2nd def but no mention on the comparison of this aspect in the passage.

28. The passage suggests which of the following about service workers in the United States?
(A) The number of service workers may be underestimated by the definition of services used by the government. --> Correct. 2nd para last 2 lines lead to this conclusion.
(B) There were fewer service workers than agricultural workers before 1988. --> Out of scope, no mention of how things were before 1988 especialy in agri sector in US.
(C) The number of service workers was almost equal to the number of workers employed in manufacturing until 1988. --> This is a vague assumption. We do not know if the percentages were equal or service was less. The passage just mentions that in 1988 services went up to be more than manufacturing.
(D) Most service workers are employed in service occupations rather than in service industries. --> Can't say this for sure as there are no certain facts confirming this.
(E) Most service workers are employed in occupations where they provide services that do not fall under the classical definition of services. --> Can't say this for sure as there are no certain facts confirming this.

29. The author of the passage mentions which of the following as one disadvantage of the United States government's definition of services?
(A) It is less useful than the other definitions mentioned in the passage. --> Not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
(B) It is narrower in scope than the other definitions mentioned in the passage. --> Not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
(C) It is based on the final product produced rather than on the type of work performed. --> Correct. 2nd para 3rd last line says this directly.
(D) It does not recognize the diversity of occupations within the service industries. --> Out of scope - diversity of occupations is not our problem.
(E) It mis-classifies many workers who are employed in service industries. --> Opposite is true.

30. The author refers to "service workers employed by manufacturers" (line 15) primarily in order to point out
(A) a type of worker not covered by the United States government's system of classifying occupations --> Completely incorrect as the everything other than manufacturing and agri is covered in services category.
(B) a flaw in the United States government's definition of services --> Correct. 2nd para last 2 lines clearly point to this.
(C) a factor that has influenced the growth of the service economy in the United States --> Out of scope.
(D) a type of worker who is classified on the basis of work performed rather than on the basis of the company's final product --> Opposite is true.
(E) the diversity of the workers who are referred to as service workers --> Out of scope. We arenot bothered about the diversity of the workers.

Question 27:

Why C is incorrect?
In the text:

Such ambiguities reveal the arbitrariness of this definition (USA definitinion)

Why cannot we deduce, that the clasical definition is less ambiguos?

Thanks.
Javier.

mikemcgarry GMATNinja please could you help me with the following doubt.

29. The author of the passage mentions which of the following as one disadvantage of the United States government's definition of services?


(C) It is based on the final product produced rather than on the type of work performed.

As given in the passage - "It categorizes workers based on their company's final product rather than on the actual work the employees perform."

But why is option (E) incorrect?

(E) It mis-classifies many workers who are employed in service industries.

As the passage mentions -
1) "this definition fails to recognize the distinction between service industries and service occupations."
2)"the many service workers employed by manufacturers bookkeepers or janitors, for example-would fall under the industrial rather than the services category"

While I see that option C is the direct answer I would like to be confident on rejecting the other options. In this case Option (E)