Last year a record number of new manufacturing jobs were created - Fact
Will this year bring another record? - Curiosity
Well,
any new manufacturing job is created either within an existing company or by the start-up of a new company. - Tells us how usually manufacturing job is created.
Within existing firms, new jobs have been created this year at well below last year’s record pace - Tries answering the curious question asked above using this statement as evidence
At the same time, there is considerable evidence that the number of new companies starting up will be no higher this year than it was last year and
surely the new companies starting up this year will create no more jobs per company than did last year’s start-ups - Does the same job as the previous statement.
So clearly, the number of new jobs created this year will fall short of last year’s record - Concludes and answers the curious question
A. The first is presented as an obvious truth on which the argument is based; the second is a prediction advanced in support of the main conclusion of the argument => Second part is clear. The argument is based on two pieces = one evidence and other prediction. The first part also makes sense, since we use the obvious truth throughout the argument to reach at the conclusion. Keep it!
B. The first is presented as an obvious truth on which the argument is based; the second is an objection that the argument rejects - Reject based on the second part. There is no objection raised.
C. The first is presented as an obvious truth on which the argument is based; the second is the main conclusion of the argument - Reject based on the second part. The main conclusion is the statement after the second boldfaced part.
D. The first is a generalization that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a claim that has been advanced in support of a position that the argument opposes - The first part is a generalization as explained by GMATNinja (
https://gmatclub.com/forum/last-year-a- ... l#p2533503). But the argument does not go at length to establish this generalization.
E. The first is a generalization that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a claim that has been advanced in order to challenge that generalization. - Same reason as (D)
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