Eclampsia in pregnancy is especially prevalent among women who are ser

Hey All,

You guys are totally on top of the explanation here, but I would exhort you to always put your explanations and considerations in the terms of a format that you can repeat again and again. Otherwise, you're just depending on your gut to get you through.

So let's try and outline this sucker:

Conclusion: Pamphlets explaining importance of early detection will achieve more early detection
Premise: Disease prevalent among malnourished
Assumption: People will actually get the pamphlets/read them/take them seriously (malnourished?)

Okay. So let's look at what we found just by looking at the passage. Well, the conclusion SEEMS pretty airtight, doesn't it? If you tell people how bad smoking is, fewer people smoke. So the pamphlet seems pretty straightforward. As far as I can see, the only thing that would weaken this would take on the assumption that people will actually GET/READ/UNDERSTAND the pamphlets.

Another thing worth noting is that seemingly innocuous bit about "malnourished" people. Sure, it could just be a red herring, but there are far fewer of those on the GMAT than most people think. So we should definitely keep in mind that we were given that premise. Maybe there was a reason...

(A) Many prenatal diseases produce symptoms that cannot be detected by the patient.
PROBLEM: A few things. "Many prenatal diseases" does not necessarily imply eclampsia. Also, even if some symptoms can't be detected, the pamphlet is likely going to describe the ones that CAN be detected (otherwise, what would be the point?).

(B) Once Eclampsia has been detected, the effectiveness of treatment can vary from person to person.
PROBLEM: The conclusion here is about detection only, not saving lives or improving general health.

(C) The pamphlet was sent to all town residents, including those individuals who are not pregnant.
PROBLEM: This actually STRENGTHENS the argument. The more people who get the pamphlet, the better.

(D) Eclampsia is much more common in very young and very old mothers, rather than in those at the height of their productive years.
PROBLEM: Age isn't really relevant to our discussion. We care equally much about all people.

(E) Pregnant women who are seriously malnourished are often homeless and thus unlikely to receive and read the pamphlet.
ANSWER: Uh-oh. Now the intended demographic (the malnourished...see how it came up?) won't get the pamphlets at all, so it's unlikely they can help.

Again, your thinking on this was great, but as you may notice in my posts on this forum, I always try to tie everything to a process that you can recreate over and over again. Don't get lazy on these! Take notes! : )

-t