Ozzy11100 wrote:
This is a tough questions, and it doesn't have the same feel, in my opinion, as gmat questions of equivalent difficulty.
Basically, getting the correct answer requires one to make the logical leap that phenomena are only comparatively mundane/dull/uneventful if they each illicit a punishment of similar severity. I could be wrong, but I feel like GMAT qs don't require this sort of leap.
I got the correct answer, but only by POE. I was hesitant about B because it switches out "the act" for "the punishment." I thought this choice had the feel of a GMAT trap answer, but I also thought it was the only option that made any sense.
My thought process on the other options was as follows:
A). Does not comment on cheating on exams in any way. We don't care about the differences between the other two phenomena.
B). Correct answer
C). This one follows the logic of the correct answer, but in the opposite direction. This answer says that people are less likely to drive without a licence than to cheat on an exam. So exam cheating is MORE mundane by comparison. This is a strengthener, if anything.
D). This answer could be perceived either as a strengthener, or as irrelevant. I'm more inclined to reason that it's irrelevant. It makes a broader comment about cheating, diluting the relevance, and doesn't comment on the relationship between exam cheating and the other phenomena.
E). This one, again, doesn't comment on the relationship BETWEEN the phenomena. It just makes a general comment about all of them. The correct answer MUST indicate that there's a problem with equating exam cheating to the other phenomena. This one doesn't do that.
You nailed it!
Even I was having the same feeling because the conclusion of the passage is that outcry about copying in examination ought to be put to rest.
To weaken this argument, we have to show something that tells us that the outcry about copying SHOULD NOT be put to rest, or in other words - hey, copying in the examination IS ACTUALLY BAD.
One possible reason could have been: Copying in the exam teaches the students to drive without a driving license or travel without a valid ticket.
But option B changes the scope that Punishment is greater for copying in the exams. Fair enough, but how does this tell us anything about "why outcry about copying SHOULD NOT be put to rest" or "why copying in the examination IS ACTUALLY BAD"
Having said that -
Coming to the logical structure of this passage, we can see that the question is playing the game of similarity and differences.
Show similarity between 3 objects and to weaken the common effect on these objects, we have to show that one object will have a different semi-effect. With this structure, option B makes the most sense.