Anandanwar wrote:
Hello,
I need some explanation here. The statement says: "Their analysis is false". It does not say that the analysis is 'wrong' or 'mistaken'.
Saying that the analysis is 'false' should mean that the presented analysis is actually not true and the real analysis obtained different results.
With this thinking my answer was E.
Could you please clarify where I am going wrong?
Regards,
Ankit
Hello, Ankit. Your analysis hinges on a narrow, perhaps technical or scientific, interpretation of the word
false, one that the GMAT™ would not expect a test-taker to know. (Even if the word is used in a more technical sense, as in
this official CR question, a definition is provided to ensure a level playing field.) It is important to understand the meaning of the word
in context, a skill that everyone needs to develop to succeed on the Verbal measure. Since the question stem makes reference to an
argument, we can identify the third line of the passage as that argument, an opinion that runs contrary to the claim made by the media. This argument suggests that the claim is wayward or inaccurate, or, to use your own words,
wrong or
mistaken. The evidence offered in support of this view is the final line of the passage. In all, the passage itself is easy to map out by line: claim | evidence | argument | counter-evidence. So, what does the argument necessarily assume in asserting that the claim that
the economy is entering a phase of growth and prosperity is inaccurate? We can look to the evidence provided at the end of the passage: in short, more people are filing for bankruptcy each month, and bankruptcy lawyers are busier. My take on the answer choices:
Quote:
(A) Unemployment rates are not useful indicators of growth and prosperity.
The argument is centered on bankruptcy. It is not that unemployment rates
cannot be a useful economic benchmark, just that bankruptcy rates, according to the argument, need to be taken into consideration. Thus, this answer choice overstates the case and can be eliminated.
Quote:
(B) Economic growth cannot be measured in terms of productivity.
There is no way this can be any more correct than the first answer choice above, since they derive equally from the second line of the passage. Once again, the language is too strong.
Quote:
(C) Legislation has not been recently passed to make legal bankruptcy easier to obtain.
Remember, the evidence offered in support of the argument is that
the number of people filing for bankruptcy has increased every month for the last six months, effectively keeping bankruptcy lawyers busier than ever. If laws have been passed that make bankruptcy more accessible, then a logical bridge between premise (evidence) and argument would be severed. This answer choice fits as a necessary assumption, so we should keep it.
Quote:
(D) There has not been an increase in the number of bankruptcy lawyers.
There is a nice play here on information from the passage. The number of bankruptcy lawyers should not matter, though. Without more
people, or clients of bankruptcy lawyers, to file claims for bankruptcy, the argument breaks down. Whether there are more or fewer bankruptcy lawyers, the passage tells us that
they are busier than they have been in years. We can eliminate this option.
Quote:
(E) The media often misrepresent the current state of economic affairs.
Finally, the answer choice that your interpretation of
false led you to. But you should not overlook the modifier
often. Why would it be
necessary for the argument to assume that the media
often misrepresent such information? Could it not be the case that the media have gotten it wrong just this once? The argument would hold, all the same. I am not going to say that this is the only way to eliminate (E), but it was easy to see through as soon as I hit
often, and I always look for easy targets.
Perhaps the question makes more sense now. Good luck with your studies.
- Andrew
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