Policy analyst: Most government agencies become less effective over ti

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The conclusion of the policy analyst is that the experts' recommendation—to eliminate every government agency after 10 years and create it anew—is impractical. The first bold-faced statement, the generalization that government agencies become less effective over time, is used as evidence to support the experts' position. The second bold-faced statement, the observation that certain governmental agencies cannot afford even temporary upheaval, is used to defend the analyst's position.

(A) This choice correctly states that the first bold-faced statement offers evidence in support of an opinion (the experts') that the policy analyst rejects. However, the second bold-faced statement does not contradict the premise that government agencies lose their effectiveness over time. Instead, the second bold-faced statement simply offers another observation—that certain government agencies cannot afford even temporary upheaval.

(B) This choice correctly states that the second bold-faced statement offers evidence in support of the policy analyst's position. Additionally, it is true that the first bold-faced statement is a premise that the policy analyst accepts. However, the analyst does not argue against this premise; instead, the analyst argues against the experts' position, which is based on this premise.

(C) The first bold-faced statement is not a position that the policy analyst argues against; in fact, the first bold-faced statement is one that the analyst accepts as true. Moreover, the second bold-faced statement is not the policy analyst's position; it is evidence offered in support of the analyst's position, which is that the experts' recommendation is impractical.

(D) CORRECT. The first bold-faced statement, the fact that government agencies become less effective over time, is accepted by the policy analyst as true and yet is used as evidence to support the experts' position, which the policy analyst rejects. The second bold-faced statement, the observation that certain government agencies cannot afford even temporary upheaval, is used to defend the analyst's position.

(E) This choice correctly states that the second bold-faced statement offers a consideration in support of the policy analyst's position. It is also true that the first bold-faced statement is a generalization that the policy analyst accepts as accurate. However, the first bold-faced statement is not used as the basis for the analyst's position; it is used as the basis for the experts' position.