Professor: A guest speaker recently delivered a talk entitled The Fun

Question

Professor: A guest speaker recently delivered a talk entitled “The Functions of Democratic Governments” to a Political Ideologies class at this university. The talk was carefully researched and theoretical in nature. But two students who disagreed with the theory hurled vicious taunts at the speaker. Several others applauded their attempt to humiliate the speaker. This incident shows that universities these days do not foster fair-minded and tolerant intellectual debate.

The professor’s reasoning is flawed in that it

(A) draws a conclusion based on the professor’s own opinion rather than on that of the majority of the students present at the talk
(B) is inconsistent in advocating tolerance while showing intolerance of the dissenting students’ views
(C) relies primarily on an emotional appeal 
(D) draws a general conclusion based on too small a sample
(E) incorrectly focuses on the behaviour of the dissenting students rather than relating the reasons for that behaviour

SonGoku · Answer

Option D is the only answer that is reasonable. sample is too small to conclude that.

smartspidey · Answer

why is B not a correct choice? Can someone give a clear explanation on other choices too?

guddo · Answer

Professor: A guest speaker recently delivered a talk entitled “The Functions of Democratic Governments” to a Political Ideologies class at this university. The talk was carefully researched and theoretical in nature. But two students who disagreed with the theory hurled vicious taunts at the speaker. Several others applauded their attempt to humiliate the speaker. This incident shows that universities these days do not foster fair-minded and tolerant intellectual debate.
 
 The professor’s reasoning is flawed in that it

The professor uses one incident in one class at one university to conclude that universities generally do not foster fair-minded and tolerant debate.  The flaw  is that the evidence is too limited for such a broad conclusion.

(A) draws a conclusion based on the professor’s own opinion rather than on that of the majority of the students present at the talk

Wrong. The problem is not that the professor ignores majority opinion; the problem is that one incident is too small a basis for a broad claim.

(B) is inconsistent in advocating tolerance while showing intolerance of the dissenting students’ views

Wrong. Criticizing vicious taunts is not the same as being intolerant of dissenting views.

(C) relies primarily on an emotional appeal

Wrong. The argument describes offensive behavior, but its main flaw is not emotional language. It is  overgeneralization .

(D) draws a general conclusion based on too small a sample

Correct. One disruptive incident involving a few students does not justify a conclusion about universities in general.

(E) incorrectly focuses on the behaviour of the dissenting students rather than relating the reasons for that behaviour

Wrong. The students’ reasons are not necessary. Their behavior is relevant, but the evidence is too narrow.

Answer: (D)

Professor: A guest speaker recently delivered a talk entitled The Fun

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

Professor: A guest speaker recently delivered a talk entitled The Fun

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

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