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Official Explanation


In the first three sentences, we get factual statements: the definition of the problem of recidivism and the beneficial effect of post-secondary education. The final, incomplete sentence states the conclusion ---"the government should fund programs that assist incarcerated burglars and thieves in pursuing higher education" and then concludes with the words "especially since" before the blank. Therefore, the blank must provide an additional reason why recidivism would be reduced. We want something that will strengthen and solidify the argument.

(D) is the credited answer. This provides a causal connection: providing higher education leads to jobs, which lowers the chance of poverty, which lowers the change of returning to crime. This strengthens the argument and makes sense in context.

(C) & (E) are both potential weakeners: if the programs are very expensive, or if a substantial portion of the prison population can't avail themselves of this program, then both of those provide reasons not to fund these educational programs. We don't want a weakener in this blank.

(A) is unusual. Yes, post-secondary education in general is good, but the passage indicates absolutely nothing about what fields the convicts need to study. The writer of the passage is presumably a sociologist, but this doesn't mean that this field is exactly what the convicts should study. This conflates too many unrelated things, and is incorrect.

(B) is an interesting one. Here we run into a sociological paradox --- one could even argue it is something deeply paradoxical about human nature itself. Understanding a problem is not the same as solving the problem. There are some homeless people who are very intelligent and who understand the problem of homeless with tremendous sophistication, but that knowledge in and of itself doesn't help them end their homelessness. It's almost cliché to discuss the person who make the same mistake in their romantic life over and over again: he or she might be able to speak articulately about the problem, but when the time comes to choose, it's the same ride all over again. Understanding a problem, especially in a book-smart way, is not the same as solving the problem. The fact that these prisoners would understand recidivism clearly, at the level of book-smarts, is not, in and of itself, a guarantee that they would avoid it in their lives.
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Premise

Studies have shown that, when available, those incarcerated burglars and thieves who pursue post-secondary education while in prison have substantially lower recidivism rates.

Conclusion

Therefore, the government should fund programs that assist incarcerated burglars and thieves in pursuing higher education,

especially since _________ (possible completion:it leads to lesser recidivism)


Choice D. higher educational level provides wider job opportunities, and according to studies, poverty is one of the chief causes of recidivism

Higher Education --> More job opportunities --> lesser poverty --> less recidivism
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aragonn

Official Explanation


Therefore, the blank must provide an additional reason why recidivism would be reduced. We want something that will strengthen and solidify the argument.

(D) is the credited answer. This provides a causal connection: providing higher education leads to jobs, which lowers the chance of poverty, which lowers the change of returning to crime. This strengthens the argument and makes sense in context.

This explanation isn't right. When we use the phrase "especially since" the way the stem does, it means something like "what makes this idea even better is the fact that." So a good answer to this question would be something like "especially since it costs the government substantially more to incarcerate a recidivist again than it would to provide a prisoner higher education." We certainly are not looking for an answer here that just explains why a premise (we already know education combats recidivism) is true. To give another example, you might say "MBA graduates earn high salaries, so you should do an MBA, especially since your employer will pay for it and it won't cost you anything." But it would not be correct to use "especially since" in this way: "MBA graduates earn high salaries, so you should do an MBA, especially since employers value MBA degrees and are willing to pay MBA graduates high salaries", which is pretty much what the "right answer" does in this question.
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IanStewart
aragonn

Official Explanation


Therefore, the blank must provide an additional reason why recidivism would be reduced. We want something that will strengthen and solidify the argument.

(D) is the credited answer. This provides a causal connection: providing higher education leads to jobs, which lowers the chance of poverty, which lowers the change of returning to crime. This strengthens the argument and makes sense in context.

This explanation isn't right. When we use the phrase "especially since" the way the stem does, it means something like "what makes this idea even better is the fact that." So a good answer to this question would be something like "especially since it costs the government substantially more to incarcerate a recidivist again than it would to provide a prisoner higher education." We certainly are not looking for an answer here that just explains why a premise (we already know education combats recidivism) is true. To give another example, you might say "MBA graduates earn high salaries, so you should do an MBA, especially since your employer will pay for it and it won't cost you anything." But it would not be correct to use "especially since" in this way: "MBA graduates earn high salaries, so you should do an MBA, especially since employers value MBA degrees and are willing to pay MBA graduates high salaries", which is pretty much what the "right answer" does in this question.

I agree with you. After choosing the correct answer Choice D, I did feel it to be merely restating what is already present in the argument, notwithstanding the intermediate step - "and according to studies, poverty is one of the chief causes of recidivism".
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