Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their st

Question

Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their students by requiring them to perform community service. But since a person who has been forced to do something has not really volunteered and since the habit of volunteering cannot be said to have been fostered in a person who has not yet volunteered for anything, there is no way this policy can succeed by itself.

Paul: I disagree. Some students forced to perform community service have enjoyed it so much that they subsequently actually volunteer to do something similar. In such cases, the policy can clearly be said to have fostered a habit of volunteering.

The main point at issue between Sarah and Paul is whether

(A) there are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task

(B) being forced to perform community service can provide enjoyment to the individual who is forced to perform such service

(C) being forced to perform community device can by itself encourage a genuine habit of volunteering in those students who are forced to perform such service

(D) it is possible for school to develop policies that foster the habit of volunteering in their students

(E) students who develop a habit of volunteering while in school are inclined to perform community service later in their lives

exc4libur · Answer

argument
s= foster by requiring cannot succeed
= if one is forced he is not volunteering
= and one cannot be fostered if he is not volunteering
p= wrong
= some forced to volunteer have volunteered afterwards
= and thus, the habit is fostered

ans (C) they disagree about creating a habit by forcing to volunteer.

chaitralirr · Answer

Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their students by requiring them to perform community service. But since a person who has been forced to do something has not really volunteered and since the habit of volunteering cannot be said to have been fostered in a person who has not yet volunteered for anything, there is no way this policy can succeed by itself.

Paul: I disagree. Some students forced to perform community service have enjoyed it so much that they subsequently actually volunteer to do something similar. In such cases, the policy can clearly be said to have fostered a habit of volunteering.

Stimulus: Sarah states that some school in order to foster the habit of volunteering in their students tries to include it into the curriculum. In such situations the school is forcing students to volunteering and so this cannot be called as volunteering.

Paul states that it is incorrect because the students who are forced later enjoy community services and volunteer.

IMO D

Paul states that it is incorrect because the students who are forced later enjoy community services and volunteer.

IMO D 
The main point at issue between Sarah and Paul is whether

(A) there are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task

(B) being forced to perform community service can provide enjoyment to the individual who is forced to perform such service

(C) being forced to perform community device can by itself encourage a genuine habit of volunteering in those students who are forced to perform such service

(D) it is possible for school to develop policies that foster the habit of volunteering in their students

(E) students who develop a habit of volunteering while in school are inclined to perform community service later in their lives

gabriellewilson · Answer

I cannot decide which one is correct. both answers - C and D are logic, and I can't choose.. The community service itself is a pretty difficult thing. From one side, it is a really good thing, because it's useful from the society. On the other hand it's a non voluntary work, which I don't think is good. I probably need to read some more information about it, on  https://studyhippo.com/essay-examples/community-service/  for example, and then it will all become clear. For now I am a bit confused.

Usernamevisible · Answer

## (A) there are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task

Sarah:
YES — she clearly believes forced action is not genuine volunteering.

Paul:
Also YES.

Important:
Paul NEVER says forced service itself becomes volunteering.

He says:
afterward, students voluntarily do something similar.

So both agree:
forced action itself is not genuine volunteering.

Eliminate.

---

## (B) being forced to perform community service can provide enjoyment to the individual who is forced to perform such service

Sarah:
No clear position.

Paul:
YES — explicitly says some students “enjoyed it so much.”

Problem:
For point-at-issue, both sides must have clear opposing views.

Sarah never discusses enjoyment.

Eliminate.

---

## (C) being forced to perform community service can by itself encourage a genuine habit of volunteering in those students who are forced to perform such service

Sarah:
NO.

Key line:
“there is no way this policy can succeed by itself.”

Paul:
YES.

Key line:
“the policy can clearly be said to have fostered a habit of volunteering.”

This is direct disagreement.

This matches the real fight:
can mandatory service itself lead to later genuine volunteering?

Correct.

---

## (D) it is possible for school to develop policies that foster the habit of volunteering in their students

Looks tempting but too broad.

Sarah:
She does NOT say schools can NEVER foster volunteering.

She only says THIS policy cannot succeed by itself.

Maybe other policies could.

Paul:
YES for this policy.

Since Sarah is not rejecting all possible school policies, this is not the disagreement.

Eliminate.

---

## (E) students who develop a habit of volunteering while in school are inclined to perform community service later in their lives

Neither discusses adulthood or later life generally.

Way outside scope.

Eliminate immediately.

---

# Final Answer

(C)

because:

* Sarah says mandatory service cannot by itself create a real volunteering habit.
* Paul says it sometimes can.

That is the exact disagreement.

Usernamevisible · Answer

Adding for option A

Yes — but notice the VERY precise wording of option (A).

## Option (A)

“there are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task”

Key words:

* “forced to perform”
* “genuinely volunteered”
* “that task”

This option is talking about:
the SAME forced task.

Meaning:
Can a person who was forced to do something be said to have genuinely volunteered for that very thing?

---

Now look carefully at Paul.

Paul says:

“Some students forced to perform community service have enjoyed it so much that they subsequently actually volunteer to do something similar.”

Critical distinction:

* initially forced task ≠ genuine volunteering
* later voluntary task = genuine volunteering

Paul NEVER says:
the original forced service itself became volunteering.

He says:
later they voluntarily do similar work.

So Paul agrees with Sarah on this narrow point:
forced action itself is not genuine volunteering.

---

This is a classic GMAT precision trap.

Your brain naturally compresses:

“later volunteered”
into
“forced volunteering became genuine volunteering.”

But logically those are different claims.

---

High-scorer mental check:

Option A asks:
“Can forced action itself count as genuine volunteering?”

Sarah:
“No.”

Paul:
Also effectively “No.”

Therefore:
not a disagreement.

Hazel33 · Answer

Here’s a clean way to attack “point at issue” questions, then we’ll apply it to Sarah vs. Paul and see why C is correct and A is not.

Method for “point at issue”

Extract each speaker’s claim(s) as clear yes/no statements.
Test an option with the Yes/No grid:
If Speaker 1 would clearly say Yes and Speaker 2 clearly says No (or vice‐versa), it’s a valid point at issue.
If either speaker has no commitment (can’t tell / depends), eliminate.
If both would agree, eliminate.
Now apply to the stimulus

Sarah’s position (distilled):

Schools try to foster a habit of volunteering by requiring community service.
But being forced to do something is not really volunteering.
A “habit of volunteering” can’t be said to be fostered in someone who hasn’t yet volunteered.
Therefore, this policy cannot succeed by itself.
Turn that into a yes/no: S1: “Being forced ≠ volunteering.” YES S2: “The policy (by itself) cannot foster a habit of volunteering.” YES

Paul’s position:

Disagrees.
Some forced students enjoy it so much that they later actually volunteer for something similar.
In such cases, the policy can clearly be said to have fostered a habit of volunteering.
Yes/No: P1: “In some cases, the policy by itself can foster a habit of volunteering.” YES P2: He does not directly challenge “being forced ≠ volunteering” as a definition; he side‐steps it by citing later genuine volunteering.

Evaluate the options

A) “There are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task.”

Would Sarah say Yes or No? She’d say NO: forced ≠ volunteered.
Would Paul say Yes or No? He never claims that the original forced act counts as genuine volunteering. He only says later they “subsequently actually volunteer” for something similar. So on A, Paul is NOT COMMITTED (likely NO as well, but at minimum “can’t tell”).
Since both don’t clearly disagree, A is not the point at issue.
C) “Being forced to perform community service can by itself encourage a genuine habit of volunteering in those students who are forced to perform such service.”

Sarah: NO. She concludes the policy “cannot succeed by itself.”
Paul: YES. He gives examples where forced service leads to subsequent genuine volunteering and says the policy “can clearly be said to have fostered a habit.”
Clear Yes/No split. This is the point at issue.
Why A tempts people

It echoes Sarah’s definitional claim, but Paul never argues that the forced act itself counts as volunteering. His claim is causal and forward‐looking (forced now → genuine volunteering later). So A tests the wrong thing.
Takeaway checklist for point‐at‐issue

Reduce each speaker to a single decisive claim.
Prefer options about the policy’s effectiveness/causal outcome (what they truly dispute), not a definitional side point one speaker never adopts.
Use the Yes/No grid ruthlessly: if you can’t put a confident Yes/No for both, discard.
Answer: C.

guddo · Answer

Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their students by requiring them to perform community service. But since a person who has been forced to do something has not really volunteered and since the habit of volunteering cannot be said to have been fostered in a person who has not yet volunteered for anything, there is no way this policy can succeed by itself.
 
 Paul: I disagree. Some students forced to perform community service have enjoyed it so much that they subsequently actually volunteer to do something similar. In such cases, the policy can clearly be said to have fostered a habit of volunteering.
 
 The main point at issue between Sarah and Paul is whether

Sarah says forced community service cannot, by itself, foster a habit of volunteering because forced service is not real volunteering. Paul says it can work, because some students later choose to volunteer after first being forced to serve.  The disagreement  is about whether forced service can  lead to genuine later volunteering .

(A) there are any circumstances under which an individual forced to perform a task can correctly be said to have genuinely volunteered to perform that task

This is not the main issue. Paul does not say the forced service itself counts as volunteering. He says students may later actually volunteer.

(B) being forced to perform community service can provide enjoyment to the individual who is forced to perform such service

Paul says some students enjoy it, but Sarah does not clearly deny that. The main disagreement is not about enjoyment itself, but about whether the policy can foster volunteering.

(C) being forced to perform community device can by itself encourage a genuine habit of volunteering in those students who are forced to perform such service

This is correct. Sarah says the policy cannot succeed by itself. Paul says it can, because forced service can lead some students to later volunteer genuinely.

(D) it is possible for school to develop policies that foster the habit of volunteering in their students

This is too broad. Sarah is talking about this specific policy: requiring community service. She does not say no school policy could ever foster volunteering.

(E) students who develop a habit of volunteering while in school are inclined to perform community service later in their lives

This is not the issue. The debate is about whether required service can create the habit in the first place, not about what students do after the habit already exists.

Answer: (C)

Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their st

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Sarah: some schools seek to foster a habit of volunteering in their st

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