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Join us in a GMAT practice session and solve 25 challenging GMAT questions with other test takers in timed conditions, covering GMAT Quant, Data Sufficiency, Data Insights, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions.
16 Jun 2026, 12:32
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Difficulty:
45%
(medium)
Question Stats:
67% (01:51) correct
33%
(01:54)
wrong
based on 88
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Scholar: The purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions. This threat works only if potential violators believe that they are likely to be punished. But the likelihood that someone will be apprehended and punished for committing a prohibited act decreases as the number of types of prohibited actions increases. Therefore, a successful legal system prohibits only those few behaviors that citizens find absolutely intolerable.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the scholar's argument by the statement that the purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions?
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the scholar's argument by the statement that the purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions?
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
16 Jun 2026, 13:45
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Scholar: The purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions. This threat works only if potential violators believe that they are likely to be punished. But the likelihood that someone will be apprehended and punished for committing a prohibited act decreases as the number of types of prohibited actions increases. Therefore, a successful legal system prohibits only those few behaviors that citizens find absolutely intolerable.
Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the scholar's argument by the statement that the purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions?
The statement explains the basic function of law that the rest of the argument builds on. The scholar then reasons that deterrence requires a believable threat of punishment, and that this threat becomes weaker when too many actions are prohibited. So the statement is a starting premise, not the conclusion.
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
This is incorrect. The argument is not about police staffing.
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
This is incorrect. The conclusion is that a successful legal system prohibits only a few absolutely intolerable behaviors.
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
This is correct. The statement is used as a foundation for the argument’s reasoning about deterrence and punishment.
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
This is incorrect. The statement is not derived from earlier claims in the argument; it is simply asserted and used to support later reasoning.
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
This is incorrect. The scholar accepts this view and builds the argument on it.
Answer: (C)
Which one of the following most accurately describes the role played in the scholar's argument by the statement that the purpose of a law is to deter certain actions by threatening to punish those performing the actions?
The statement explains the basic function of law that the rest of the argument builds on. The scholar then reasons that deterrence requires a believable threat of punishment, and that this threat becomes weaker when too many actions are prohibited. So the statement is a starting premise, not the conclusion.
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
This is incorrect. The argument is not about police staffing.
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
This is incorrect. The conclusion is that a successful legal system prohibits only a few absolutely intolerable behaviors.
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
This is correct. The statement is used as a foundation for the argument’s reasoning about deterrence and punishment.
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
This is incorrect. The statement is not derived from earlier claims in the argument; it is simply asserted and used to support later reasoning.
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
This is incorrect. The scholar accepts this view and builds the argument on it.
Answer: (C)
Sidway
Joined: 27 Jan 2026
Last visit: 29 Jun 2026
Posts: 12
Given Kudos: 4
Location: United States
Schools: Wharton '27 Stanford '27 HBS '27 Kellogg '27
GMAT Focus 1: 685 Q86 V84 DI82 
GMAT Focus 2: 715 Q84 V90 DI83 
GPA: 8.17
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16 Jun 2026, 17:32
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Summarizing the question - A law exists to reduce the likelihood of certain actions from occurring through the threat of punishment.
This happens only if people believe they will be punished. Since the more prohibited actions that exist, the less likely someone will be punished therefore we should limit the number of prohibited actions
To find - What role does the bold text play
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
There is no implicit conclusion of that kind.
More prohibited actions -> less likelihood of arrest. Having more officers doesn't change things.
REJECT
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion summarizes the main argument of the passage. Here bold text merely presents relevant information for discussion.
REJECT
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
Bold text provides relevant information for evaluating the meaning and argument of the passage
ACCEPT
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
Bold text merely presents relevant information for discussion. Conclusions (even intermediate) summarize some part of the argument of the passage.
REJECT
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
Argument never goes against bold text view. Law -> discourages certain actions. Argument merely states too many laws might not be effective.
REJECT
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This happens only if people believe they will be punished. Since the more prohibited actions that exist, the less likely someone will be punished therefore we should limit the number of prohibited actions
To find - What role does the bold text play
(A) It is offered in support of the implicit conclusion that a legal system needs a significant number of police officers.
There is no implicit conclusion of that kind.
More prohibited actions -> less likelihood of arrest. Having more officers doesn't change things.
REJECT
(B) It is the conclusion of the argument.
The conclusion summarizes the main argument of the passage. Here bold text merely presents relevant information for discussion.
REJECT
(C) It is a premise of the argument.
Bold text provides relevant information for evaluating the meaning and argument of the passage
ACCEPT
(D) It is an intermediate conclusion.
Bold text merely presents relevant information for discussion. Conclusions (even intermediate) summarize some part of the argument of the passage.
REJECT
(E) It is the view that the argument as a whole is designed to discredit.
Argument never goes against bold text view. Law -> discourages certain actions. Argument merely states too many laws might not be effective.
REJECT
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Sid B - 99th percentile Perfect Verbal GMAT Coach.
Book a call here
