The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were ch

Question

The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were chess games. One candidate’s campaign advisor makes a move; the other candidate’s advisor makes a countermove. The press then reports on the campaign advisors and not on the candidates. The losers in this chess game are the voters. They are deprived of the information they need to make informed decisions because the press is ignoring substantive policy issues and reporting only on the process of the campaign. It is clear that the campaign advisors should stay out of the limelight and let the press report on the most revealing positions on substantive issues the candidates have taken.

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument in the passage depends?

(A) Chess is the most appropriate analogy to reporting on political campaigns.

(B) The candidates in the election are taking positions on substantive policy issues.

(C) How the press reports politics determines the substantive issues in the campaign.

(D) The voters are not paying enough attention to the election to be able to make informed decisions.

(E) There is no difference between reporting on the political process and reporting on substantive issues.

CrackverbalGMAT · Accepted Answer

the recommendation made by the argument is this -

"press should report on the the most revealing positions on substantive issues the candidates have taken."

Option A - Incorrect.
Whether chess is the most important analogy or not has no bearing on the conclusion that "press should report on the most revealing positions on substantive issues".

Option B - Correct.
Negate this.
If they do not take any positions on substantive policy issues, then there is no point to the recommendation that press should report on substantive issues.
This weakens the conclusion. Hence, correct.

Option C - Incorrect
Negate this.
"how the press reports politics does not determine substantive issues"
This has no bearing on the recommendation that press should report more on substantive issues.

Option D - Incorrect.
"The voters are not paying enough attention to the election to be able to make informed decisions." - this means that there is no point in publishing substantive policy issues.
Weakens the argument.

Option E - Incorrect.
then there is no point in reporting on substantive issues.
Even if there is a difference, the recommendation that the press should report on substantive issues still stands.

manhasnoname · Answer

(B) can not be the answer. It is already stated in the argument. An assumption is an unstated evidence.

Of the lot, (D) seems close to me, although not fully correct

sayantanc2k · Answer

Yes, the last part ("let the press report on the most revealing positions on  substantive issues the candidates have taken ") clearly states the same.

The source of this question does not seem to be authentic.

ashutosh_73 · Answer

One may think (B) is simply the restatement of the argument but its not:

Even though answer choice (B) appears as though it were already stated, look closely at the language. It reads:
"... let the press report on the most revealing positions on substantive issues the candidates have taken."
This statement only refers to the most revealing statements they have made, but doesn't actually claim they've made any. If I were, for example, to claim that the press should report on the most accurate statements made by a particular candidate, yet the candidate only tells lies, then I can't argue the press should really be focusing on any statements.

The same is true here. If the candidates haven't actually taken any positions on the issues, you can't really focus on the most revealing of those positions. So, for this argument to make sense, the author had to assume that there were at least some positions that were taken.

unraveled · Answer

The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were chess games. One candidate’s campaign advisor makes a move; the other candidate’s advisor makes a countermove. The press then reports on the campaign advisors and not on the candidates. The losers in this chess game are the voters. They are deprived of the information they need to make informed decisions because the press is ignoring substantive policy issues and reporting only on the process of the campaign. It is clear that the campaign advisors should stay out of the limelight and let the press report on the most revealing positions on substantive issues the candidates have taken.

Which one of the following is an assumption upon which the argument in the passage depends?

(A) Chess is the  most appropriate analogy  to reporting on political campaigns. - WRONG. Irrelevant to know about this.

(B) The candidates in the election are taking positions on substantive policy issues. - CORRECT. POE helps. At first it does not look worthy but other choices are relatively bad. If candidates are not taking positions than passage stands to lose.

(C) How the press reports politics  determines the substantive issues  in the campaign. - WRONG. It does not but something else is substantive unless the process is suggested in reports to be substantive.

(D) The voters are  not paying enough attention  to the election to be able to make informed decisions. - WRONG. Irrelevant.

(E) There is  no difference between  reporting on the political process and reporting on substantive issues. - WRONG. Opposite to what is stated in the passage.

Answer B.

PSKhore · Answer

The argument depends on the assumption that the   candidates in the election are taking positions on substantive policy issues  .

Explanation:

The author's conclusion is that the press should report on the candidates' "most revealing positions on substantive issues." This entire argument is built on the premise that such positions exist for the press to report on. If the candidates themselves are not taking clear positions on substantive issues, then the press cannot report on them, regardless of whether the campaign advisors stay out of the limelight. Therefore, the existence of these substantive positions is a necessary, unstated assumption.

The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were ch

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

The press reports on political campaigns these days as if they were ch

Prep Toolkit

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards