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swadhakamal
Hi, can anyone kindly provide an answer for this? I think it is D.
Yup, I think it should be D too.
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I boiled the question down to A&B but not able to find a suitable reason to eliminate B.
Can anyone help me with the reason to eliminate B.
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Hey ritika9809

In option B : The first is a fact that supports the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support.

The first part is correct. It indeed supports the main conclusion of the argument.
The second part is wrong the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support. it does not increase the belief. In fact, it goes against the author's belief. The author is trying to go against the belief that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads as stated in the last sentence of the argument

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The US and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal. Many research organizations and pharmaceutical industry groups contend that the ads are educational and provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health. Opponents counter that DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies. The recently published data speaks amply in favor of the latter group: the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is currently nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads. The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A. The first is evidence that supports a judgment given in the argument; the second is an opinion that forms the basis of an objection to that support.

B. The first is a fact that supports the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support.

C. The first is a judgment that supports a claim that is supported by the argument; the second provides a counter-claim.

D. The first is an observation that seems to support a judgment made in the argument; the second creates doubts on a conclusion that is challenged in the argument.

E. The first is evidence that supports a conclusion which is challenged in the argument; the second provides another evidence to support that conclusion.

What is the conclusion of this argument?
I'm narrowed down the options to A and E and chose E
why is E not correct?

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Hey Nidheesha

The main conclusion of the argument: The recently published data speaks amply in favor of the latter group.

Option E. The first is evidence that supports a conclusion (this part is correct)
which is challenged in the argument; (the evidence supports the opponents' claim which is supported in the main conclusion)


the second provides another evidence to support that conclusion. this part is wrong on 2 accounts
First : The second part is not evidence. It is an opinion used to challenge the opponents' conclusion
Second : this part goes against the opponents' conclusion it does not support the conclusion

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Hi everyone,

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Context
The US and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal.

Advocates
Many research organizations and pharmaceutical industry groups contend that the ads are educational and provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health.

Opponents view
Opponents counter that DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies.

Contextual information
The recently published data speaks amply in favor of the latter group:

Evidence supporting the opponents view (note that this BF goes in the same direction as the conclusion does)
the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is currently nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads.

This is a claim objected by the conclusion
The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads

Conclusion
and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Pre-thinking:
The first boldface is evidence and is in the same direction as the conclusion is.
The second boldface is a claim that the conclusion objects and of course the statement goes in the opposite direction compared to the conclusion


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


A. The first is evidence that supports a judgment given in the argument;correct

the second is an opinion that forms the basis of an objection to that support.Very wordy but correct. It is indeed an opinion; it forms the basis of an objection indeed; "to that support" means that the objection that follows does not support this statement.


Correct

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. The first is a fact that supports the main conclusion of the argument;Correct

the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support.No increase i the support. Incorrect

Incorrect


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C. The first is a judgment that supports a claim that is supported by the argument;The first is evidence, not a judgment. incorret

the second provides a counter-claim. It is a counter claim. correct

Incorrect

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D. The first is an observation that seems to support a judgment made in the argument;The first is evidence and not an observation. incorrect

the second creates doubts on a conclusion that is challenged in the argument. The second one does not have the purpose to create doubt. incorrect

Incorrect

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

E. The first is evidence that supports a conclusion which is challenged in the argument; evidence=correct; no challenge to the conclusion. incorrect

the second provides another evidence to support that conclusion. The second BF is against the conclusion. incorrect

Incorrect
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AndrewN - Request your explanation please.

I am not quite able to understand the structure of the last sentence. I request you to please help break it down for me into Subject+verbs and associated clauses for this sentence:
The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.


If my understanding is correct, the subordinate clause starting with "that" is as follows:
The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.

-> But why the sentence: , this data is expected, has a comma pair?
this sentence is immediately followed by "are"- how can a verb start immediately after a comma?


gmat1393
The US and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal. Many research organizations and pharmaceutical industry groups contend that the ads are educational and provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health. Opponents counter that DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies. The recently published data speaks amply in favor of the latter group: the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is currently nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads. The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.

In the argument given, the two portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

A. The first is evidence that supports a judgment given in the argument; the second is an opinion that forms the basis of an objection to that support.

B. The first is a fact that supports the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support.

C. The first is a judgment that supports a claim that is supported by the argument; the second provides a counter-claim.

D. The first is an observation that seems to support a judgment made in the argument; the second creates doubts on a conclusion that is challenged in the argument.

E. The first is evidence that supports a conclusion which is challenged in the argument; the second provides another evidence to support that conclusion.
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Pankaj0901
AndrewN - Request your explanation please.

I am not quite able to understand the structure of the last sentence. I request you to please help break it down for me into Subject+verbs and associated clauses for this sentence:
The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.


If my understanding is correct, the subordinate clause starting with "that" is as follows:
The claims that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and therefore, this data is expected, are not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems.

-> But why the sentence: , this data is expected, has a comma pair?
this sentence is immediately followed by "are"- how can a verb start immediately after a comma?
Hello, Pankaj0901. I understand your confusion. Whatever the source of the question may be, that last line is problematic. I will offer my interpretation of what I think the sentence is aiming to convey. The subject of the sentence is the claims. After that, the subordinate clause begins and does not resolve until the main clause picks up again with are not rooted on [sic]. (The idiom is rooted in, not rooted on.) A second that would help us better understand the parallel elements:

a) that only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads AND
b) [that], therefore, this data is expected

The lack of a comma before therefore in the sentence is problematic if one appears after the transition. Furthermore, in the comma-less version, I would expect the phrase to read, this data is therefore expected. Now, regarding the comma after expected, that one does not need to appear there by any means. Sometimes when a phrase or subordinate clause is lengthy, you may see a comma after it that indicates a clear break and a transition back into the main clause. Is the subordinate clause here lengthy enough? Maybe, maybe not. If this were a Sentence Correction question, I would not expect to see the comma.

On the notion that a verb cannot follow a comma, I would argue against creating or adopting such a rule. A phrase or clause may interrupt the main clause ahead of the verb, sometimes for emphasis: Mr. Jones forbade his students from texting in the classroom. He, however, felt it would be okay to do so himself while his students were taking an exam.

I keep writing in my posts that people should stick to official questions for Verbal. The sentence you have asked about provides a compelling reason to that end.

- Andrew
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swadhakamal
Hi, can anyone kindly provide an answer for this? I think it is D.

IMO D is out because The CONCLUSION, which is being discussed in the passage, doesn't challenge the Argument, in fact, CONCLUSION supports the Argument on that basis we can eliminate option D.
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GMATNinja
please help with the analysis of option choice A regarding boldface two.
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Research Organizations' contention: DTC ads are educational and provide consumers with important information that may benefit their health

Opponents' contention: DTC drug ads are often just sales pitches which pressure doctors to provide unnecessary medications and cause patients to seek unhelpful and costly remedies

Now comes a data which says: The average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is currently nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads. The data provides support to the contention of opponents.

Author's Point of View: The supporters will come up with a statement only the most reliable companies pursue DTC ads and that this data is expected to justify the high costs revealed through the data. The author says this claim is not rooted on facts since a number of such heavily advertised drugs have been shown to have long term safety problems. Thus, we can say that the second boldface is used by supporters to counter the support lended by data to the opponents' claim

A. The first is evidence that supports a judgment given in the argument; the second is an opinion that forms the basis of an objection to that support. Correct

B. The first is a fact that supports the main conclusion of the argument; the second is a judgment that increases the belief in the support. The second boldface does not increase the belief in the first boldface. Therefore, this choice is incorrect

C. The first is a judgment that supports a claim that is supported by the argument; the second provides a counter-claim. The first boldface is not a judgement but a evidence or a fact driven by data

D. The first is an observation that seems to support a judgment made in the argument; the second creates doubts on a conclusion that is challenged in the argument. The second creates doubts on the support lended by the data to the claim of the opponents' or in a way second is used by researchers in their favor and the author has opposed that usage.

E. The first is evidence that supports a conclusion which is challenged in the argument; the second provides another evidence to support that conclusion. The second provides indirect support to the contention of the researchers and the author is in support of the opponents' view and the first provides support to the contention of the opponents. Therefore, the second does not provide support to the conclusion which is supported by first.
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