One claim people on both sides agree on is that the controversial, new

Question

One claim people on both sides agree on is that the controversial, new weight control supplement drastically works. According to a new study from researchers at Haletown University Medical Center,  men and women who took the new supplement for 8 weeks lost an average of 16.5 pounds without additional diet control or exercise . Another study published in the journal Nutrition Today found that people taking this supplement extract for similar duration lost an average of 6.7 percent of their total body weight, including 12.3 percent of their total body fat - with zero side effects. In fact,  not only were there no side effects, but people using the supplement actually experienced improved health measures  too, including reductions in bad LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar.

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

A. The first provides evidence that has been used to support the conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is that conclusion. 
B. Both first and second are claims that have been used to support the main conclusion of the argument. 
C. The first is a finding that has been used to reach a conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is an extra finding that has no direct bearing on what the argument seeks to establish.
D. The first provides evidence that supports the conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a finding that has been used to lead to an alternate conclusion. 
E. The first provides evidence that has been used to support the conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a finding that has been used to restrain one from reaching an alternate conclusion.

Experts please help on this.

deepdinda95 · Answer

Could you please explain why the answer is not B

Mavisdu1017 · Answer

I picked C, and I think B is not correct cuz both BF1 and BF2 are findings/evidence, but rather than claims.
And anybody can explain Why C is wrong? As conclusion is weight control, but BF2 says it can improve people’s health status, such asreductions in bad LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar, this has nothing to do with weight control.

nova31 · Answer

OA is (E) and it took me 2 minutes.

Conclusion here -  "new weight control supplement drastically works"

As evident from responses, B C & E are contenders for the right answer. Let's go through each of them, along with my rationale :

B - Both BF do support the conclusion of the argument. Let's keep it for now.

C - The first part is correct - used by the author to reach to the conclusion mentioned above. However, the second BF states that - "not only were there no side effects, but people using the supplement actually experienced improved health measures". So there is a direct relation between the 2 BFs.

E - so the first BF says that people lost weight. However, what if the loss was accompanied with other illness- such as an increase in blood pressure? The second BF makes it clear to us that the new weight control actually works without any detrimental effect on the user.

solvewithsourabh · Answer

first of all i got this question wrong.
but i think i have some very important learnings from this question

I eliminated A & D as it was obvious.
then i eliminated B because of the word 'claims' ... I am sure that the BFs are not claims rather a evidence/findings
still to get more clarity on the same:

how to not mistake a claim for an evidence or a finding ? what is a typical sentence structure for a sentence to be categorized as a claim?

further between opt C and E:

the 1st part of both the options is all right. but in the 2nd parts - how the 2nd part of option C is wrong? 
and isn't the 2nd part of option E is a little inferetive which has no scope in the BF questions ?

pl help and try to ANSWER as much questions as possible

thanks & regards,
SourabhC

GMATking94 · Answer

Since you are down to options C & E. I would try to explain the difference. Lets see (C) first -

The first is a finding that has been used to reach a conclusion that the argument seeks to establish ;  the second is an extra finding that has no direct bearing on what the argument seeks to establish.

The second part is completely wrong since it definitely has a direct bearing on the conclusion that "weight control supplement drastically works."

Hence, (E) is the best answer.

solvewithsourabh · Answer

Since you are down to options C & E. I would try to explain the difference. Lets see (C) first -

The first is a finding that has been used to reach a conclusion that the argument seeks to establish ;  the second is an extra finding that has no direct bearing on what the argument seeks to establish.

The second part is completely wrong since it definitely has a direct bearing on the conclusion that "weight control supplement drastically works."

Hence, (E) is the best answer.

thanks for the reply.
now here my problem is - the 2nd BF talks nothing about weight control/weight reduction (which is the main objectives of the "weight control" supplements) but rather it talks about the improved health and no side effects. so can we say the 2nd BF has direct bearing on the conclusion.

and for option E - how will justify the 2nd part of option E? 
i think it went far out of scope of considering what the argument seeks to establish, didn't it ?

GMATking94 · Answer

What does the second part tell us. It says that there are no side effects and in fact the health actually improved. So this prevent us from thinking that loosing weight with the help of supplements might cause side effects and other health complications. Hence, option (E) is correct answer. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Posted from my mobile device

vishal_gupta · Answer

(C) should be the correct answer as for answer choice (E) we have to assume far more out of scope context from what the passage states.

rn1112 · Answer

karishma

Is my understanding correct here? 
please assist in getting to the correct answer

Conclusion of the argument : the controversial, new weight control supplement drastically works.

(C)   The first is a finding that has been used to reach a conclusion that the argument seeks to establish;     the second is an extra finding that has no direct bearing on what the argument seeks to establish.

not only were there no side effects,  but people using the supplement actually experienced improved health measures too -- the bold portion here clearly highlights that the extra finding has a bearing on what the argument seeks to establish ie, new weight control supplement  drastically works .

(E)    The first provides evidence that has been used to support the conclusion that the argument seeks to establish; the second is a finding that has been used to restrain one from reaching an alternate conclusion.

the 1st BF does clearly support the the conclusion (the controversial, new weight control supplement drastically works.) that the argument seeks to establish;
the 2nd BF   not only were there no side effects,  but people using the supplement actually experienced improved health measures too -- the bold portion here clearly has been used to prevent reaching an alternate conclusion ie, the supplement works positively, but with side effects.

A classic example of one word : 'drastically' making all the difference !!

(E) should be the answer

MT1302 · Answer

Conclusion : 
 
But why is this the conclusion ? Because the argument is supporting this statement with data of studies.

Ok so, moving ahead.

Both  St-1 & St-2 are  facts . Why ? Because both the statements are findings of a study. 
 
First part is true but Second is not the Conclusion. Why ? Because St-2 in the argument is not supported by additional information. And we know, that conclusion is always supported in the argument.
 
On the basis of  facts  you can reject option B. Why ? Because facts are not Claims=Opinions.
 
First part is true. 
What is the second boldface in the argument doing ? It is highlighting the additional benefits observed from the " Another study published in the journal Nutrition Today " . So, how is it supporting the conclusion ? What if these side effects and improved health measures including reductions in bad LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar contribute to what author is claiming i.e. new weight control supplement drastically  works  (Works is a broad term and has a huge scope. It is not restricting us to only think about weight control . It is just saying it works. It means it is working for weight supplement + some additional benefit). It is only because of our limited knowledge we are not able to look for it's other effects.
 
First part is true. Second boldface is not leading us to an alternate explanation . It is highlighting the additional benefits observed in the study.
 
Both the boldfaces are supporting the conclusion.

Hope it helps.

sayan640 · Answer

I was also confused between B and E .
I chose E over B because the first B.F is more of an evidence and not just claim. The first b.f contains data points and hence it is an evidence. Hence I went for E.
 KarishmaB

Posted from my mobile device

Oppenheimer1945 · Answer

There are OG/LSAT questions where the word "evidence" emcompasses claims. I don't understand why some stated fact can't be a claim. (b/w B & E) and be categorised under evidence.

dictadoloribus · Answer

When you see  two pieces of evidence , your brain wants to say “Both support the conclusion” → but one often has the hidden role of  blocking an objection . 
  The test will give you answer choices like  B (both support)  and  E (one supports, the other restrains alternate conclusion) . 
  The correct choice usually hinges on whether you catch that subtle  objection-blocking function.

One claim people on both sides agree on is that the controversial, new

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One claim people on both sides agree on is that the controversial, new

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