Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in governm

Question

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago.  No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but  the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted.  The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

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

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first.

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position.

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation.

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sahiba96 · Answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago.   No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists ,  but the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted .  The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

intermediate conclusion .  Fact not supporting the earlier conclusion ,  args conclusion (kind of opposing earlier conclusion) .  Fact to support main conclusion

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.

first is not the args conclusion

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first.

second is not an evidence but a conclusion or a stand that author is taking

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.

first is not the args conclusion

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position.

yes

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation.

second is not a premise but a conclusion or a stand that author is taking

winterschool · Answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago. No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted. The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

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

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.  Incorrect

first is not a conclusion

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first.  Incorrect

second is not additional evidence

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.  Incorrect

first is not a conclusion

D.  The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position.   Correct

first is opinion, second is a position

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation.  Incorrect

second is not a premises

neutronstar · Answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago.  No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but  the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted.  The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

Opinion of Citizens - lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago
Author counters above opinion with B1- No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists
Author's conclusion - the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted
Evidence supporting above conclusion B2 (i.e. complaints are not altogether unwarranted) - The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled. 
 
B1 = Author partially  countering  the opinion of Citizen (1st position)
B2 = Evidence supporting Author's conclusion to partially  support  opinion of Citizens (2nd position)

Thus, we need options that put B1 and B2 on the opposite sides.

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

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based. -  1st is not a conclusion.

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first. -  This can also be answer. But I feel inclined towards Option D

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion. -  1st is not a conclusion.

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position. -  yes 1st is opinion of one side and 2nd is the opposite position.

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation. -  2nd is not shedding new light on the situation.

mSKR · Answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago.  No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but  the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted . The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

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

Position: the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted.

BF1: some fact/statement
BF2: position

A. The first is th e argument's conclusion;  the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the  second is additional evidence  that seems to contradict the first.

C.  The first is the argument's conclusion ; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion;  the second is the opposite position.

E.  The first is a premise ; the second is another premise that  contains information  that sheds new light on the situation.

Final answer: E

vrsthe1 · Answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago . No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but  the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted . The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

Notes: 
Statement 1:  Conclusion of a report or argument.  
Some background,
Statement 2:  analysis of the argument (of the author??)

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

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.   Statement 2  is not a premise, Hence this is not correct.

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first.   Statement 1  is not an evidence, but conclusion/opinion, Hence this is not correct.

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.   Statement 2  is not an evidence, it is only a position, Hence this is not correct.

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position.   Statement 1  can be said as the conclusion/report of opinion. May not be the best but good enough in this context.  Statement 2  is definitely the opposite position of Statement 1, need not be true or have evidence but a position. Hence this option is the best Answer.

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation.   Statement 1  is not a premise, Hence this is not correct.

thelonghalloween · Answer

A relatively easy one

The first bold statement is premise, and second is the author's conclusion.
So the answer choices should be in opposite direction, with first statement being premise 
 
Only D fits the criteria

Bunuel · Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in government offices are much longer now than they were 15 years ago.  No real measure of the length of the lines in government offices in Country X 15 years ago or today exists, but  the citizens' complaints are almost certainly exaggerated, if not altogether unwarranted.  The number of government officials in Country X has quadrupled over the past 15 years whereas the number of citizens has only doubled.

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

A. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is the premise on which this conclusion is based.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Weakening question, first break down the argument. The first and last sentences are premises providing factual data. The middle sentence contains an opinion presented by the author so it's the argument's conclusion:

Premise A: Country X's citizens complain that lines in government offices are longer than they were 15 years ago
 +
Premise B: the number of Country X's officials has quadrupled in the last 15 years; the number of citizens has doubled
 =
Conclusion: the lines are not longer (or only slightly longer) than they were 15 years ago

Possible assumption: government officials mostly deal with face-to-face service of the citizens

Weakening Data: ?

You are required to find data that weakens the conclusion that the citizens' complaints about the lines being longer are unwarranted, i.e., supports the citizens complaints. The correct answer could be one that exposes the argument's assumption.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. What's missing in this answer choice in order for it to be correct is information about the current average waiting time, specifically information showing that today's waiting time is shorter than 7 minutes. Without a figure to compare it to, 7 minutes is useless information and cannot help us weaken the conclusion.

B. The first is evidence in favor of a certain position; the second is additional evidence that seems to contradict the first.

Incorrect.

This answer choice strengthens the conclusion by confirming its assumption, showing that there are more service-providing government officials per citizen today than there were 15 years ago. This change in ratio is likely to yield shorter waiting times and shorter lines. However, you were asked to weaken the conclusion that the citizens' complaints are uncalled for (i.e., prove the complaints are justified).

C. The first is the argument's conclusion; the second is evidence that seems to contradict this conclusion.

This answer choice attacks the argument's assumption. Just because more officials are employed does not mean that they are used in positions that will directly shorten the lines.

D. The first is a report of one side's opinion; the second is the opposite position.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Weakening question, first break down the argument. The first and last sentences are premises providing factual data. The middle sentence contains an opinion presented by the author so it's the argument's conclusion:

Premise A: Country X's citizens complain that lines in government offices are longer than they were 15 years ago
 +
Premise B: the number of Country X's officials has quadrupled in the last 15 years; the number of citizens has doubled
 =
Conclusion: the lines are not longer (or only slightly longer) than they were 15 years ago

Possible assumption: government officials mostly deal with face-to-face service of the citizens

Weakening Data: ?

You are required to find data that weakens the conclusion that the citizens' complaints about the lines being longer are unwarranted, i.e., supports the citizens complaints. The correct answer could be one that exposes the argument's assumption.

This answer choice strengthens the conclusion while we're supposed to be weakening it. If the number of all citizens (i.e., the total number of adults and children) has doubled, and the number of children has tripled, the percentage of adult citizens has diminished over the past 15 years. Children do not normally go to government offices so this implies shorter waiting time and shorter lines. However, we should be looking for information that shows that this is not true.

E. The first is a premise; the second is another premise that contains information that sheds new light on the situation.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither weakens nor strengthens the conclusion. Since the argument deals with a comparison between today's lines and those of 15 years ago, to weaken the conclusion we need an answer choice that will favor one of the two situations. Because this answer choice only gives us data about today's situation, we cannot compare it to that of 15 years ago.

winterschool · Answer

Bunuel , Could you recheck official explanation and correct answer

Citizens in Country X are frequently complaining that lines in governm

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