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Journalist: In late 1994, the present government of the Republic of Bellam came into power. Each year since then, about thirty journalists have been imprisoned for printing articles that criticize the government. In 1994, under the old government, only six journalists were imprisoned for criticizing the government. So the old government was more tolerant of criticism by the press than the new one is.

Politician: But in 1994 only six journalists criticized the government, and now journalists routinely do.

The politician challenges the journalist’s argument by doing which of the following?

(A) Presenting data that extend further into the past than the journalist’s data

(B) Introducing evidence that undermines an assumption of the journalist’s argument

(C) Questioning the accuracy of the evidence presented in support of the journalist’s conclusion

(D) Pointing out that the argument illegitimately draws a general conclusion on the basis of a sample of only a few cases

(E) Stating that the argument treats information about some members of a group as if it applied to all members of that group

Hi BrentGMATPrepNow, could you help clarify why E is not correct? Thanks Brent
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ykaiim
Journalist: In late 1994, the present government of the Republic of Bellam came into power. Each year since then, about thirty journalists have been imprisoned for printing articles that criticize the government. In 1994, under the old government, only six journalists were imprisoned for criticizing the government. So the old government was more tolerant of criticism by the press than the new one is.

Politician: But in 1994 only six journalists criticized the government, and now journalists routinely do.

The politician challenges the journalist’s argument by doing which of the following?

(A) Presenting data that extend further into the past than the journalist’s data

(B) Introducing evidence that undermines an assumption of the journalist’s argument

(C) Questioning the accuracy of the evidence presented in support of the journalist’s conclusion

(D) Pointing out that the argument illegitimately draws a general conclusion on the basis of a sample of only a few cases

(E) Stating that the argument treats information about some members of a group as if it applied to all members of that group

Hi BrentGMATPrepNow, could you help clarify why E is not correct? Thanks Brent

Let's start with you explaining why you believe E is correct, and we'll go from there.
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The politician challenges the journalist's argument by doing the following:

(B) Introducing evidence that undermines an assumption of the journalist's argument.

The journalist's argument is based on the increase in the number of journalists imprisoned under the new government compared to the old government. However, the politician challenges this assumption by pointing out that in 1994, only six journalists criticized the government, suggesting that there was limited criticism at that time. The politician's statement undermines the journalist's assumption that the old government was more tolerant of criticism by implying that the increase in imprisoned journalists may be due to an increase in the number of journalists criticizing the government rather than a change in government tolerance.
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"Before, 6 people criticized and 6 were imprisoned; now many more people criticize, so we can't judge tolerance just by the number imprisoned." It says about the tolernece level of government has increased or decreased or the same.
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Hi Sonatomar,

You've read the politician's point exactly right, so let me go straight at the thing you're actually asking: what does this tell us about the tolerance level?

Short answer: nothing definite - and that is the whole point. Look at what the stem asks: how the politician challenges the argument, not which government is more tolerant.

The journalist's chain is: more journalists jailed now, therefore the new government is less tolerant. That chain only holds if roughly the same number of journalists were criticizing in both periods. The politician adds one new fact - in 1994 only six criticized, and now journalists routinely do - and that fact snaps the chain. He disputes none of the journalist's numbers; he goes after the hidden assumption behind them. That is precisely what (B) describes.

Why no verdict on tolerance falls out

Put the two periods side by side:

- 1994:6 critics, 6 jailed - every single critic went to prison.
- Now:30 jailed, out of how many critics? The passage never says.

If 40 journalists criticize now, that's 30 out of 40. If 300 do, it's 30 out of 300. Either way the raw count climbs from 6 to 30 while the risk of being jailed for criticizing falls. So the journalist's one number is perfectly consistent with tolerance being unchanged or greater - which is exactly why it cannot prove "less tolerant." To settle the direction you would need the number of critics today, and you are never given it.

A quick stand-in: Town A wrote 10 speeding tickets last year; Town B wrote 100 - so Town B's police must be stricter. Then someone points out that Town B has fifty times as many drivers. Has that proved Town B is lenient? No. It has only shown that the ticket count alone can't tell you. Same move here.

Answer: B

Sonatomar
"Before, 6 people criticized and 6 were imprisoned; now many more people criticize, so we can't judge tolerance just by the number imprisoned." It says about the tolernece level of government has increased or decreased or the same.
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