V03-34

Official Solution:


Some people believe that gaining wealth is due to luck. However, research from many institutions worldwide indicates a strong correlation between gaining wealth and high educational levels. Thus research supports the view that gaining wealth is largely the result of making informed career and business choices.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that the argument ______________


A. presumes, without providing justification that only highly educated people make informed career and business choices.
B. overlooks the possibility that people who make informed career and business choices may nonetheless belong to a poor family.
C. presumes, without providing justification, that informed career and business choices are available to everyone.
D. overlooks the possibility that the same thing may causally contribute both to education and to gaining wealth.
E. does not acknowledge that some people who fail to make informed career and business choices have gained wealth.


The argument contains a causal conclusion that asserts that good wealth is primarily caused by informed career and business choices (education). The conclusion is that research supports the view that gaining wealth is largely the result of making informed career and business choices. The author makes an error in assuming that the correlation mentioned in the second premise supports a causal conclusion. In other words, consider the statements individually:

X = high education level.

Y = making informed career/ business choice.

Z = gaining wealth.

Premise: X and Z are observed to happen together (correlation) Conclusion: Y causes Z. (The assumption here is that X causes Y, which in turn causes Z).

A typical GMAT structure is that if X and Z are seen to happen together, it is may be wrong to conclude that X causes Z, because it is possible that something else (say A) causes both X and Z to happen, thereby implying the X and Z are just correlated, not that X causes Z.

Option D suggests the above problem and hence is correct. (i.e., A causes both X and Z).

A. The word “ONLY” makes this option wrong. As explained above, an assumption to arrive at the conclusion that “Y causes Z” could be “X causes Y”, i.e. high education level enables one to make informed career and business choices and making informed choices makes one wealthy. However for this argument it is not a prerequisite that “ONLY the highly educated people make informed career and business choices”. There may be a few non or less educated people who can still make informed career and business choices and thereby gain wealth. The wording “only” is too strong and hence this answer is incorrect.

B. The author specifically notes that gaining wealth is largely the result of making informed career and business choices. There is no mention of poor family background, nor is needed because the argument focuses on a correlation between gaining wealth and education. Thus, overlooking the possibility mentioned in this answer choice is not an error.

C. The author does not make the presumption that informed career and business choices are available to everyone, just that making good choices generally results in gaining wealth.

D. CORRECT. Correlation is not to be mistaken for causation. It is possible that some other factor A causes X and Z to occur and that X does not cause Z. Therefore option D is a weakening statement for the argument that X causes Y and Y in turn causes Z.

E. The author specifically says that the effect is largely the result of the cause, and that statement indirectly allows other causes to lead to the effect, even if one does not make an informed career and business choices.


Answer: D