Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it

Question

Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it is followed by a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported by the local press - a phenomenon that lasts anywhere from a few months to several years after the publicity given to the aftermath of actual scandals focuses attention on the suspicion of other political scandals. Consequently, officials in the county claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage than by an actual increase in the number of scandals.

Which of the following, if true, would seriously weaken the assertions of the government officials?

A] The publicity surrounding political scandals is largely limited to the voting region in which the original scandal occurred.

B] It has often been observed that in Pauly County the branches of government are so tightly connected that one discovered scandal usually leads to a series of other related offenses.

C] News organizations do not have any guidelines to help them decide the extent to which any given scandal warrants coverage.

D] Political scandals are reported by news organizations only when the organization is certain it will obtain a substantial increase in viewership through such coverage.

E] Studies by non-partisan political analysts suggest that the average number of genuine political scandals does not change significantly from year to year or region to region

MacFauz · Answer

The wording is a bit confusing... I would go with B... It proves that not only are the previous scandals being reported heavily but also new offenses are being unearthed..... Hence there is in fact an increase in the number of scandals contrary to what the officials suggest...

ershovici · Answer

Should be B, since it tells us that discovery of one scandal often uncovers other issues, hence - more scandals, rather than news agencies improper and repetitive coverage of the same scandal

semwal · Answer

Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it is followed by a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported by the local press - a phenomenon that lasts anywhere from a few months to several years after the publicity given to the aftermath of actual scandals focuses attention on the suspicion of other political scandals. Consequently, officials in the county claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage than by an actual increase in the number of scandals.

CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP- FREQUENCY OF NEWS COVERAGE ----LEADS TO------ INCREASE IN REPORTED SCANDELS.

WEAKENER COULD BE----1. SOMETHING ELSE LEADS TO INCREASE IN REPORTED SCANDELS.....does apply here
 2. IT IS A COINCIDENCE....may apply here
 3. INCREASED REPORTED SCANDELS LEAD TO FREQUENCY OF NEWS COVERAGE........does'nt apply here....

A] The publicity surrounding political scandals is largely limited to the voting region in which the original scandal occurred... ..irrelevant

B] It has often been observed that in Pauly County the branches of government are so tightly connected that one discovered scandal usually leads to a series of other related offenses.
 
 gives alternete reason for increase in reported scandels... CORRECT AS PER OUR ASSESSMENT 
C] News organizations do not have any guidelines to help them decide the extent to which any given scandal warrants coverage....... irrelevant

D] Political scandals are reported by news organizations only when the organization is certain it will obtain a substantial increase in viewership through such coverage.... why news channel report is irrelevant.... what is relevant is whether it leads to more scandel reporting

E] Studies by non-partisan political analysts suggest that the average number of genuine political scandals does not change significantly from year to year or region to region... again irrelevant....

kudos if you please....

mvictor · Answer

we need to show that the number of the reported scandals is caused by the actual increase in the number of scandals.

B gives a valid reason to weaken the conclusion. If one case is Identified, and from this case we can identify many more, then the conclusion is weakened, and the officials' claim is unsubstantiated.

anant327 · Answer

Someone please clear my doubt - B says - It has often been observed that in Pauly County the branches of government are so tightly connected that one discovered scandal usually leads to a series of other related offenses.

Offenses may not equal to scandals. The paragraph is only talking about scandals and not about any other offense. Please clarify why is B correct.

Thank You.

yash312 · Answer

Please note that other related offenses in the argument means that discovery of one offence leads to other similar related offences/scandals.

don't just by wording of the passage,always try to understand the intended meaning of the passage. because understanding of meaning makes the phrasing in mind easy

MuskaanMittal · Answer

Question Explanation

Conclusion: Officials in the county claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage than by an actual increase in the number of scandals.

Premise: Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County, it is followed by a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported by the local press—a phenomenon that lasts anywhere from a few months to several years after the publicity given to the aftermath of actual scandals focuses attention on the suspicion of other political scandals.

Assumption: (1) It’s not a coincidence. It’s not a coincidence that there is an increase in the number of reported scandals.
(2) There’s no other cause. Nothing else but the frequency of news coverage causes an increase in the number of reported scandals.

This is a weaken question, as evidenced by the phrase which of the following...would seriously weaken. The passage uses the premise that Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it is followed by a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported by the local press in order to conclude that officials in the county claim that the increase in the number...is caused more by the frequency of news coverage than by an actual increase in the number of scandals.

The passage contains a causality reasoning pattern because it cites a cause for the increase in the number of reported scandals. The standard assumptions of an argument with a causality reasoning pattern are that it’s not a coincidence and there’s no other cause. To weaken an argument that contains a causality reasoning pattern, the correct answer choice needs to demonstrate that either it is a coincidence or there is another cause. In other words, it is a coincidence that there is an increase in the number of scandals, or there is a cause other than the frequency of news coverage. Evaluate the answer choices, looking for one that reflects this idea.

Choice A: No. The fact that The publicity surrounding political scandals is largely limited to the voting region in which the original scandal occurred is out of scope. The passage states that officials in the county claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage.

Choice B: Correct. The fact that It has often been observed that in Pauly County the branches of government are so tightly connected that one discovered scandal usually leads to a series of other related offenses provides another potential cause for the increase in the number of reported scandals, thereby weakening the assertions of the government officials that it is due to the frequency of news coverage.

Choice C: No. The fact that News organizations do not have any guidelines to help them decide the extent to which any given scandal warrants coverage is out of scope. This choice neither demonstrates that it is a coincidence or that there is another cause that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage.

Choice D: No. If anything, the fact that Political scandals are reported by news organizations only when the organization is certain it will obtain a substantial increase in viewership through such coverage might strengthen the claim that the increase in the number of reported scandals is caused more by the frequency of news coverage.

Choice E: No. The mention of genuine political scandals is out of scope. The passage is only concerned with a dramatic increase in the number of suspected political scandals reported.

The correct answer is choice B.

Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it

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Whenever a major political scandal occurs in Pauly County it

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