P: Because an elected official needs the support of a political party

Question

P: Because an elected official needs the support of a political party to be effective, the independent candidate for the legislature cannot possibly be an effective legislator if she wins.
Q: I disagree. By your reasoning, our current legislator, who has the support of a political party, ought to have been effective, but he has hot been.

Which one of the following is the best criticism of Q’s statement?

(A) It simply contradicts P’s claim without offering evidence against it. 
(B) It does not consider the possibility that a political party might decide to support an elected legislator even though he or she ran as an independent. 
(C) It fails to provide a precise definition for a key term-the word “effective.” 
(D) It presupposes what is to be proved-that a legislator must have the support of a political party in order to be “effective.” 
(E) It mistakenly interprets P to be claiming that a factor assures rather than is necessary for a legislator’s effectiveness

ankujgupta · Answer

Could some please explain what exactly E is saying ? And also why D is wrong ?

khaleesi123 · Answer

Focus on the words " cannot possibly be "

goforgmat · Answer

E says that having political support could be one of the factors necessary for the effectiveness rather than the sole factor. 
Q counters the argument by saying that a political candidate failed although he had the necessary support. There could be other reasons why he wasn't effective.

D is wrong because it doesn't presuppose what is to be proved.
What is to be proved is effectiveness.
Presupposes that a candidate needs backing form a political party.

Hope i am clear.

abhimahna · Answer

P is saying Effective, only if Support.

It means the only correct form could be If effective, then support.

BUT Q is saying If Support, then Effective. While we know that this is not true.

Hence, Q is assuring that support will always lead to effectiveness.

(A) It simply contradicts P's claim without offering evidence against it.  --> No, He is not contradicting but using a wrong relation.

(B) It does not consider the possibility that a political party might decide to support an elected legislator even though he or she ran as an independent.  --> Q is not talking about independent.

(C) It fails to prove a precise definition for a key term-the word "effective."  --> come on!! This is irrelevant.

(D) It presupposes what is to be proved-that a legislator must have the support of a political party in order to be "effective."  --> This is actually valid is what P is saying but Q is saying the wrong way.

(E) It mistakenly interprets P to be claiming that a factor assures, rather than is necessary for, a legislator's effectiveness.  --> Correct. Support will not always mean effectiveness.

ballest127 · Answer

Hi  ankujgupta .

In the question, P argue that in order that an elected official is to be effective , he must has the support of a political party.
This is just the necessary condition.
In order words, although an elected official has the support of a political party , it doesn't mean that he will be effective.

However, Q gives evidence against the P'argument. 
Q shows that our current legislator does has the support of a political party but has not been effective.

So Q misinterprets necessary condition as sufficient one.

Hence E is the correct answer

Hope this help.

VerbalBot · Answer

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P: Because an elected official needs the support of a political party

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P: Because an elected official needs the support of a political party

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