All coffee drinkers in an office ought to contribute equally to the

Question

All coffee drinkers in an office ought to contribute equally to the fund that pays for the office’s coffee, because, although some coffee drinkers would prefer to pay for their coffee by the cup, or in some other manner, it is better if everyone who drinks the office’s coffee provides the same amount of support to the fund.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

(A) It offers, in place of support for its conclusion, a mere restatement of that conclusion.

(B) It overlooks the possibility that what is true under certain specified conditions is not necessarily true under most conditions.

(C) It uses emotionally charged terms to characterize unfairly the position it attempts to refute.

(D) It applies a double standard whereby one group of people is judged wrong and another group judged right for engaging in similar behavior.

(E) It offers two alternatives that do not exhaust the possibilities available and then treats those alternatives as the only possible ones.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

This question is a Method of Reasoning one. It asks us to identify a possible criticism of the argument.

The conclusion of the argument is that all coffee drinkers should contribute equally to the fund that pays for the coffee in the office. It is supported by the premise that it is better if everyone who drinks the office’s coffee provides the same amount of support to the fund even if some people would prefer to pay for their coffee in some other way.

As can be seen from the analysis above, the premise and the conclusion are the same. So, A is the option that sums it up best.

The passage doesn’t mention any conditions or true situations. It only gives a suggestion. So, Option B can be eliminated.

There are no emotionally charged terms in the passage. Option C is irrelevant, so it can be eliminated.

There is no indication of two groups of people. The passage does mention that some people may prefer to pay for their coffee in some other manner but there is no indication that there is another group that agrees with the suggestion made by the passage. So, Option D can be eliminated.

The passage doesn’t offer two alternatives. It directly makes the suggestion that everyone should contribute to the fund that pays for coffee in the office. So, Option E can be eliminated.

Therefore, A is the most appropriate option.

Jayanthi Kumar.

bidskamikaze · Answer

The argument doesn't offer any concrete reason for it's claim. It just states that "it is better if everyone who drinks the office’s coffee provides the same amount of support to the fund". We are forced to ask: BUT WHY???

Option (A) It offers, in place of support for its conclusion, a mere restatement of that conclusion. > is the correct choice.

Option  (A) It offers, in place of support for its conclusion, a mere restatement of that conclusion.  > is the correct choice.

Anshuman0902 · Answer

someone please provide rationale for each and every option.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

You may have read this argument twice out of confusion, and rightly so. The author argues that all of the office’s coffee drinkers should make equal contributions to the office coffee fund. Did you catch the evidence the author gives to support that conclusion? Apparently everyone should contribute equally to the fund because it would be better if everyone contributes equally. When the conclusion and evidence are the same, that’s called circular reasoning. And this is (A)’s criticism; instead of offering evidence, the author just restates the conclusion.

(B)  Overlooked alternatives are a major flaw, but not in this case. The problem here is that the author doesn’t actually provide evidence to support the conclusion—the argument isn’t complete.

(C)  Emotionally charged terms? The author does attempt to refute the idea that people should pay for coffee by the cup, but not by appealing to emotion.

(D)  There’s no double standard that the author applies to any particular group. The author just rejects one course of action in favor of another.

(E)  misses the author’s point. The author doesn’t suggest that contributing equally to the fund and paying by the cup are the only two possible choices. The author just indicates a preference for equal contribution.

Answer: A

unraveled · Answer

All coffee drinkers in an office ought to contribute equally to the fund that pays for the office’s coffee, because, although some coffee drinkers would prefer to pay for their coffee by the cup, or in some other manner, it is better if everyone who drinks the office’s coffee provides the same amount of support to the fund.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to criticism on which one of the following grounds?

(A) It offers, in place of support for its conclusion, a mere restatement of that conclusion. - CORRECT. First conclusion then an alternative and then conclusion in the form of reasoning only.

(B) It overlooks the possibility that what is true under certain specified conditions is not necessarily true under most conditions. - WRONG. Overlooking is fine but there is no reasoning offered for the conclusion.

(C) It uses emotionally charged terms to characterize unfairly the position it attempts to refute. - WRONG. No emotionally charged terms are used. It simply makes claim and reinstates it.

(D) It applies a double standard whereby one group of people is judged wrong and another group judged right for engaging in similar behavior. - WRONG. No double standards here just a straightforward claim.

(E) It offers two alternatives that do not exhaust the possibilities available and then treats those alternatives as the only possible ones. - WRONG. No alternatives offered.

Answer A.

All coffee drinkers in an office ought to contribute equally to the

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GMAT Critical Reasoning (CR) Questions

All coffee drinkers in an office ought to contribute equally to the

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