In a certain country, the government maintains agricultural

Question

﻿In a certain country, the government maintains agricultural counseling offices to dispense free advice. Critics contend these offices should close, since they are a waste of public money. Office staff counter that the value to farmers of the advice given greatly exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices. The critics' response is that it is precisely services generating such extra value that can, and therefore should, be rendered by private enterprise for profit.

In their response, the critics of the counseling offices use which of the following argumentative techniques?

A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position
B. Arguing that the opposing side, in gathering its evidence, systematically neglected potential counterevidence
C. Attempting to show that the opposing side had confused the notion of revenue with that of profit
D. Attempting to show that something that is true of a larger group is not necessarily also true of every subgroup of the larger group
E. Arguing that the evidence used by the opposing side is purely self-serving and in need of independent corroboration

gmatophobia · Accepted Answer

The flow of the argument - Critics : these offices should close → Reason: they are a waste of public money Office staff : the value to farmers of the advice given greatly exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices → Position of the officers: We are not a waste of public money

Critics : it is precisely services generating such extra value that should, be rendered by private enterprise for profit Answer choice elimination A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position This looks promising. The counter-argument that the critics make is based on the support that the office staff provides. The office staff defends the statement made by the critics in line 2 stating that the offices should close as they are a waste of public money. In response to this statement, the office staff brings forth their position stating that the value of advice that they give to the farmers far exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices. In their closing argument, which is also the conclusion that the critics make, the critics point out that the support that their services result in an extra value should be rendered by private enterprise for profit. Hence, the support provided itself serves to undermine the position. B. Arguing that the opposing side, in gathering its evidence, systematically neglected potential counterevidence While this option is close, I don't suppose that the critics of the counseling offices in their closing remarks point out that the counseling offices neglected any facts or counter-evidence. Hence, we can eliminate this option. C. Attempting to show that the opposing side had confused the notion of revenue with that of profit This is incorrect. The critics don't point out that the officers confused profit with revenue. Hence, we can eliminate this option. D. Attempting to show that something that is true of a larger group is not necessarily also true of every subgroup of the larger group Not really. This is not in line with the critics closing remarks. We can eliminate this option. E. Arguing that the evidence used by the opposing side is purely self-serving and in need of independent corroboration This is not in line with the critics closing remarks. We can eliminate this option. Between A and B, I think A does a better job. IMO A

bestgmat · Answer

Alright! Let's dissect this question:

The government's agricultural counseling offices are under scrutiny. Critics argue they're a waste of public money. In defense, the office staff claim that the value of the advice they give to farmers is much greater than the cost of maintaining the offices. However, the critics respond by saying that if the offices provide such high value, then private businesses should provide this service for profit instead.

Now, we'll analyze each of the answer choices to determine which one accurately describes the critics' response:

This choice suggests that the evidence provided by one side weakens its own argument. The critics are pointing out that the very value the office staff sees in the counseling offices is the reason why such services could be privatized. This seems like a close match.

There's no indication that the critics believe the office staff overlooked other evidence. This choice doesn't fit the situation.

The debate wasn't centered around revenue versus profit, so this choice isn't applicable.

This choice doesn't align with the critics' argument either. The debate wasn't about larger groups versus subgroups.

The critics aren't demanding independent verification of the office staff's claims. They are just saying that if the value is so great, private businesses should take over.

Given our analysis, the critics seem to be using the argumentative technique where they suggest that the evidence the office staff presents (the value of the service) actually undermines their position because it points to the potential for privatization. Thus, the correct answer is:

A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

In a certain country, the government maintains agricultural counseling offices to dispense free advice. Critics contend these offices should close, since they are a waste of public money. Office staff counter that the value to farmers of the advice given greatly exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices. The critics' response is that it is precisely services generating such extra value that can, and therefore should, be rendered by private enterprise for profit.

In their response, the critics of the counseling offices use which of the following argumentative techniques?

A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position
B. Arguing that the opposing side, in gathering its evidence, systematically neglected potential counterevidence
C. Attempting to show that the opposing side had confused the notion of revenue with that of profit
D. Attempting to show that something that is true of a larger group is not necessarily also true of every subgroup of the larger group
E. Arguing that the evidence used by the opposing side is purely self-serving and in need of independent corroboration

You have publicly funded advisors currently helping farmers. Critics say it's a waste of money and should be privatized. The advisors say more value is given than taken. Critics say that is PRECISELY why it should be done for profit. Basically, the critics are using what the advisors are saying against them. One way of thinking about this is if the advice is actually generating clear value, you should be able to charge these farmers for it. Why does the public need to fund it?

(A) reflects the situation in the passage in that the critics are using the very evidence the advisors are using - "the value to farmers of the advice given greatly exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices" - against them.

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Paras96 · Answer

The critics argue that government agricultural counseling offices should close and that services generating extra value should be provided by private enterprise for profit. In response, they contend that services generating extra value should not be provided by the government.

The argumentative technique used by the critics can be identified as:
 
A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position.

The critics are essentially trying to undermine the government's position by suggesting that the government's own evidence (the value of counseling exceeding the cost) supports the idea that these services should be provided by private enterprise for profit, rather than being funded by the government.

So, it appears that option (A) is indeed the correct choice for the argumentative technique used by the critics in their response.

sayan640 · Answer

Bunuel   bb , OA has not been provided for this question.

Bunuel · Answer

Added the OA. It's A. Thank you!

jain67 · Answer

GMATNinja   KarishmaB   MartyMurray  Can you please explain this question?

KarishmaB · Answer

﻿In a certain country, the government maintains agricultural counseling offices to dispense free advice.

Critics : These offices should close, since they are a waste of public money.
 Office staff : The value to farmers of the advice given greatly exceeds the cost of maintaining those offices.
 Critics : It is precisely services generating such extra value that can, and therefore should, be rendered by private enterprise for profit.

This is a method question. We are asked about the argumentative technique used by the critics. So focus on how critics respond to the office staff - it is precisely services generating such extra value that can, and therefore should, be rendered by private enterprise for profit.
They say that yes, exactly because of the point you mentioned, we should let private enterprises handle this function, not you.

A. Attempting to show that evidence used by the opposing side to support its position actually undermines that position

Correct. The critics agree to the premise given by the office staff and respond by saying that the premise actually supports critics' position, not the office staff's.

B. Arguing that the opposing side, in gathering its evidence, systematically neglected potential counterevidence

No such response from the critics.

C. Attempting to show that the opposing side had confused the notion of revenue with that of profit

No discussion of revenue vs profit. The service is free currently.

D. Attempting to show that something that is true of a larger group is not necessarily also true of every subgroup of the larger group

No subgroups in the discussion.

E. Arguing that the evidence used by the opposing side is purely self-serving and in need of independent corroboration

The critics support the evidence of the opposing side. They do not say that it is self-serving and in need of independent corroboration.

Answer (A)

nikkimah · Answer

Also, can we say option choice B is wrong because nowhere in the passage it is written that the opposing side is busy gathering its evidence.

VerbalBot · Answer

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