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505-555 (Easy)|   Strengthen|      
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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are 18 Aug 2026, 19:00
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D
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15% (low)

Question Stats:

84% (01:11) correct 16% (01:11) wrong based on 167 sessions

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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than employees who have lunch after 13:00, or skip lunch altogether. The company management concluded that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's conclusion?

(A) Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.

(B) The majority of employees who have lunch before 13:00 are 25-30 year old women.

(C) Jane, who is the most productive employee of Company X, never has lunch before 13:30.

(D) Company Y, a competitor of Company X, which boasts the highest employee productivity rate in the industry, closes its employee dining room at 13:00.

(E) Employees who have lunch after 13:00 are usually not hungry before 13:30.


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D
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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are 18 Aug 2026, 23:18
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(D) Correct: Provides real-world evidence from a top-performing competitor (Company Y) whose dining room closes at 13:00
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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are 19 Aug 2026, 03:26
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The correct answer for this task is D.

We need to strengthen the company's conclusion that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00. D does this spectacularly by giving an example of a competing firm which has introduced a similar measure by closing their cafeteria at 13:00 and has seen a positive effect regarding productivity in their employees. Since the firms are similar, we can assume that the results would then also be similar.

A) this may be true but the point is to move lunches to a time that is before 13:00. This statement could also work for 14:00, e.g. so it does not strengthen what we need it to.
B) the demographic is irrelevant here as we wish to have ALL employees eat before 13:00, not differentiate between which demographic is most productive, etc.
C) this weakens our conclusion instead of strengthening it! According to this, the company should not implement the measure.
E) this weakens our conclusion instead of strengthening it! According to this, the company should not implement the measure.
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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are 19 Aug 2026, 04:38
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A. Having lunch at the same time helps, but it doesn't say that before 13:00 is the important part. Eliminate
B. This tells us who tends to eat early, but nothing about whether that group is more productive because of lunch timing. Eliminate
C. This actually weakens the conclusion. Jane is the most productive employee despite eating after 13:30. Eliminate
D. This gives us a useful real-world comparison: the company with the highest productivity also stops serving lunch at 13:00. That supports the idea that eating earlier may help productivity.
E. If employees aren't hungry until after 13:00, forcing them to eat earlier may not increase productivity. It could even make the plan less effective. Eliminate
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­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are 23 Aug 2026, 06:45
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Bunuel
­Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than employees who have lunch after 13:00, or skip lunch altogether. The company management concluded that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's conclusion?

(A) Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.

(B) The majority of employees who have lunch before 13:00 are 25-30 year old women.

(C) Jane, who is the most productive employee of Company X, never has lunch before 13:30.

(D) Company Y, a competitor of Company X, which boasts the highest employee productivity rate in the industry, closes its employee dining room at 13:00.

(E) Employees who have lunch after 13:00 are usually not hungry before 13:30.
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OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Company X discovered that employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than employees who have lunch after 13:00, or skip lunch altogether. The company management concluded that in order to increase employee productivity, it needs to encourage employees to have their lunch no later than 13:00.

Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the company's conclusion?

(A) Having lunch at the same time every day is known to increase productivity.

Incorrect.

To solve this Conclusion Strengthening question, first break down the argument. The first sentence is a premise providing factual data. The last sentence uses the conclusion word concluded and is the argument's conclusion:

Premise A: employees that have lunch before 13:00 are more productive than those that have it later, or those that skip lunch completely
=
Conclusion: all employees should eat lunch before 13:00 to increase productivity

Strengthening Data: ?

You are required to find data that strengthens the conclusion that productivity can be increased if employees were to eat before 13:00.

This answer choice neither strengthens nor weakens the management's conclusion. A fixed lunch time (same time every day) does not necessarily have to be earlier than 13:00. In other words, according to this answer choice, having lunch every day at 14:00 should also result in higher productivity. This idea is not on par with the management's conclusion and cannot, therefore, help to strengthen it.

(B) The majority of employees who have lunch before 13:00 are 25-30 year old women.

Incorrect.

This answer choice neither strengthens nor weakens the management's conclusion - this statement does not tell us whether this group of employees (25-30 year old women) is more, or less, productive than an employee who eats lunch after 13:00, it cannot help us support the company's conclusion.

(C) Jane, who is the most productive employee of Company X, never has lunch before 13:30.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the company's conclusion. It does so by providing an example of an employee who although eats after 13:00, is the most productive in the company. This example casts doubt on the company's theory.

(D) Company Y, a competitor of Company X, which boasts the highest employee productivity rate in the industry, closes its employee dining room at 13:00.

This answer choice strengthens the company's conclusion by providing a good example of a similar situation which produced positive results.

(E) Employees who have lunch after 13:00 are usually not hungry before 13:30.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the company's conclusion. It does so by providing a factor that complicates the situation and prevents the company from being able to use its plan. If some employees are not hungry before 13:30, then they will not eat properly, or at all, at 13:00, a fact which may affect their productivity.­­
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