Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do

Question

Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker." Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

(A) Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.

(B) The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.

(C) No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth century London unless he was a gentleman.

(D) Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School.

(E) The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.

GMATNinja · Accepted Answer

Whenever I see assumption questions, I always start by figuring out exactly what the conclusion is, exactly in the author's own words. So in this case, the conclusion is basically a piece of the final sentence: "John Spenser was... most likely Edmund's father."

And what's the evidence to support the conclusion?

We know that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. 
 School accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee. 
 The Merchant Tailors' Guild had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker." Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three.

Great, that makes sense: the Merchant Tailor's Guild had only three members named Spenser, and only one seemed relatively poor -- and since young Edmund attended at a reduced fee, the least-affluent Spenser was most likely his father.

And we're just looking for "an assumption on which the argument depends."

"Anybody" is a pretty strong word here. We definitely don't need to assume that  anybody  who made clothing professionally was a member of the guild -- that's not going to help us prove that John Spenser was the father. Eliminate (A).

Sure, Edmund became a poet, but we definitely don't need to make any assumptions about his intentions while he attended the Merchant Tailors' School. Eliminate (B).

This is mildly tempting, I suppose: this reinforces the idea that Nicholas Spenser was probably affluent, and therefore less likely to be Edmund's father. But we don't need to assume that Nicholas was specifically a gentleman to draw the conclusion. Nicholas could easily have been wealthy -- or at least more affluent than John Spenser, the "journeyman cloth-maker" -- without actually being a gentleman. Eliminate (C).

I don't see any reason why we need to make this assumption, either. Sure, it might be helpful to assume that ALL students at the school had fathers who were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild: that way, one of the three men mentioned in the passage MUST be Edmund's father. But that's not what (D) says: it's just saying that most members of the guild sent their sons to the Merchant Tailors' School. And there's no reason why we need to assume that to reach the conclusion. Eliminate (D).

I hope we like (E)...

Oh good, we have a winner. If (E) is true, then it's really unlikely the two more affluent Spensers -- Robert the gentleman and Nicholas the Guild Warden -- could have been the parent of young Edmund, who attended with reduced fees. We definitely need to know that the reduced fees actually meant that a student had a less-affluent father. So (E) is our answer.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

EMPOWER  gmat  Enhanced Explanation:

Type  :  Assumption 
  Boil It Down  :  Attend at reduced fee -> Edmund’s father was the least affluent of the 3 
  Missing Information  :  There is no other reason than being poorer that the fee would have been reduced. The reasoning also assumes: child at Tailors’ School -> Parent in Tailors’ Guild 
  Goal  :   Find the option that presents information this argument requires for the logic to hold .

Analysis  : This prompt leaves out a great deal of information in the evidence, such as how we magically are left to assume a connection between Edmund Spencer’s attendance at the school and that Edmund’s father would have to be a member of the guild. The prompt also presumes that Edmund went to the school on a reduced fee because he came from a lesser affluent household, and that based on that assumption, Edmund’s father would have had to have been John because he was the least affluent of the three Spensers.

Ⓐ  We’re not concerned with ANYONE who made clothing professionally having to be a member of the guild, we’re concerned with the notion that: student is at the school → The father was a member of the guild. This option goes way too extreme.

Ⓑ  Whether Edmund did or did not plan to become a tailor is in no way something that this argument hinges on. The argument works either way, so this couldn’t be an assumption made in this argument.

Ⓓ  This option gets it backwards. The argument isn’t assuming that if you had a father in the Guild, that you were a student. It’s that if you were a student, then you had a father in the guild.

Ⓔ  Yes! This option is absolutely assumed by the reasoning. The argument requires that only those who came from a lesser affluent family would receive a fee reduction, or in other words, the school did not reduce its fees for those who were more affluent. Let’s say that the school was also willing to reduce fees for academic merit? Then the whole argument that we can use the fee reduction to say that Edmund’s father had to have been the least affluent of the three collapses.

qwepoi · Answer

why not D， i think it is necessary for people to choose a person in MT guild.

EMPOWERgmatVerbal · Answer

Hi qwepoi,

Beyond the explanation above, this is an assumption question. As with all question types on the GMAT, having a VERY clear understanding of the type of information the question is asking for is central.

An assumption is a piece of missing information that has to be true for the logic of the argument to work.  So here, does it need to be true that:   Most   of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School?

No. For the argument to work, we just need ONE case. The argument does require all or even most. The argument still works either way, so since this option is not essential for the argument to work, it's gone.

Compare that to option E) The argument's logic absolutely rests on the notion that The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members because if the guild did reduce its fees for the more affluent, then there would be no way to make the leap that Edmund's father was the journeyman cloth-maker.

BillyZ · Answer

OG2017, CR585, P522

guild (noun) = an organization of people who do the same job or have the same interests

Edmund Spenser
 
  Step 1: Identify the Question

The word assumption in the question stem indicates that this is a  Find the Assumption  question.

Step 2: Deconstruct the Argument

No record ES parents, but he attended MT school
3 possible parents
Conclusion: ES paid less $, so dad was probably the least rich guy

This argument is basically a sleuth’s attempt to figure out who Edmund’s dad was. What is the author assuming when reaching this conclusion? First, he’s assuming that the journeyman member actually was the least affluent. Second, he’s assuming that the reduced fee Edmund paid was a result of some poverty, but that’s not necessarily true. What if, for example, one of the perks of being the Guild’s Warden was that you didn’t have to pay as much for your son to attend the school? The author is also assuming that one of these three is Edmund’s father; perhaps he was an orphan or his father had a different last name for some reason.

sleuth (noun) = someone whose job is to discover information about crimes and find out who is responsible for them

Step 3: Pause and State the Goal

On assumption questions, the goal is to find an answer that the author must believe to be true in drawing his conclusion.

Step 4: Work from Wrong to Right

(A) The argument revolves around the likely father of Edmund Spenser, not whether professional tailors were required to be members of the Guild.
(B) The author’s argument does not revolve around what Edmund eventually did for a living.
(C) The argument does not assume that the Guild Warden must also have been a gentleman, only that he was not the least affluent of the three potential fathers of Edmund.
(D) This choice goes too far. While the author is assuming that Edmund’s father was a member of the Guild, he does not have to assume that most members enrolled their children in the school.
 (E) CORRECT . The author concludes that, because  Edmund  paid a  reduced fee , his father is likely the  least affluent . He is assuming that the  more affluent members would not have paid reduced fees for their children .

NinetyFour · Answer

I have a question regarding answer choice D. If we negate it and say none of the fathers of students who attended the tailor school were in the guild doesn't the argument fall apart because that means none of the three names listed can be the father.

GMATNinja · Answer

Another way to think about answer choice (D) is just to apply it, exactly as it is written, to the information in the passage.

Here's another look at (D):
 
This answer choice tells us that  most  of Merchant Guild Members' children attended the school. Does the author truly need to assume this information to reach his/her conclusion?

Not really. What if each guild member had several children, but only sent one to the school? What if the school only accepted boys, and Guild members had equal amounts of male and female children? In both of these cases, statement (D) would not be true, but the author's conclusion would be just as valid. The author  might  assume that a given student at the school likely had a Guild Member father -- but that is not what (D) is saying. For that reason, (D) is not an assumption on which the argument depends.

I hope that helps!

CAMANISHPARMAR · Answer

The conclusion is John Spenser was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father.

The premise is Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

If you negate option E you get "The Merchant Tailors' School did reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members."

You cannot conclude on the basis of least affluence and reduced fee if the children of affluent parents also paid a reduced fee.

Correct answer is option E.

ArathyA · Answer

Passage Analysis 
• Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage,
  o We have no record available to know who the parents of poet Edmund Spencer are.  
• we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570.
  o It is known that poet Spenser during his youth attended Merchant Tailors' School in London.
o The period of his attendance is between 1560 and 1570.  
• Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: 
  o From other records of the period, it is known that the Merchant Tailor’s guild had just three ‘Spenser’s as members.  
• Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker." 
  o The three Spensers are Robert Spenser, Nicholas Spenser and John Spenser.
o Robert Spenser was listed as a gentleman.
o Nicholas Spenser was elected as the Guild’s Warden in 1568.
o John Spenser was marked as a journeyman cloth-maker.  
• Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father,
  o John Spenser was the least wealthy among these three members.
o That makes him the most likely person to be Edmund’s father.  
• since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.
  o The reason for that conclusion is that the school’s accounting records show that Edmund was a scholar who attended school with fee waiver.  
  Conclusion: Poet Edmund Spenser’s father is most likely John Spenser.

Question Stem Analysis 
We are required to identify the assumption necessary for the conclusion to be made.

Pre-thinking 
 Falsification Question 
In what scenario is it possible that poet Edmund Spenser’s father is not most likely John Spenser?
Given that
 • As a youth, Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. 
• Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker."
• School accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

Thought Process 
The author thinks that John Spenser, the journeyman cloth-maker, is most likely the father of Edmund Spenser because the poet was a scholar who studied at the Merchant Tailors’ Guild School at a reduced fee. He concludes so as both the other Spensers who were members of the guild while Edmund was enrolled were wealthy people who had no need for a fee reduction to educate their children. But we do not know if the Merchant Tailors’ Guild membership was necessary for a parent to send their child to the Guild’s school. Nor do we know if reduced fee was offered as a pure recognition of scholarship irrespective of the parent’s wealth status. Thus, two assumptions will have to be made if the author’s conclusion should hold.

Falsification condition#1 
What if the Merchant Tailors’ Guild School accepted students whose parents are not members of the guild as well? In that case, we cannot do the shortlisting of possible names from just the members list. In that case, all the facts hold, but the conclusion cannot be made.
 Assumption#1 
The Merchants’ Guild School admitted only the children of guild members.

Falsification condition#2 
What if fee reductions were offered to children irrespective of the affluence of their families, on the ground of scholarship alone? In that case, we cannot use the financial inferiority of John Spenser to say he is most likely Edmund’s father. Here also the facts remain intact, but the conclusion cannot hold.
 Assumption#2 
Fee reductions were offered only to eligible students who are not from wealthy backgrounds.

Answer Choice Analysis 
(A) Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.
 INCORRECT 
This is not a necessary assumption for the argument as we have no prior information to be sure if Edmund Spenser’s father was a clothmaker or not. We are only concerned if he is a member of the guild or not. Thus, this assumption is a wrong choice.

(B) The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.
 INCORRECT 
What Edmund Spenser did or did not plan to become is irrelevant in identifying his father. Hence this is not the correct choice.

(C) No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth century London unless he was a gentleman.
 INCORRECT 
Such an assumption is unnecessary to have a conclusion regarding the parentage of Edmund Spenser. Therefore, it is an incorrect choice.
 
(D) Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School.
 INCORRECT 
We are concerned only about the parent of a student who we already know to have attended the school. So, an assumption regarding children sent to other schools is totally unnecessary. Hence an incorrect choice.

(E) The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.
 CORRECT 
This is a correct assumption as it is in line with our pre-thinking assumption 2.

IloveMBA123 · Answer

Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

Can anyone advise me which one is the conclusion?

A) the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father,

or

B) since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.?

GMATNinja · Answer

There's a full passage breakdown in  this post  where we've said the conclusion of the passage is  "John Spenser was... most likely Edmund's father" .

I hope that helps!

egmat · Answer

Solution 
 passage analysis        
                                           
 Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570.

There is no record about the parents of the poet Edmund Spenser. What is known is that as a youth, Edmund had attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570

Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker."

Records of the same period further give the following information. There were only three Spensers in the Merchant Tailors' Guild. (we can infer here that the children of the Merchant Tailors' Guild attended the Merchant Tailor’s School)
Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman;
Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; 
John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker."

Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund's father,

The author infers from the above descriptions that John Spenser was most likely to be the least rich of the three and must have been Edmund’s father

since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

because Edmund had attended the school at a reduced fee.

Conclusion:  Since school accounting records show Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee, his father was most likely John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker", who appeared to be the least richest among the three Spensers in the Guild.

pre-thinking                                                                  
 Falsification question

In what scenario would Edmund’s father not be John Spenser, the least affluent of the three Spensers?
Given that      -> Edmund had attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period
                         between 1560 and 1570

-> There were only three Spensers in the Merchant Tailors' Guild.

-> Robert Spenser was as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser was elected the

Guild's Warden in 1568; John Spenser was as a "journeyman cloth-maker"

->John Spenser was most likely not the richest of the three.

-> Edmund had attended the school at a reduced fee.

Falsification condition#1

What if there were scholars in Merchant Tailors' School other than Edmund who also attended the school at a reduced fee and whose fathers were among the richest in the Guild?

In that case, there would be scholars in Merchant Tailors' School who might have paid reduced fees in spite of their fathers not being among the poorest in the Guild or in spite of their fathers being among the well-off in the guild. Then it would be difficult to say with 100% surety which of the children belonged to rich fathers and which to poorer ones. And our conclusion would break down.

Assumption#1

It was only the children of poorer parents in the Guild who were admitted into Merchant Tailors' School at a reduced fee.

Falsification condition#2

What if because of exceptional circumstances brought to light by new evidence, John Spenser was likely better off than one of the other two probables?

In that case, John Spenser would not qualify as the least rich among the others and our conclusion that Edmund was the child of a poorer parent because of his reduced fees, would break down.

Assumption#2

There were no circumstances in which John Spenser could have been likely better off than any of the other two probables.

Answer choice analysis

A 
This option means that in the 16th century, in London, all the professional tailors had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors’ Guild.

A per the passage, since the author, for some reason, is talking about looking only in the Guild for Edmund’s father, we can understand that the children of the members of the Guild must have been studying in the Tailors’ school. But whether all professional tailors had to have been a part of the Guild need not necessarily be true for the author’s conclusion.

Hence, not the correct option.

B 
This is completely beyond the scope of the argument. We are exploring the past of Edmund, not his future.

Hence, not our answer.

C 
In the passage, Robert Spenser was listed as a gentleman and was ruled out as Edmund’s father. So even if the warden was required to be a gentleman, he would also be ruled out as Edmund’s father. This option does not impact my argument any which way.

Hence, this is not the answer.

D 
This option means that more than 50% of the children who had their fathers in the guild, were studying at the Merchant Tailors' School.

However, what is required is quite the reverse of what is stated in this option.

Father in the Guild- Child may or may not be a student at Tailors’ school (given most students)
But 
 Student at Tailors’ school- Father must be in the Guild.

Since the author is looking for the parent of a student (of the Merchant Tailors’ School) in the Tailors’ Guild, it means all the children who were students at the Merchant Tailors' School had parents in the Guild.

Maybe my father is in the Guild, but I study at XO school. But if I study at Merchant Tailors’ school, then my father must be in the Guild.
Hence, this is not the correct option.

E  
This option says that the school was not in the habit of reducing its fees for children of the richer members of the Guild.

The option is in line with our pre-thinking assumption#1 which says that only children of less affluent members of the Guild got a reduction in their fees

Hence, this is the correct option.

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570. Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors' Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild's Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a "journeyman cloth-maker.“ Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three-and most likely Edmund's father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

Question type:  Assumption

Conclusion:  John Spenser was Edmund Spenser’s father based on the fact that John Spenser was the poorest of all the Spensers and that Edmund attended school at a reduced fee.

Task at hand:  We have to find out what has been assumed by the author when he concluded that John Spenser was Edmund Spenser’s father. If the reasoning used is that John Spenser was the poorest of all the Spensers and that Edmund attended school at a reduced fee, he must have taken for granted that the school only reduced its fee if a students came from a poor household.

A. Anybody in sixteenth-century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.  Irrelevant. Whether anybody was a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild or not does not need to be assumed to conclude who Edmund Spenser’s father was. John Spenser was a member. That’s all that matters.

B. The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.  No assumptions about Edmund Spencer’s career needs to be made to draw a conclusion about who his father was.

C. No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth-century London unless he was a gentleman.  This option only, at the most, confirms that Nicholas Spenser was a gentleman and that he was rich. This does not need to be assumed to draw a conclusion about who Edmund Spencer’s father was.

D. Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School.  “Most” of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild might have been students at the Merchant Tailors' School. Which means some might not have been. Either way, this does not need to be assumed to draw a conclusion about who Edmund Spencer’s father was.

E. The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members.   To conclude that John Spenser was Edmund Spenser's father, the author needs to accept the fact that has been mentioned in this option. Let’s negate: The Merchant Tailors' School did reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members. In this case, anyone could have been Edmund Spenser’s father.

- Nitha Jay

woohoo921 · Answer

(A) Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.

Is A incorrect because it fails to account for the assumption that the children at the school generally had fathers in the Merchant Tailors' Guild? For instance, if A read "Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild and children at the school had fathers in the Merchant Tailors' Guild" --> would this be correct?

NCC · Answer

Dear GMATNinja,
This is in regard to the Conclusion of this Argument.
I tried to accept but I am unable to discard the first sentence - " ES went to MT School in London" as the main conclusion.
When you ask "therefore what" to each sentence, you finally arrive at this one. Isn't this the main conclusion?
Since Main C is imp here to arrive at the answer, I find myself stuck here.
Kindly share where I am wrong..
Thank you.

GMATNinja · Answer

As you say, identifying the main conclusion is essential for this (and many other) CR questions. So how do you know you've correctly identified the conclusion?

One helpful distinction is the difference between a fact and a conclusion. A fact is a piece of information we know to be true. A conclusion, on the other hand, is an inference drawn by the author. So by definition, a fact  cannot be  a conclusion.

A conclusion is often supported by information in the passage. So if you think you've identified a conclusion, see if there's information presented to support it. If there is, that's a good sign you've correctly identified a conclusion.

Let's now try applying these steps to the question below.

Consider the phrase you proposed as the conclusion: "We do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailor's School in London for the period between 1560 and 1570." Since this is a piece of information we know to be correct, it's a fact. And since it's a fact, it can't be a conclusion.

Let's now consider a different phrase: "the last was...most LIKELY Edmund's father..." Notice this isn't a fact. The author simply says it's LIKELY to be true, so it isn't just another piece of information. But is it a conclusion?

Well, the passage definitely supports it. Notice that the passage tells us that Edmund attended the school at a reduced fee, which in turn supports the idea that his father was less affluent than the other Spensers, and was therefore most likely the last of the three Spensers listed (John Spenser, the "journeyman cloth-maker").

Since the phrase we selected is an inference supported by information in the passage, it's a conclusion.

I hope that helps!

AnishPassi · Answer

The Story

Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser’s parentage, we do know that as a youth Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors’ School in London for a period between 1560 and 1570  – There is no record of who Spenser’s parents were. We know the school he attended as a youth, though. ( Wonder what the school has to do with parentage. Let’s see … )

Records from this time indicate that the Merchant Tailors’ Guild then had only three members named Spenser: Robert Spenser, listed as a gentleman; Nicholas Spenser, elected the Guild’s Warden in 1568; and John Spenser, listed as a “journeyman cloth-maker.”   – Records indicate that the school’s Guild has three members named Spenser in the time period when Edmund attended the school.
The three Spensers:
 1. A gentlemen
2. The Guild’s warden
3. A “journeyman cloth-maker” 
( I don’t see a connection with Spenser’s parentage yet. These three weird titles don’t even mean much to me. Let’s read on … )

Of these, the last was likely the least affluent of the three—and most likely Edmund’s father, since school accounting records list Edmund as a scholar who attended the school at a reduced fee.   – John, the “journeyman cloth-maker”, was probably the least affluent Spenser.
( No basis given for this. Perhaps “gentlemen” and wardens were typically more affluent than “journeymen cloth-makers”. )

John was most probably Edmund’s father.
Why?
Because Edmund was listed as a scholar who paid a reduced fee, according to the school’s accounting records.

Author’s logic:  
John was probably Edmund’s father  (main point) .
Because  (basis) :
 1. In the time period when Edmund attended MTS, Only three Spenser’s were members of the school’s Guild:
   – “a gentleman”
 – a warden
 – a “journeymen cloth-maker” (John) 
2. John was probably the least affluent of the three
3. Edmund had a partial scholarship and paid a reduced fee.

Edmund on partial scholarship + John likely the least affluent Spencer in the Guild ==> John was most likely Edmund’s father.

Gap(s) in logic:  
The argument seems pretty weak.
 1. Were parents of all the students attending the MTS members of the MT Guild?
 a. Were parents of all students attending the MTS, Merchant Tailors?
b. Were all Merchant Tailors members of the MT Guild?

The author seems to have somehow already decided that Edmund Spenser’s father was one of the three Spenser’s listed in the MT Guild. If Spenser’s father was not even a Merchant Tailor, or at least if somehow he was not listed in the Merchant Tailor Guild, it would not make sense for the author to pursue an argument along the lines that Edmund’s father is one of the three Spenser’s listed in the Guild.
2. Couldn’t scholarships be granted to kids of affluent parents as well? Perhaps a merit-based scholarship.
3. Couldn’t “gentlemen” and “wardens” be not-affluent? Were “journeymen cloth-makers” typically less affluent than wardens and gentlemen?

Question Stem

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument depends?

A standard assumptions question. We’re looking for an assumption that is required for the argument. So, the correct answer choice should:

1. Support the argument
2. Be necessary for the argument. i.e., the argument’s logic should break down if the answer choice were not true (negation).

Each of the gaps we’ve discussed is linked with an assumption. e.g.:

1. All the students who attended MTS had a parent who was a member of the MT Guild.
2. Scholarships were typically granted based only on financial need.
3. “Journeymen cloth-makers” were typically less affluent than ‘gentlemen’ and ‘wardens’.

Answer choice analysis

A. Anybody in sixteenth century London who made clothing professionally would have had to be a member of the Merchant Tailors' Guild.  
   Incorrect.    We are talking about cloth-makers and Merchant Tailors. So, if all clothing professionals in that time period were members of the MT Guild, my confidence does go up marginally in the argument. I do believe more then that perhaps Edmund’s father would have been a part of the Guild.

However, while for the argument, it is necessary that all students of MTS had a parent as a member of the Guild, is it necessary that all professional cloth-makers were members of the Guild in 16th century London?

No, it isn’t.

Even if some professional cloth-makers were not members of the guild (negation), the argument doesn’t break down. As long as those cloth-makers with children who were students of the MTS (subset of all cloth-makers) were members of the Guild, the argument still remains valid.

B . The fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors' School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor. 
   Incorrect.    We are given that Edmund became a poet later. So, yes, the fact that Edmund Spenser attended the Merchant Tailors’ School did not necessarily mean that he planned to become a tailor.

This statement seems true in general. But that is irrelevant. We need to check whether the answer choice is an assumption.

What Edmund’s plans were with regard to his career, is irrelevant to the argument about who was likely Edmund’s father. The statement has no impact on the argument. Moreover, the argument doesn’t depend on Edmund’s career aspirations and intentions while he attended MTS.

C . No member of the Guild could become Guild warden in sixteenth century London unless he was a gentleman. 
   Incorrect.   The answer choice is basically stating that all Guild wardens were gentlemen.

There is nothing mentioned in the passage about the affluence of gentlemen. So even if all Guild wardens were gentlemen, I don’t learn anything about whether they were more affluent than journeymen cloth-makers. The statement has no impact on the argument.

Since the statement doesn’t strengthen the argument, we can already safely reject it.

To be doubly sure, let’s check what happens to the argument when we negate this answer choice and add to the argument. Negation: Members of the Guild could become Guild wardens in the sixteenth century London even if they were not gentlemen.

So, even if some wardens were not gentlemen, wardens and gentlemen could still be likely more affluent than journeymen cloth-makers. The negation does not breakdown the argument.

D. Most of those whose fathers were members of the Merchant Tailors' Guild were students at the Merchant Tailors' School. 
   Incorrect.   This answer choice is tempting.
However, it is actually the reverse of what we need.
We need: all students had a parent who was a member of the Guild.
What the answer choice is talking about: Most children with fathers in the Guild attended MTS.

So, all students need a parent to be a member of the Guild. But that doesn’t mean that most fathers in the Guild had children who attended MTS.

Say, 5,000 students attended MTS in the given time period. Now, for the argument, those 5,000 students need their fathers to be members of the Guild.
On the flip side, say the Guild had 20,000 members who had children. Did most of these children need to be students at the MTS? No.

The statement has practically no impact on the argument. Moreover, is it necessary that most of the people who’s fathers were Guild members were MTS students? It isn’t.
The Guild could very well have a lot of members whose children did not attend MTS.

In the following official question too, one of the answer choices (B) links the right things, but from the wrong direction. Official question for additional practice: Technically a given category of insurance policy is underpriced.

E. The Merchant Tailors' School did not reduce its fees for the children of the more affluent Guild members. 
    Correct.   Aha! This one is in line with one of the predictions we made initially.

The author’s logic is that John is likely the least affluent Spenser in the Guild and Edmund studied at a reduced fee (scholarship), that’s why John is most likely Edmund’s father.
If the MTS reduced the fees for children of the more affluent Guild members as well (negation), then Edmund’s father could have been one of the other two more affluent Spensers. Thus, the author’s logic falls flat.

jabhatta2 · Answer

Hey  avigutman  - do you think these are assumptions related to the following statement

Journeymen cloth-makers” were typically less affluent than ‘gentlemen’ and ‘wardens’.

So assumptions like 
(option F) “Journeymen cloth-makers” could not make a side income, which can be very profitable

(option G) Edmund Spenser's parents were not passionate about being a “Journeymen cloth-maker” to the point that Edmund Spenser's parents would give up more affluent roles.

avigutman · Answer

I don't know what premise the statement above is based on, so it's hard to point at any assumptions.
An assumption is the missing link between a premise and a conclusion, and here you only have a conclusion,  jabhatta2 .

Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do

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Although there is no record of poet Edmund Spenser's parentage, we do

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