Q19 - Which one of the following

[jackie8848]

Why is (A) the correct answer instead of (C)? Thanks.

[sunnyivon]

I have the same doubt and initially picked C as the answer, can someone explain it to me? Thanks in advance.

[timmydoeslsat]

The last line of the stimulus using the therefore language is a subsidiary conclusion. This conclusion is supporting the main conclusion of "Calling any state totalitarian is misleading."

When you have a situation of an argument using the structure of the colon, it often signifies a conclusion:premise set up. The argument makes a claim before the colon and then has support for it after the colon.

This argument shows us that the term implies full control, whereas this argument reasons to show partial control. This supports the central idea of the term being misleading.

[ManhattanPrepLSAT1]

When you have a situation of an argument using the structure of the colon, it often signifies a conclusion:premise set up. The argument makes a claim before the colon and then has support for it after the colon.

Great insight Timmy! This is a structural element, though not common, has been very useful to me in the past on Identify the Conclusion questions.

Here are a couple of other examples with the same usage of either a colon or semicolon:

PT45, S1, Q17 - In practice the government will have
PT51, S3, Q16 - Publisher: The new year is approaching

Here's the structure of Maria's argument.

premise, Control is Inefficient
therefore, Control is Partial
therefore, No State has Total Control
therefore, Calling a State Totalitarian is Misleading

Answer choice (A) restates the argument's main conclusion.

Lets look at the incorrect answer choices:

(B) is a premise (located directly after the colon) in support of the conclusion that it is misleading to call any state totalitarian.
(C) is a subsidiary conclusion. It's not impossible for such an obvious conclusion to be the correct answer on an ID Conclusion question, but highly unlikely.
(D) is a subsidiary conclusion used in support of the argument's main conclusion.
(E) is a premise used in support of the argument's subsidiary conclusion.

Nice work Timmy!