Q25 - Stallworth claims she supported the proposal

[Laura Damone]

Question Type:
Match the Flaw

Stimulus Breakdown:
Conclusion: Henning must not have backed the proposal, despite his claims to the contrary. Premises: Stallworth claims that she supported the proposal. If Henning also supported it, it would have gotten approved. It didn't get approved.

Answer Anticipation:
First things first: we gotta name that flaw! It seems like both parties claim to have supported the proposal, but clearly one of them didn't because if they both had, the proposal would have been approved. But how do we know which one of the parties didn't support it? This argument concludes it was Henning, but it could have just as easily been Stallworth.

Correct answer:
A

Answer choice analysis:
(A) Just like in the stimulus, we have 2 competing stories. In the stimulus it was Henning vs. Stallworth. Here, it's the TV news vs. the newspaper. The two stories can't both be right, so we arbitrarily conclude that the newspaper is wrong. But it could have just as easily been the TV report that was wrong. Game. Set. Match.

(B) B's conclusion is about blame, not who's right vs. who's wrong. Mismatch!

(C) C's conclusion is conditional: "if X is right, Y is wrong." Mismatch!

(D) D is all out of whack. There's no competing stories, and no assessment that one is wrong and not the other. Mismatches all around.

(E) E is tempting. We've got two competing things: the government figures and the actual job loss in the region. But these aren't two competing stories because the actual job losses are cold hard facts. Thus it makes more sense to conclude that the government figures are inaccurate, because you can't argue with the facts. Now, that doesn't make this a valid argument. It has a Percent vs. Amount flaw: it fails to consider the fact that the unemployment rate could decline even as manufacturing jobs are lost if there are other jobs added that make up for those thousands lost.

Takeaway/Pattern:
Find the flaw first, then assess your answers accordingly. But don't forget about old faithful: the conclusion mismatch is often the fastest way to eliminate an answers, so don't put all your eggs in the flaw identification basket.

#officialexplanation