A certain credit-card company awards

Answer choices

1. A

   Out of Scope: other CC companies2% picked this

   The merchandise that can be ordered by mail using the bonus points is not offered at lower prices by other credit-card

   We would only care about other credit card companies if the author's conclusion was promising us that by using this credit card company, we're getting the best price available. But she's not. She's only comparing the cost of using points via this credit card company to the cost of using money at a retail store.

   2%
2. B

   Out of Scope3% picked this

   The bonus points cannot be used by the credit- card customers in the purchase of brand name merchandise that is not available

   Out of Scope: unavailable in retail store Only Thing Mentioned ≠ Only Thing When answers on Necessary Assumption are ruling out an idea using wording like "not", it's smart to negate the answer and see if it weakens. Could we hurt this argument by saying, "Hey, author -- the bonus point can also be used to by merchandise that isn't available for purchase in retail stores"? Of course not. The author never made it seem like you can only buy merchandise that's available in stores. Her argument is only about the kind of merchandise that could be purchased either by points or in store, but just because that's the only kind of merchandise she's talking about doesn't mean she's assuming that's the only kind of merchandise that points can be used for.

   3%
3. C

   Out of Scope: prerequisites for points10% picked this

   The credit-card company does not require its customers to accumulate a large number of bonus points before becoming eligible to order merchandise at prices

   When answers on Necessary Assumption are ruling out an idea using wording like "not", it's smart to negate the answer and see if it weakens. Could we hurt this argument by saying, "Hey, author -- the credit card requires you to accumulate a large number of points before you can do what you're describing"? Nope. The author never said it would be quick or easy to use points. She is only saying that, when someone does use points (no matter what the backstory was leading up to that point), they are spending less on that purchase of Item X than they would be if they bought Item X in a retail store.

   10%
4. D

   Correct72% picked this

   The amount credit-card customers pay for shipping the merchandise ordered by mail does not increase the amount customers spend to an amount greater than

   Why this is right

   When answers on Necessary Assumption are ruling out an idea using wording like "not", it's smart to negate the answer and see if it weakens. Could we hurt this argument by saying, "Hey, author -- the amount these points-users pay for shipping does increase the amount they're spending on Item X to an amount greater than they would spend if they purchased Item X in retail store"? Yes! That would actually blow up the conclusion. The correct answer, when negated, should weaken. It doesn't need to weaken so much that it refutes the conclusion, but in this case it does!

   Skill tested: Necessary Assumption · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   72%
5. E

   Too Strong: higher14% picked this

   The merchandise available to the company’s credit-card customers using the bonus points is frequently sold in retail stores at prices that are higher

   This strengthens the argument, but is not necessary. The author doesn't need prices in stores to exceed MSRP. As long as they match MSRP, the author's argument would still make perfect sense. She needs to assume that the merch you can buy via points or via retail store is not frequently sold in retail stores at prices that are lower than the MSRP.

   14%