Some people claim that the

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct78% picked this

   questioning a claim about why something is the case by supplying

   Why this is right

   This nails the technique. The original claim is about why physicians don't prescribe herbs (because effectiveness is in doubt). The author challenges that claim not by attacking it directly, but by supplying an alternative explanation: the real cause is the patent-and-approval-cost structure, not doubts about effectiveness. Same phenomenon, different cause — exactly what (A) describes.

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

   78%
2. B

   Bad Description1% picked this

   attacking the validity of the data on which a competing claim

   The author doesn't attack any data. The opposing view didn't cite data — only a claim about doctors' motivations. The author engages by offering a different explanation, not by criticizing evidence.

   1%
3. C

   Bad Description7% picked this

   revealing an inconsistency in the reasoning used to develop an

   The author doesn't reveal any inconsistency in the opposing view's reasoning. The author simply offers a different explanation. There's no claim that the opposing view contradicts itself or follows from incompatible premises.

   7%
4. D

   Bad Description9% picked this

   identifying all plausible explanations for why something is the case and arguing that all but one of

   The author doesn't identify all plausible explanations and eliminate all but one. The author simply offers one alternative explanation in opposition to the original. No comprehensive enumeration or systematic elimination is performed.

   9%
5. E

   Bad Description5% picked this

   testing a theory by determining the degree to which a specific situation conforms to the

   The author doesn't test any theory by checking whether a situation matches its predictions. The author offers an explanation for why herbs aren't prescribed; there's no theory whose predictions are being checked against observed reality.

   5%