Logical Reasoning

PT112 · S4 · Q12 The television show Henry was not

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The television show Henry was not widely watched until it was scheduled for Tuesday evenings immediately after That’s Life, the most popular show on television.

Conclusion (must conclude)

Henry was widely watched before the move to Wednesday evenings because it followed That's Life and not because people especially liked it.

Evidence

The television show Henry was not widely watched until it was scheduled for Tuesday evenings immediately after That's Life, the most popular show on television.

During the year after the move, Henry was consistently one of the ten most-watched shows on television.

Since Henry's recent move to Wednesday evenings, it has been watched by far fewer people.

Evaluate

This argument follows the Explain Curious Fact pattern. The author is exploring why Henry was widely watched after being moved to a Tuesday slot following That's Life, but not before, and why its viewership declined with the move to Wednesday.

Curious Fact

Why was Henry widely watched originally only when following That's Life, and then less so after moving to Wednesdays?

Author's Explanation

The viewership of Henry was high because it followed the popular show That's Life, not because of its own merits.

To strengthen the argument, we need to enhance the author's explanation by showing that the association with That's Life was a significant factor in Henry's viewership, or rule out some alternate explanation for why Henry is struggling on Wednesday nights (maybe the show fundamentally changed for the worse, or it's competing against some other really popular show on Wed nights).

Goal

Let's find an answer that increases the plausibility that Henry's high viewership was due to its position immediately after That's Life, or that rules out an alternate explanation for the decline in popularity.

12.

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

  1. Henry has been on the

    No Impact

    Knowing how long each show has been on the air doesn't address why Henry's viewership was high when it followed That's Life but low once it moved to Wednesday.

    1% picked this

  2. The show that replaced Henry

    Weakens

    When Henry was on Tuesday, it was a top 10 show. Its replacement has a low number of viewers. That suggests that Henry was a top 10 show because people liked the show, not just because of the time slot (otherwise the replacement show should be doing comparably well in that Tuesday night slot).

    2% picked this

  3. Correct

    The show that now follows

    Why this is right

    This increases the plausibility that following That's Life significantly increases a show's audience. Some other show saw its ratings double when it was moved to that same timeslot. This strengthens the author's explanation that Henry was watched because it followed That's Life.

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

    94% picked this

  4. After its recent move to

    Weakens

    This provides an alternate explanation for why Henry is struggling on Wed nights. It's not because it's an inherently unpopular show; it's because it's going again #2. Henry was a top 10 show on Tuesday nights, but if people are forced to choose between their 2nd favorite and 8th favorite show on Wednesday nights, then they're going to pick their 2nd favorite (even though they do like that 8th favorite quite a bit!)

    2% picked this

  5. That’s Life was not widely

    No Impact

    That's Life not being widely watched in its first year doesn't affect the explanation for Henry's viewership. The conclusion is concerned with the time after That's Life became popular, so this early information is irrelevant.

    0% picked this

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