A study of 86 patients, all

Answer choices

1. A

   Weaker Impact7% picked this

   Of the 4 patients who survived more than 10 years, the 2 who had attended weekly support group meetings lived longer than

   This ain't nothing, but ain't much. It does help us argue that support group meetings are helping people live longer, but it only allows us to argue that when it comes to 4 of 86 data points. The correct answer applies to a wider swath of data points, so it has more impact.

   7%
2. B

   No Impact1% picked this

   For many diseases, attending weekly support group meetings is part of the

   We can tell from the logic of this paragraph that disease T is not among the many diseases for which weekly support group meetings is part of the standard medical treatment. After all, all 86 patients received the standard medical treatment for disease T, but only 43 of them attended weekly support meetings.

   1%
3. C

   Correct89% picked this

   The members of the group that attended weekly support group meetings lived 2 years longer, on average, than the

   Why this is right

   This helps us argue that "support group meetings do help patients with disease T live longer". After all, on average, the 43 patients who attended weekly support group meetings lived 2 years longer than the 43 patients who didn't attend weekly support group meetings! That's pretty compelling evidence (much stronger than what we get from choice A). Even though an equal number of patients in each group died, that doesn't mean that support group meetings made no difference. Apparently they made an "extra 2 years of life" difference!

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

   89%
4. D

   No Impact1% picked this

   Some physicians have argued that attending weekly support group meetings gives patients less faith in the standard treatment

   This is incredibly weak (some = at least one physician), and who cares whether it gives patients less faith in the standard treatment. We care about life span. Do the weekly support group meetings help them live longer? This answer doesn't address that concept.

   1%
5. E

   No Impact: cope vs. survive2% picked this

   Everyone in the group whose members attended weekly support group meetings reported after 1 year that those meetings had helped them

   The conclusion wasn't saying that support group meetings were worthless for patients with disease T. If it had, then we could weaken it by saying, "Sure it might not help you live longer, but it improves your qualify of life while you're alive. It helps you better cope with the illness." However, the conclusion is purely about whether or not these support group meetings help patients live longer, so this answer isn't speaking to what we care about.

   2%