Logical Reasoning

PT135 · S4 · Q2 Syndicated political columnists often

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Syndicated political columnists often use their newspaper columns to try to persuade readers to vote a certain way.

Evidence

Syndicated political columnists often use their newspaper columns to try to persuade readers to vote a certain way.

By the time such a column appears, nearly all who will vote in the election will have already made a decision about which candidate to vote for.

Conclusion

However, their efforts to persuade voters rarely succeed.

Evaluate

The argument assumes that anyone who has made a decision about which candidate to vote for cannot be persuaded to vote a different way.

2.

Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

  1. Syndicated columnists influence the votes

    Weaken

    This increases the likelihood that syndicated columnists are successful in persuading readers to vote a certain way.

    6% picked this

  2. The attempts of syndicated political

    Too Strong

    This need not be what causes readers to vote differently than the syndicated columnist would like. It could be something else, such as the possibility that the readers have already decided which way they will vote before they read the column.

    2% picked this

  3. People who regularly read columns

    Weaken

    This increases the likelihood that syndicated columnists are successful in persuading readers to vote a certain way.

    5% picked this

  4. Regular readers of columns by

    Out of Scope

    People who seldom read columns by syndicated political columnists are not relevant to the argument.

    3% picked this

  5. Correct

    People rarely can be persuaded

    Why this is right

    This protects the argument from the possibility that voters will change their mind and be persuaded to vote differently even after they have decided which candidate to vote for.

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

    85% picked this

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