Meteorologist: Heavy downpours

Answer choices

1. A

   Not Main Conclusion2% picked this

   It is the only conclusion in

   If something is the only conclusion, then it's the Main Conclusion. Our Main Conclusion is in the first sentence. For the same reason that they like to stash the conclusion in the first sentence (on Role and Main Conclusion) they like to pretend in some trap answer that the final claim was the conclusion. They know students have a bias towards thinking the last claim is automatically the conclusion (or the safest guess when they're confused).

   2%
2. B

   Not Main Conclusion7% picked this

   It is the conclusion of the argument as a whole but is not the only explicitly stated

   The first sentence is the Main Conclusion. The sentence we're being asked about was part of the support for how we make sense of the prediction that "warmer atmosphere will mean more frequent heavy rains".

   7%
3. C

   Not Intermediate Conclusion26% picked this

   It is a statement that the argument is intended to support but is not the conclusion of the

   Okay, now we're being pressed on whether to call this a Premise or to call it an Intermediate Conclusion (this answer choice is referring to an Intermediate Conclusion). How do we differentiate? We just ask ourselves, "Is there support for this idea? Why should we believe this idea?" If we can point to an explicit supporting claim then it's an Intermediate Conclusion. If not, then it's a premise. Why should we believe that "larger clouds are more likely to result in heavier downpours"? They didn't give us a reason. Presumably, larger clouds are more likely to lead to heavier downpours because larger clouds have more rain to dump on the area below them. Tipping over a huge bucket of water would create a heavier downpour than tipping over a smaller bucket of water. The "support" for this claim is self-justifying common sense. We're making sense of why it would be true because it makes common sense that a larger cloud of water vapor would result in heavier rain. Since no explicit support was actually provided for this last sentence, we can't call it an Intermediate Conclusion. No reasons were offered in support of why we should believe this final claim. This final claim just linked up with a bunch of other cause/effect pairs to bring us the story in the main conclusion about warmer atmospheres leading to heavier downpours.

   26%
4. D

   Correct54% picked this

   It is used to support the only conclusion in

   Why this is right

   This answer choice is just saying the final sentence was a Premise, which is what it was. The only conclusion is the first sentence of the paragraph. Why should we believe ... warmer atmosphere will lead to more heavy downpours? Because, 1. warm atmosphere leads to faster evaporation and holds more moisture. 2. In a warm atmosphere rain clouds form more quickly. 3. When there's more moisture in a rain cloud (when it's larger), heavier downpours are more likely to result. If we ask ourselves, "Why should we believe #1 ... ?" there's no answer provided. Same for #2 and #3. The only claim supported was the first sentence.

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

   54%
5. E

   It Does Provide Support11% picked this

   It provides a causal explanation of the phenomenon described by the conclusion of the argument as a whole, but it is not intended

   This last sentence is definitely providing support. Without the last sentence, we wouldn't have tied the story back to "heavier downpours" from the conclusion. That would be the easiest way to eliminate this answer. The first half of the answer is also inaccurate, but more subtly so. The last sentence contributes to a causal explanation of the conclusion, but it doesn't in and of itself provide a causal explanation of the conclusion.

   11%