- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8917
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:18 pm
#22643
Question #8: Main Point. The Correct Answer is (C).
The author believes that the owners of the catering company should not raise their rates, because this would jeopardize their mission to provide low-cost gourmet catering. The main conclusion can be found in the third sentence, which contains a normative claim (“should”) suggesting an opinion. As with many Main Point questions, the main conclusion is not in the last sentence of the stimulus: the premise indicator “after all” in the beginning of that sentence shows that it supports the previously stated opinion.
Like other Main Point questions, here the stimulus is more complex than usual. For instance, the first two sentences introduce a viewpoint that is subsequently rejected. In fact, the last two sentences contain all the information we need to understand the author’s argument in its entirety:
Answer choice (B): This answer choice summarizes the owners’ position, which is not the main conclusion of the author’s argument.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, as it restates the conclusion in the third sentence of the stimulus.
Answer choice (D): The fact that the catering company’s mission is to provide low-cost gourmet catering is a premise for the author’s conclusion (“after all…”), not the conclusion itself.
Answer choice (E): As with answer choice (D), this statement functions as a premise for the author’s conclusion.
The author believes that the owners of the catering company should not raise their rates, because this would jeopardize their mission to provide low-cost gourmet catering. The main conclusion can be found in the third sentence, which contains a normative claim (“should”) suggesting an opinion. As with many Main Point questions, the main conclusion is not in the last sentence of the stimulus: the premise indicator “after all” in the beginning of that sentence shows that it supports the previously stated opinion.
Like other Main Point questions, here the stimulus is more complex than usual. For instance, the first two sentences introduce a viewpoint that is subsequently rejected. In fact, the last two sentences contain all the information we need to understand the author’s argument in its entirety:
Premise—The mission of the catering company is to provide low-cost gourmet catering.Answer choice (A): This statement is true according to the first sentence of the stimulus, but it is not the conclusion of the argument.
Premise—This mission will be jeopardized if the owners raise rates.
Conclusion—They should not raise their rates.
Answer choice (B): This answer choice summarizes the owners’ position, which is not the main conclusion of the author’s argument.
Answer choice (C): This is the correct answer choice, as it restates the conclusion in the third sentence of the stimulus.
Answer choice (D): The fact that the catering company’s mission is to provide low-cost gourmet catering is a premise for the author’s conclusion (“after all…”), not the conclusion itself.
Answer choice (E): As with answer choice (D), this statement functions as a premise for the author’s conclusion.