- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8916
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Mon Jul 17, 2017 4:43 pm
#37375
Complete Question Explanation
Strengthen—PR. The correct answer choice is (B)
Mariah agrees with Joanna that Adam should not judge the contest, but for reasons other than the
ones given by Joanna. While Joanna suspects that Adam might be biased in his criticism, Mariah
does not. Instead, she argues that Adam has no experience in critiquing essays, which is why he
should not judge the contest. Mariah assumes that lack of expertise is sufficient grounds on which
to disqualify Adam from judging the contest. The correct answer choice to this Strengthen—PR
question must state a principle connecting expertise to qualification.
Note that the question stem is a Strengthen—PR, not a Justify—PR because of the presence of
the word “most” in the question stem, which weakens the force required of the correct answer. In
a Strengthen—PR question, the correct answer will provide a premise that, when applied to the
specific situation in the stimulus, helps support the conclusion.
In this problem, you must select a principle that helps Mariah’s argument, not Joanna’s. Be careful
not to confuse the two arguments, as both speakers used different premises but arrived at identical
conclusions.
Answer choice (A): Since Mariah does not suspect Adam of bias (Joanna does), this principle would
not apply to her argument. Furthermore, the principle fails to address the issue of expertise, which is
the central premise in Mariah’s argument.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If expertise were deemed the primary
prerequisite for serving as a contest judge, and Adam lacks expertise in critiquing essays, then
Mariah would be justified in reaching her conclusion. Since a principle is by definition a broad
rule, the presence of the Principle indicator in the question stem serves to broaden the scope of the
question. Consequently, it is not unusual to find strong, definitive language in the correct answer
choice (e.g. “primary prerequisite”).
Answer choice (C): Mariah’s argument is not based on weighing the importance of objectivity
against expertise. Furthermore, if content expertise were less important than some other factor in
qualifying someone for judging a contest, this principle would actually weaken her conclusion.
Answer choice (D): This answer choice supports Joanna’s argument, not Mariah’s. If fairness is
more important than expertise, and Joanna suspects Adam of bias towards his classmates, then her
conclusion would be strengthened. However, since our job is to help justify Mariah’s argument, not
Joanna’s, this answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): As with answer choice (D), this principle supports Joanna’s argument, not
Mariah’s, because Joanna is the one worried about Adam’s bias towards his classmates.
Strengthen—PR. The correct answer choice is (B)
Mariah agrees with Joanna that Adam should not judge the contest, but for reasons other than the
ones given by Joanna. While Joanna suspects that Adam might be biased in his criticism, Mariah
does not. Instead, she argues that Adam has no experience in critiquing essays, which is why he
should not judge the contest. Mariah assumes that lack of expertise is sufficient grounds on which
to disqualify Adam from judging the contest. The correct answer choice to this Strengthen—PR
question must state a principle connecting expertise to qualification.
Note that the question stem is a Strengthen—PR, not a Justify—PR because of the presence of
the word “most” in the question stem, which weakens the force required of the correct answer. In
a Strengthen—PR question, the correct answer will provide a premise that, when applied to the
specific situation in the stimulus, helps support the conclusion.
In this problem, you must select a principle that helps Mariah’s argument, not Joanna’s. Be careful
not to confuse the two arguments, as both speakers used different premises but arrived at identical
conclusions.
Answer choice (A): Since Mariah does not suspect Adam of bias (Joanna does), this principle would
not apply to her argument. Furthermore, the principle fails to address the issue of expertise, which is
the central premise in Mariah’s argument.
Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice. If expertise were deemed the primary
prerequisite for serving as a contest judge, and Adam lacks expertise in critiquing essays, then
Mariah would be justified in reaching her conclusion. Since a principle is by definition a broad
rule, the presence of the Principle indicator in the question stem serves to broaden the scope of the
question. Consequently, it is not unusual to find strong, definitive language in the correct answer
choice (e.g. “primary prerequisite”).
Answer choice (C): Mariah’s argument is not based on weighing the importance of objectivity
against expertise. Furthermore, if content expertise were less important than some other factor in
qualifying someone for judging a contest, this principle would actually weaken her conclusion.
Answer choice (D): This answer choice supports Joanna’s argument, not Mariah’s. If fairness is
more important than expertise, and Joanna suspects Adam of bias towards his classmates, then her
conclusion would be strengthened. However, since our job is to help justify Mariah’s argument, not
Joanna’s, this answer choice is incorrect.
Answer choice (E): As with answer choice (D), this principle supports Joanna’s argument, not
Mariah’s, because Joanna is the one worried about Adam’s bias towards his classmates.