Question 11

Two questions are based on one passage. Don't skip these questions because you need analyze only one passage or argument.

Notice that this passage is not an argument. Hence, you should not automatically look for a conclusion. It is a bland statement that simply reports a decline in the use of illegal drugs by high school seniors. NOTE THAT THE SCOPE OF THE STATEMENT IS ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS!

This is the second of two questions based on this statement. This time the focus of the question is what would best support the conclusion that the survey results can be applied to people under the age of 20.

Compare And Contrast The Answer Choices:

(A) Reject this choice. It provides support for the opposite - that is that use of drugs in the below 20 age group is not declining.

(B) Reject. This is irrelevant. First, it refers to the past. Second, there is nothing about the choice that links it to the general population below the age of 20.

(C) Strong choice. The statement implies that what is true of high school seniors is true of the under 20 age group as a whole. But don't select this yet. Make it your front runner. But, remember that in critical thinking you don't select a choice until you have read every word of every choice.

(D) Reject. Even though the decline in the study is the result of a drug education program targeted at those below the age of 20, the fact is that the study was done on high school seniors. It remains to be seen whether the results hold for other groups or individuals below the age of 20. Although (D) is to be rejected, it is the second best answer.

(E) Reject. It has nothing to do with the price of tea in China. We are asked whether the results of a study concerning high school seniors can be applied to the under 20 population as a whole. This has nothing to do with selling drugs.

(C) is the best answer.