Self-study
Journalist: Obviously, though some animals are purely carnivorous, none would survive without plants. ███ ███ ██████████ ██ ███████ ████ █████ ███████ █████ █████ ████ ████ ██ ██ ███ █████ ████ ██ ███████ ██ ██████████ ██████████ ███ █████████ █████ ██████ █████ ███████ ██████████████ ████████ █████ ███████ ███ ██████ ███████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ████ ██ ███ ██████████ █████ ███████████ ██ ███ ██████████ ██ ████████ ██████ ██████ ███ █████ ████ ██████ ████ ███ ██ █████ ███████
Summarize Argument
Animals and plants mutually depend on each other for survival. Why? Animals depending on plants is obvious. Plants depend on animals for proliferation and carbon dioxide.
Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is that plants also depend on animals for their survival: “The dependence is mutual.”
3.
Which one of the following ████ ██████████ █████████ ███ ████ ██████████ ██ ███ ████████████ █████████
a
The photosynthetic activity ██ ██████ ██ █████████ ███ ██████ █████ ███ ██████ ████ ██ ████ █████████ ███ ███ ██████████ ██ ██████████████ ██ ███████
Photosynthesis is used as part of a premise: photosynthesis demonstrates plant dependence on animals, which in turn supports the main conclusion of mutual dependence. The conclusion is not about photosynthesis.
b
Some purely carnivorous ███████ █████ ███ ███████ ███████ ███████
This can be properly inferred—(B) would be a correct MBT answer—but it isn’t stated, nor is it the argument’s focus. The conclusion is about the mutual dependence between plants in general and animals in general, not the dependence of a subset of animals on plants.
c
The chemical composition ██ █████ ███ ███ ██████████ ████████ ██ █████ ██ ████ ███████ ██ ███ █████████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███ ███████ ████ ████████ ██████
This may be an inference, but the main conclusion isn’t about the chemical composition of Earth or its atmosphere. Chemical composition in the atmosphere (carbon dioxide) is only referenced in a premise.
d
Human activity is ████ ██ ████ ████████ ██████ ████ █████████ ███ ██████ ██ ███████ ██████████ ██ █████ ██████ ███ ███████ █████ ███████
This isn’t stated in the argument. We are told that human activity prevents plants from depleting carbon dioxide, not oxygen. Even if (D) had gotten that right, it would be a premise rather than conclusion.
e
Just as animals ███ █████████ ██ ██████ ███ █████ █████████ ██████ ███ █████████ ██ ███████ ███ ███████
This is the conclusion that the rest of the argument sets out to support. The journalist is trying to convince the reader of the mutual dependence between plants and animals; every other part of the argument supports this idea.