Self-study
After an oil spill, rehabilitation centers were set up to save sea otters by removing oil from them. ███ ██████ ███ ███ ███████████ ████████ █████ ███ ████████ ████ ██████ ███ ███ ████ ███ ████ ████ ████████ ███ ████ ███ ████████ ███████ ██ ██ ███████ ██ █████ ████████ ████ ████████████ █████████████ ███ █████████ ████████ ███ ██████████ ██ ███ █████ ████████ ████ ████ ████████████ █████████████ ███ ████ █████ ██████ ███████ ████ █ █████ ██ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ███████████ ████ ████ ██████
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that the effort to save sea otters by removing oil from them wasn’t worthwhile. He supports this by saying that, at best, only 18% of counted otters were successfully rehabilitated, but that in fact the actual percentage is much lower because only a fifth of the otters that died immediately were ever found.
Notable Assumptions
Note: We’re looking for the answer choice that “calls into question evidence offered in support of the conclusion.” This means that we’re looking to attack a premise of the argument.
The author assumes that all of his quoted numbers are accurate. He assumes that this reported number of otters is accurate, without addressing the possibility that the dead otters that were never found can’t be accurately counted.
6.
Which one of the following, ██ █████████ ███████████ ████ █████████ █████ ████ ████████ ████████ ███████ ██ ███████ ██ ███ ██████████ ██████
a
Do sea otters ██ ███████ █████ ████ █████ ███████████ █████ ███ ██████ ███████ █████ ██ █████ ████ ████ ███ ████████ ██ ███ ███ ██████
The author’s argument only addresses rehabilitation efforts among the otter population that was affected by the oil spill. Surely other otter species exist in other places, but their existence doesn’t call into question the evidence offered in support of the author’s conclusion.
b
How is it ████████ ██ █████████ ██ ███ ███ ██████ ████ █████ ███ ████ ████ ███ ██████
This calls into question the author’s evidence. He claims that the percentage of successfully rehabilitated otters is much lower than 18% because only a fifth of the dead otters were ever found. But how can he know that this number is accurate if the otters were never found?
c
Did the process ██ █████████ ███ ██████ ███████████ ███████ ████████ ███ █████████ ████ ██████ ████ ████ ███ ████████ ██ ███ ██████
Like (A), the author’s argument is only concerned with those otters that were affected by the spill. The effects of the rehabilitation process on other otters doesn’t call into question his evidence, which only addresses affected otters.
d
Were other species ██ ████████ ███████ ███ ██████ ██████████ ████████ ██ ███ ███ ██████
The author’s evidence only addresses sea otters that were affected by the oil spill. Whether other species of wildlife were also affected is irrelevant, since the rehabilitation efforts in question only involved sea otters.
e
What was the ████████ █████ ███ █████ ██████████████ ██ ███ ██████████████ ██████████
The author doesn’t mention cost as a factor in his assessment of whether the rehabilitation effort was worthwhile. (E) thus doesn’t call into question the author’s evidence, which only addresses the percentage of otters that were rehabilitated.