Self-paced
Eugenia: Reliable tests have shown that Conclusion Koolair brand refrigerators are the best-made of any of the major brands because Support they last longer and, on the whole, require fewer repairs than do refrigerators of any other major brand.
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Summary: Counter-Argument
Eugenia argues that, according to "reliable tests", Koolair refrigerators are "the best-made of any of the major brands." These tests have shown that Koolair brand refrigerators last longer and need fewer repairs overall than refrigerators from other major brands.
Neil rejects Eugenia's argument. He appeals to how the Koolair refrigerator he owned needed more repairs than any of the refrigerators he's owned from other major brands.
Analysis: Flawed Response
Neil rejects Eugenia's argument, which is based on tests that were presumably controlled and relied on large sample sizes of refrigerators from Koolair and other brands, based on his own anecdotal experience with one Koolair refrigerator. It's possible Neil had a uniquely faulty Koolair refrigerator, or maybe he owned a much older Koolair model and much newer models from other brands, which would make his comparison unfair. So Neil's response is flawed because he rejects the evidence of the studies Eugenia cites, which talk about overall trends, based on an anecdotal experience that could be an outlier.
21.
The reasoning in Neil’s response ██ ██████ ███████ ██
a
uses a different ██████ ██ █ ███████████ ███████ ████ ████ ████ ██ ███████
Incorrect. Eugenia comments on Koolair refrigerators' quality based on two metrics: how long they last, and how many repairs they require. Neil also comments on how many repairs these refrigerators need. He isn't relying on a "different notion" of a refrigerator's quality.
b
contradicts Eugenia’s claim ██ ███ █████ ██ █ ████ ████████ ███ ███████ ██████ ███ ███████ ██ █████ ██████████ █████████████
Incorrect. For (B) to be correct, Neil would basically have to say, "I think you're wrong" and then nothing else. Neil's appeal to his experience with a Koolair refrigerator still counts as providing support for his argument, even if that support isn't sufficient for the case he's making.
c
rejects a generalization ██ ███ █████ ██ █ ██████ ████████ ████████ ████ ████ ██████████████ ███ ██████████ ███████ ███ ██ ███ █████████
Correct. As we discussed, Neil uses his own anecdotal experience, which could be an outlier, to reject the findings of the studies Eugenia cites. These studies don't claim that every single Koolair refrigerator lasts longer and requires fewer repairs than refrigerators from other brands, just that this is true of Koolair refrigerators overall.
d
uses a pretense ██ █████████ ██ █ █████████ █████ ██ ███ ████ ███████ ███ ███ █████
Incorrect. Neil never claims to have special authority in a technical field related to refrigerators. He is appealing to his experience as a user of these refrigerators, not to some kind of technical expertise.
e
concludes that what █████ ████ ██ ████ ██████ ██ █ █████ █████ ████████████ ████ ████ ████ ████ ██ ████ █████ █████ ████████████
Incorrect. (E) is a tricky answer choice: after all, Neil does go from a statement about an individual member of a group (the Koolair refrigerator he owned) to a conclusion about a group taken collectively: Koolair refrigerators are not the best-made refrigerators.
But while Neil talks about what is true of one member of a group (his own Koolair refrigerator needing repairs), he never makes any claims about something being true of each member of a group: he never claims that every single Koolair refrigerator needs as many repairs as the one he owned. So even though Neil does rely on one example to support a claim about a whole group, he never engages in the "middle step" described here, of claiming that every member of that group also fits that example. So (E) is descriptively inaccurate.