Self-study
Support Over the long run, apple orchards that use organic farming methods cost no more to run than, and are just as productive as, apple orchards using conventional methods. ████████ ███████████ █████ ██████ ████ ██ ██ ██████ ████████ ███ █████ ███████ ████████ ███ ██████ ██ ██ ████ ██████████ ████ ████████████ ████████ ██ ███ ████ ████
Summarize Argument
The author concludes that organic apple orchards are likely to be more profitable than conventional orchards in the long run. He supports this by saying that organic orchards cost the same as conventional orchards to run, are equally productive, and produce better-tasting apples.
Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that better tasting apples will lead to higher sales or increased customer demand, without considering other factors like price, appearance, or variety that may influence customer decisions more.
1.
Which one of the following, ██ █████ ████ ███████████ ███ █████████
a
The use of ███████ ███████ ███████ ███ ████████ █████████ ██ ███ ██████████ █████ ███████ █████████
This doesn’t strengthen the argument because we don’t know why more apple farmers are using organic farming methods or whether those methods are leading to increased profits.
b
The apple orchards ████ ████ ██ ██ ████ ██████████ ██ ███ ████ ███ ████ ██ ██ █████ ████ ███ ████ ██████████ ██ ███ █████ ████
Irrelevant— the argument is only concerned with which method is more profitable in the long run. It doesn’t address short run profitability, and we don’t know whether organic or conventional farming is more profitable in the short run.
c
Demand for a █████ ████ ██ █████ ██ █████ █████████ ██ ███████
This strengthens the argument by addressing the assumption that taste, rather than some other factor, is a good predictor of customer demand. If demand is based on flavor and organic apples have the best flavor, it makes sense that organic farming will be more profitable.
d
Most people prefer ██ ███ ██████ ████ ████ ███ ██████ ██████
This weakens the argument by suggesting that cost, not taste, is the main factor in customers' apple choices. We don’t know if organic or conventional apples are cheaper, only that organic apples taste better.
e
Many consumers prefer ███ ██████████ ██ ██████ █████ █████ ████████████ ███████ ██ ████ ██ ██████ █████ ████████████
This weakens the argument. If consumers prefer the appearance of conventional apples and we assume that this affects their apple choices, organic farming is unlikely to be more profitable in the long run.