PT123.S3.Q8

PrepTest 123 - Section 3 - Question 8

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Advertisement: Support Fabric-Soft leaves clothes soft and fluffy, and its fresh scent is a delight. Support We conducted a test using over 100 consumers to prove Fabric-Soft is best. Support Each consumer was given one towel washed with Fabric-Soft and one towel washed without it. Support Ninety-nine percent of the consumers preferred the Fabric-Soft towel. So Conclusion Fabric-Soft is the most effective fabric softener available.

Summarize Argument

The advertisement concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective fabric softener available. As support, it says that Fabric-Soft makes clothes smell good and leaves them soft and fluffy. It then presents a test in which over 100 consumers were given one towel washed with Fabric-Soft and one washed without it. 99% of them preferred the Fabric-Soft towel.

Identify and Describe Flaw

The advertisement concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective fabric softener based on a test in which consumers compared a Fabric-Soft towel to a towel washed without it. But if the consumers didn't compare Fabric-Soft to all other brands, the ad can't claim it's the most effective softener.

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8.

The advertisement's reasoning is most vulnerable to criticism on the grounds that it fails to consider whether

a

any of the consumers tested are allergic to fabric softeners

Irrelevant— the ad concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective softener. Whether some consumers are allergic to it doesn’t impact its effectiveness. Also, even if some of the tested consumers were allergic, 99% still preferred the Fabric-Soft towel to the other towel.

1%
b

Fabric-Soft is more or less harmful to the environment than other fabric softeners

Irrelevant— the advertisement concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective softener. It doesn’t matter if it’s more or less environmentally harmful.

0%
c

Fabric-Soft is much cheaper or more expensive than other fabric softeners

Irrelevant— the advertisement concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective softener. It doesn’t matter if it’s more or less expensive than other softeners.

2%
d

the consumers tested find the benefits of using fabric softeners worth the expense

Irrelevant— the ad concludes that Fabric-Soft is the most effective softener. Whether some of the tested consumers think it isn’t worth its price doesn’t impact its effectiveness. Also, even if some of them did think this, 99% still preferred the Fabric-Soft towel.

2%
e

the consumers tested had the opportunity to evaluate fabric softeners other than Fabric-Soft

The tested consumers compared a Fabric-Soft towel to one washed without it. It’s unclear whether they evaluated any other softener. If they didn’t evaluate every other softener, the ad can’t claim that Fabric-Soft is more effective than any other softeners.

95%

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