Historian: Much of what made medieval European communities as close-knit as they usually were was the way they went about meeting basic needs. In medieval communities, in order to get crops harvested or a well dug, people had to come together in respectful cooperation, suspending any private grievances. So if people in industrialized societies today undertook corresponding group tasks, their communities would probably become more close-knit.

Summarize Argument
The author concludes that people in industrialized societies today would probably become more close-knit if they undertook group tasks that required them to cooperate with each other. This prediction is based on the observation that what made medieval European communities close-knit was the fact that people had to cooperate with each other to meet basic needs.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is the author’s prediction for what would likely happen if people today undertook tasks similar to those that medieval communities had to undertake: “[I]f people in industrialized societies today undertook corresponding group tasks, their communities would probably become more close-knit.”

A
Much of what made medieval communities as close-knit as they usually were was the way they went about meeting basic needs.
This is part of the support. The author uses this fact to support a prediction about what would likely happen to people in industrialized societies today.
B
People in industrialized societies today should undertake group tasks similar to those that medieval communities undertook in order to meet their basic needs.
The author never tells anyone what they “should” do. The conclusion is simply a prediction about what is likely to happen.
C
In medieval communities, people went about meeting basic needs in ways that required them to come together in respectful cooperation, suspending any private grievances.
This is part of the support. This is an illustration of how medieval societies were close-knight because of group tasks. The author uses this fact to support a prediction about what is likely to happen to people in industrialized societies today.
D
Medieval communities were usually more close-knit than communities in industrial societies are today because, in medieval communities, people undertook group tasks requiring them to come together in respectful cooperation.
The author never states that medieval communities were more close-knit than communities in industrial societies today. The conclusion is a prediction about what is likely to happen to people in industrial societies today.
E
Communities in industrial societies today would probably become more close-knit if their members undertook group tasks requiring the participants to come together in respectful cooperation.
This is a paraphrase of the last sentence, which is the conclusion.

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Advertisement: At BigFoods, we compare prices for you. We recently determined which items our shoppers buy most often. A varied sample of these items cost 10 percent more at Grocerytown than at BigFoods! None of these regularly purchased grocery items were on sale at BigFoods—these are our everyday prices!

Summary

The advertisement says that BigFoods has figured out which items their shoppers buy most often. BigFoods then picked out some of those items, and compared the cost of that sample to the cost of the same items at Grocerytown, where they cost 10 percent more. The sample also used the regular, non-sale prices at BigFoods.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

Based on this advertisement, we can conclude:

Some items cost at least 10 percent less at BigFoods than those same items cost at Grocerytown.

Some of the items that cost less at BigFoods are among those items most purchased by BigFoods shoppers.

A
BigFoods lowered its everyday prices before making the comparison with Grocerytown.

This is not supported. The advertisement doesn’t mention anything about BigFoods lowering prices, nor does it say anything else that would lead us to that conclusion.

B
Shoppers who usually patronize Grocerytown prefer to shop there for some reason other than its prices.

This is not supported. Based on the advertisement, we don’t know anything about why someone would prefer to shop at Grocerytown, for its prices or otherwise. We don’t even know if the prices are actually higher across the board at Grocerytown, or only on a few items sampled.

C
Some of the items that shoppers at BigFoods buy most often are less expensive at BigFoods than at Grocerytown.

This is strongly supported. The advertisement explains that a sample of the most-purchased items at BigFoods overall cost less than at Grocerytown. That means that some individual most-purchased items must also cost less at BigFoods.

D
Few of the items that shoppers at BigFoods buy most often were on sale at Grocerytown when the price comparison was carried out.

This is not supported. We simply have no way to know whether the items compared were on sale at Grocerytown or not; all we know is that the price of the sample was overall lower at BigFoods.

E
The items that shoppers at BigFoods buy most often are not the same as those that shoppers at Grocerytown buy most often.

This is not supported. The advertisement doesn’t indicate if the items BigFood shoppers buy most often are also bought most often at Grocerytown or not, so we can’t come to a conclusion one way or the other.


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One reason swimming immediately after eating is thought to be dangerous is that it could cause muscle cramps. But there is no reason to believe this. Muscle cramps are usually caused by muscle fatigue and dehydration, which are unrelated to eating. Reduced blood flow to muscles during digestion might also be a cause, though this is disputed. In any case, not enough blood goes to the stomach to aid in digestion after a meal to reduce blood flow to muscles.

Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The author concludes that there’s no reason to believe that swimming immediately after eating causes muscle cramps. This is because muscle cramps are caused by either muscle fatigue and dehydration or by reduced blood flow to the muscles. Muscle fatigue and dehydration aren’t related to eating, and eating doesn’t cause enough reduced blood flow to the muscles to cause cramps.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion is the author’s counter to the belief that swimming immediately after eating causes muscle cramps: “[T]here is no reason to believe this.”

A
Swimming immediately after eating is not dangerous.
This twists the author’s conclusion, which is only that swimming after eating doesn’t cause muscle cramps. The author never suggests swimming after eating is not dangerous for some other reason besides muscle cramps.
B
Reduced blood flow to muscles is not a cause of muscle cramps.
The author acknowledges that reduced blood flow might not be a cause of muscle cramps, but never states that it is definitely not a cause.
C
There is no reason to believe that swimming immediately after eating causes muscle cramps.
This is a paraphrase of the conclusion.
D
Blood going to the stomach to aid in digestion after a meal is not a cause of muscle cramps.
This is a premise.
E
Blood going to the stomach to aid in digestion after a meal would not reduce blood flow to the muscles.
This relates only to a premise. And, it twists what that premise actually says. The author states that there’s not enough blood that goes to the stomach during digestion to reduce blood flow to muscles. This doesn’t mean that there’s no reduced blood flow to muscles at all.

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