A study at a company found that most meetings showed diminishing returns after 30 minutes, and little could be expected after 60 minutes. Moreover, the most productive meetings were those for which a clear time frame was established. For a meeting at the company to achieve maximum productivity, then, it needs to have a clear time frame and be no more than 30 minutes long.

Summarize Argument
The stimulus concludes that a meeting must have a clear time frame and be no longer than 30 minutes to be maximally productive. It draws this conclusion from a company study about meeting productivity.

Identify Conclusion
The conclusion states conditions for a meeting to be maximally productive: “it needs to have a clear time frame and be no more than 30 minutes long.”

A
In general, a meeting at the company that is no more than 30 minutes long and has a clear time frame will achieve maximum productivity.
This answer is confusing necessary and sufficient. Our stimulus tells us what a meeting must do to be maximally productive. Here, we’re talking about what will guarantee a meeting being maximally productive.
B
Most meetings at the company show diminishing returns after 30 minutes, according to a study.
This is a premise that supports the conclusion, not a conclusion itself.
C
A meeting at the company will be maximally productive only if it has a clear time frame and lasts no more than 30 minutes.
This answer rephrases the last sentence in our stimulus, which is what the rest of the argument supports. What does a meeting need to be maximally productive? A clear time frame and a duration no longer than 30 minutes.
D
According to a study, meetings at the company were the most productive when they had clear time frames.
This is a premise supporting our partial conclusion that meetings must have clear time frames to be maximally productive.
E
A study of meetings at the company says that little productivity should be expected after the 60-minute mark.
This is a premise that supports our conclusion. The study isn’t what the stimulus is arguing for, but rather the conditions that a meeting must have to be maximally productive.

13 comments

Nutritionist: Most fad diets prescribe a single narrow range of nutrients for everyone. But because different foods contain nutrients that are helpful for treating or preventing different health problems, dietary needs vary widely from person to person. However, everyone should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, which protect against a wide range of health problems.

Summary

Most fad diets prescribe a narrow range of nutrients for everyone. But dietary needs vary widely from person to person because different foods have different nutrients for treating and preventing different health problems. However, everyone should eat plenty of fruits and vegetables because these foods protect against a range of health problems.

Strongly Supported Conclusions

Most fad diets do not meet the dietary needs of at least some people.

A
Most fad diets require that everyone following them eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know what specifically most fad diets require. We only know that most fad diets prescribe a narrow range of nutrients.

B
Fruits and vegetables are the only foods that contain enough different nutrients to protect against a wide range of health problems.

This answer is unsupported. Saying these are the “only” foods with these characteristics is too strong. We only know that fruits and vegetables are an example of a food group containing a diversity of nutrients.

C
Any two people have different health problems and thus different dietary needs.

This answer is unsupported. It is possible that you could have two people with the same health problems.

D
Most fad diets fail to satisfy the dietary needs of some people.

This answer is strongly supported. We know that the dietary needs of people vary widely and that most fad diets prescribe a narrow range of nutrients. It’s inevitable that most fad diets don’t meet some people’s dietary needs.

E
There are very few if any nutrients that are contained in every food other than fruits and vegetables.

This answer is unsupported. We don’t know what nutrients are contained in other foods.


26 comments

The caffeine in coffee stimulates the production of irritating acid in the stomach. But darker roasts of coffee, produced by roasting the coffee beans longer, contain more N-methylpyridinium (NMP) than lighter roasts, and NMP tends to suppress production of acid in the stomach. Therefore if you drink caffeinated coffee, darker roasts will irritate your stomach less than lighter roasts.

Summarize Argument: Phenomenon-Hypothesis
The author hypothesizes that darker coffee roasts irritate the stomach less than lighter roasts. This is because darker roasts contain more NMP, which suppresses production of irritating stomach acid.

Notable Assumptions
The author assumes that darker roasts don’t stimulate greater production of irritating stomach acid (i.e. through more caffeine) than lighter roasts. Alternately, the author assumes that the NMP in darker roasts outweighs this additional acid production, if such additional acid production in fact occurs.

A
Does extending the roasting time of coffee beans increase the amount of caffeine present in the brewed coffee?
If the answer is “yes,” then the NMP in darker roasts might not be enough to counteract the additional caffeine and subsequent stomach acid production. If the answer is “no,” then darker roasts likely would be less irritating—more NMP means less irritating stomach acid.
B
Does a reduction in acid production in the stomach have an adverse effect on stomach function?
We’re evaluating whether darker roasts really do decrease acid production in the stomach. This concedes that point in advance, which means it has little to no bearing on the author’s argument.
C
Would coffee drinkers who drink caffeinated coffee increase their coffee consumption if the coffee they drank contained less caffeine?
Irrelevant. We don’t know if lighter or darker roasts have more caffeine.
D
Do some coffee drinkers who switch from lighter to darker roasts of coffee increase their daily coffee consumption?
Irrelevant. We have no idea what the effects of switching from lighter roast to darker roast coffee would be in regards to stomach irritation, which is what the author’s argument is about.
E
Do lighter roasts of coffee have any important health benefits that darker roasts of coffee lack?
We don’t care about other health benefits. The author’s argument is about stomach irritation, so we need to evaluate if darker roasts really would cause less stomach irritation than lighter roasts for the reason the author cites.

46 comments