Self-study
Conclusion It is inaccurate to say that a diet high in refined sugar cannot cause adult-onset diabetes, since Support a diet high in refined sugar can make a person overweight, and Support being overweight can predispose a person to adult-onset diabetes.
Method of Reasoning
The author claims that it’s inaccurate to say that A (diet high in refined sugar) can’t cause B (diabetes), because A can cause C (being overweight), and C can make someone more likely to develop B. In the answer choices, we’re looking for a causal connection where the 1st thing can cause the 2nd thing, because it can cause a 3rd thing which in turn can cause the 2nd thing.
14.
The argument is most parallel, ██ ███ ███████ ██████████ ██ █████ ███ ██ ███ ██████████
a
It is inaccurate ██ ███ ████ █████ ██ ████ ███ ███ █████ █ ██████ ██ █████ █ █████ █████ █████ ███ ██████ ██ ████████ ███ ███████ ████████ ██ █████ ███████ ███████
(A) is not a valid argument — just because viruses flourish in warm places doesn’t mean that being in cold air can’t cause someone to catch a cold. It also concludes that a causal relationship between A (cold air) and B (catching a cold) is inaccurate, whereas the stimulus is concluding that a causal relationship between A and B is accurate.
b
It is accurate ██ ███ ████ ██ ███████ █████ ████ ███████ ██ ███████████ ██ ███████ ██████ █ ██████ ███████ ████████ ████ ████████ ████ ███████ ████ ███████ ██ ██████ ███ ██████ ████ ███████ ████ ██████ ██ ███████████
(B) doesn’t talk about A causing B by causing C which causes B. The airline doesn’t fly from Halifax to Washington because it doesn’t offer any direct or connecting flights — the answer choice doesn’t introduce any extra factor C.
c
It is correct ██ ███ ████ █████████████████ ██ ███ ███████ █████ ██ ████ ████████ █████ ██████████ ██████ ████ █████ ██ ████ ███████ ███ ███████ ███████ █████ ███ ██████ ██████████ ██ ████████
(C) isn’t a valid argument — just because overfertilization contributes to lawn disease doesn’t mean it’s the primary cause. Thus, although it uses a somewhat similar structure — A (overfertilization) causes B (lawn disease), because A causes C (rapid growth) and C leads to B — it is not parallel.
d
It is incorrect ██ ███ ████ ████████ █████ ███ ██████ █████ █ ███ ██ ███ ██████ ████████ ████████ █████ ████████ █████ ███ ███ █████ ██████ █████ ██████████████ ███ ██████ █████ █████████████ ███ ████ ██ ██████ ████████ ████████
(D) argues that it is incorrect to say that A (inferior motor oil) cannot cause B (poorer mileage), because A causes C (engine valve deterioration), and C can cause B. This is the same reasoning as the stimulus.
e
It is inaccurate ██ ███ ████ █████████ ███ █████ ███ █ ███████ ██ ██████ █████████ ███ █ ███████ ██ █████████ ███ █████████ ███ █ ███████ ██ ██████
(E) doesn’t make an argument about causation. It just talks about Alexander the Great’s relationship to Plato.