Salesperson: If your vacuuming needs are limited to cleaning small areas of uncarpeted floors, an inexpensive handhel...

Ravi on July 1, 2019

@mjenei,

Happy to help. We're looking to add an assumption that would help
strongly support the conclusion of the salesperson's argument.

In looking at the stimulus, the salesperson's conclusion is that an
inexpensive handheld vacuum cleaner is likely to be sufficient if your
vacuuming needs are limited to cleaning small areas of uncarpeted
floors. His support is that most of these vacuums are easy to use and
can satisfy all of your needs on wood or tile floors.

There's a problem, though. The conclusion is about uncarpeted floors.
Who's to say that wood and tile floors are the only types of
uncarpeted floors? What about marble floors? In order to strengthen
his argument, we need to plug in this hole, either by stating that the
vacuums work just as well with other types of uncarpeted floors or
that wood and tile are the only other types of floors other than
carpet.

(A) says, "The only types of floor surfaces that most consumers
encounter are carpet, wood, and tile."

(A) would help the argument a lot. We know the vacuums are great for
wood and tile, and the conclusion is about uncarpeted floors. If these
are the only types of floors most consumers encounter, then the
salesperson's argument is made stronger, so (A) is the correct answer
choice.

Hope this helps. Let us know if you have any more questions!

mamie on November 3, 2019

Why could the answer not be C?

on June 13, 2020

Why does the answer choice A. include carpeted floor if the passage is focused on Un-carpeted floor specifically wood and tile?