The media now devote more coverage to crime than they did ten years ago. Yet this is not because the crime rate has ...
MeredithAugust 8, 2019
Why B is incorrect
I was confused by Anita's explanation in the other thread as to why B is wrong, but is one way to look at it that since the phrase is part of the conclusion that it can't be labeled as evidence?
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Hello Meredith! When approaching a logical reasoning problem I ask myself 3 questions.
1) What is the argument about? (I make a question):
- "Does the media devote more coverage to crime now, than they did 10 years ago b/c crime rates have increased?
2) What is the stance/position/main point in the argument? (aka the conclusion)
- "No. Increased news coverage of crime is NOT due to increased crime rates, but instead due to the public being more interested in hearing and reading about crime."
3) How does the stance/position/main point prove itself? (aka the premise)
- a crucial factor in the media's decision about what issues to cover and to what extent to cover them is "dictated" or "influenced" by the interests of their audience.
B is incorrect b/c the proposition that the public is now more interested in reading and hearing about crime is NOT evidence in support of the conclusion, because it IS the conclusion.
The conclusion provides an alternative explanation of why the media cover more crime now than it did 10 years ago. In the prompt, the indicating word that lets us know an alternative explanation is about to be presented is, "Yet" ("Yet is is not because...but rather...")
This is how I arrived at E as the correct answer. "The public is now more interested in reading and hearing about crime" is the argument's conclusion as well as an alternative explanation of why the media devote more coverage to crime now vs 10 years ago.
I hope this helped!
RaviAugust 28, 2019
@nizhoni,
Excellent breakdown! This is great. Keep up the hard work and participation on the message board!
@Meredith,
@nizhoni's explanation for this question is on the money. The problem with (B) is that the evidence comes after, as the media covers what the audiences are interested in. This is why (B) is out.
