If the public library shared by the adjacent towns of Redville and Glenwood were relocated from the library's current...

Skylar on April 26, 2020

@maggsll, happy to help!

The passage ultimately concludes that relocating the library from central Redville to central Glenwood would put it "within walking distance of a larger number of library users." To support this claim, the passage offers two premises: (1) that there are "many more people living in central Glenwood than in central Redville," and (2) that "people generally will walk to the library only if it is located close to their homes."

So, does the fact that central Glenwood's population is larger than central Redville's population mean that the library will be closer to more people's homes? Not necessarily. This is because we don't know the density of the two areas. Perhaps Glenwood has a higher population because it takes up significantly more area and is more spread out than Redville, resulting in the library's new location actually being out of walking range for most people. Since we are looking to strengthen the passage, the correct answer choice will clarify this logical gap.

(B) states: "The area covered by central Glenwood is approximately the same size as that covered by central Redville." Therefore, (B) eliminates the aforementioned concern about variance in population density and strengthens the passage's argument, making it correct.

Does that make sense? Please let us know if you have any additional questions!