The formation of hurricanes that threaten the United States mainland is triggered by high atmospheric winds off the w...
MichelleRodAugust 22, 2017
Weird wording
So this passage starts out talking about high atmospheric rains in Western Africa causing hurricanes in the USA, then it switches to saying that heavy rainfall in Sub-Saharan Africa cause the Hurricanes. Is it just me or, aside from being flawed, does this passage make no sense? I had a hard time understanding what the argument even was.
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Hi @MichelleRod, thanks for your post. Fair point; you are right that the first and second sentences do not follow logically.
Analyzing the stimulus can help you know to just leave the first sentence aside. This stimulus contains a conclusion: "Therefore, the abundant rains must somehow promote the ability of the winds to form hurricanes."
The premise that supposedly supports this conclusion is "When abundant rain falls in sub-Saharan Africa, hurricanes afterward hit the United States mainland with particular frequency."
The premise establishes a correlation but the conclusion assumes a causal link between the sub-Saharan rains and hurricanes in the United States.
This same flaw is replicated in answer choice (C). There, the premise establishes a correlation between playing competitive sports in college and becoming a successful entrepreneur later in life, but the conclusion assumes a causal link between these two things.
Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
