Environmental advocate: Wool sweaters and synthetic sweaters are both effective at keeping a person warm. The production of both wool...
GMAT Two Part Analysis : (TPA) Questions
Environmental advocate: Wool sweaters and synthetic sweaters are both effective at keeping a person warm. The production of both wool fibers and synthetic fibers results in by-products-animal waste and industrial waste, respectively-that cause significant environmental harm if improperly handled. It is true that synthetic sweaters tend to cost significantly less than wool sweaters do, but they are considerably less durable. Thus one wool sweater will last as long as several synthetic ones and, even assuming the same energy consumption to manufacture wool and synthetic sweaters, over one's lifetime purchasing wool sweaters constitutes a significant energy savings as compared to purchasing synthetic sweaters.
Based on the information provided, select for Advantage the option that the environmental advocate most clearly identifies as an advantage of purchasing wool sweaters as compared to synthetic ones, and select for Disadvantage the option that the environmental advocate most clearly identifies as a disadvantage of purchasing wool sweaters as compared to synthetic ones. Make only two selections, one in each column.
Phase 1: Owning the Dataset
Argument Analysis Table
| Passage Statement | Analysis & Implications |
| "Wool sweaters and synthetic sweaters are both effective at keeping a person warm" |
|
| "The production of both... results in by-products... that cause significant environmental harm if improperly handled" |
|
| "Synthetic sweaters tend to cost significantly less than wool sweaters do" |
|
| "They [synthetic] are considerably less durable" |
|
| "Over one's lifetime purchasing wool sweaters constitutes a significant energy savings" |
|
Key Patterns Identified
- The advocate acknowledges both pros and cons of wool
- Main disadvantage of wool: higher upfront cost
- Main advantage of wool: durability leading to energy savings
- Environmental production effects are presented as equivalent
- Warmth effectiveness is explicitly equal
Phase 2: Question Analysis & Prethinking
Understanding Each Part
- Advantage Part: We need what the advocate "most clearly identifies as an advantage" of wool
- Disadvantage Part: We need what the advocate "most clearly identifies as a disadvantage" of wool
- Relationship: These should be the clearest pro/con points made in the argument
Valid Inferences from Prethinking
- For Advantage: The advocate explicitly argues wool saves energy over a lifetime due to durability
- For Disadvantage: The advocate explicitly acknowledges wool costs "significantly less" than synthetic
Phase 3: Answer Choice Evaluation
Analyzing Each Option:
Warmth
- What it claims: One type keeps you warmer
- Fact Support: Passage says "both effective at keeping a person warm"
- Logical Validity: Explicitly stated as equal - no advantage either way
- Part Suitability: Neither part
Cost per unit
- What it claims: One type costs more/less per sweater
- Fact Support: "synthetic sweaters tend to cost significantly less"
- Logical Validity: Direct statement - wool costs MORE
- Part Suitability: Disadvantage of wool
Environmental effects of fiber production
- What it claims: One type has worse production effects
- Fact Support: Both produce harmful by-products
- Logical Validity: Presented as equivalent problem for both
- Part Suitability: Neither part
Energy consumption from manufacturing
- What it claims: Total energy used to make sweaters differs
- Fact Support: "over one's lifetime... constitutes a significant energy savings"
- Logical Validity: Fewer wool sweaters needed = less total manufacturing energy
- Part Suitability: Advantage of wool
Total environmental effects of waste products
- What it claims: Overall waste impact differs
- Fact Support: Not specifically compared in passage
- Logical Validity: Cannot infer which is worse overall
- Part Suitability: Neither part
Final Selection
Advantage: Energy consumption from manufacturing
- The advocate's main argument centers on this benefit
- Explicitly states "significant energy savings" over lifetime
- This is the culminating positive claim for wool
Disadvantage: Cost per unit
- Clearly acknowledged drawback of wool
- States synthetic "cost significantly less"
- This is the only explicit disadvantage mentioned
Verification
Both answers are directly supported by explicit statements in the passage without requiring additional inference or speculation. The advocate builds an argument that despite wool's higher cost (disadvantage), its durability leads to energy savings (advantage).