Drug companies say that direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines produces a more educated consumer. Yet many of their commercials do...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Drug companies say that direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines produces a more educated consumer. Yet many of their commercials do not even tell the consumer what the advertised drug is supposed to do - presumably because, according to federal regulations, drug companies do not need to mention side effects if they do not say what the drug does. It is reasonable to infer, therefore, that much direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines ______________.
Which of the following most logically completes the passage?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| Drug companies say that direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines produces a more educated consumer. |
|
| Yet many of their commercials do not even tell the consumer what the advertised drug is supposed to do. |
|
| presumably because, according to federal regulations, drug companies do not need to mention side effects if they do not say what the drug does. |
|
| It is reasonable to infer, therefore, that much direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines _____. |
|
Argument Flow:
The argument starts with drug companies' claim that their ads educate consumers, then shows this claim is questionable because many ads don't even say what the drug does, explains this happens because companies want to avoid listing side effects, and concludes we can infer something negative about these advertising practices.
Main Conclusion:
We can reasonably conclude something critical about direct-to-consumer drug advertising based on the evidence that companies avoid explaining drug purposes to dodge side effect disclosure requirements.
Logical Structure:
The evidence (vague ads that avoid mentioning drug purposes + motive to avoid side effect disclosure) directly contradicts the companies' educational claim, leading to a negative inference about the true nature of these advertisements.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Logically Completes - We need to find a conclusion that logically follows from the evidence presented about drug companies' advertising practices and their motives for avoiding disclosure of drug purposes and side effects.
Precision of Claims
The key claims are about the quality and nature of drug advertising: companies claim ads educate consumers, but many ads don't explain what drugs do, presumably to avoid mentioning side effects per federal regulations.
Strategy
Look at the logical flow: Drug companies claim their ads educate consumers → But many ads don't say what the drug does → This is likely because they want to avoid listing side effects → Therefore, we can conclude something about the true nature or purpose of these ads. The conclusion should reflect that these ads prioritize avoiding negative disclosure over actually educating consumers.