Many residents of Calovia are committed to using products containing recycled materials. Soon these consumers will get help in identifying...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
Many residents of Calovia are committed to using products containing recycled materials. Soon these consumers will get help in identifying such products from a book being published by the Calovian government. The book offers a comprehensive listing, by product type and brand, of goods sold in Calovia that contain recycled material. Therefore, publication of the book will almost certainly increase the use of products containing recycled materials in Calovia.
Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?
Passage Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
| Many residents of Calovia are committed to using products containing recycled materials. |
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| Soon these consumers will get help in identifying such products from a book being published by the Calovian government. |
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| The book offers a comprehensive listing, by product type and brand, of goods sold in Calovia that contain recycled material. |
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| Therefore, publication of the book will almost certainly increase the use of products containing recycled materials in Calovia. |
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Argument Flow:
The argument starts by establishing there's strong consumer demand for recycled products in Calovia. Then it introduces the government's book as a tool to help these motivated consumers. It describes how comprehensive and useful this book will be, then concludes this combination will definitely increase recycled product usage.
Main Conclusion:
Publishing the government book will almost certainly increase the use of products containing recycled materials in Calovia.
Logical Structure:
The argument assumes that committed consumers + better information = increased purchases. It connects consumer motivation (premise 1) with an information solution (premises 2-3) to predict behavioral change (conclusion). The logic depends on the idea that people who want to buy recycled products just need better ways to identify them.
Prethinking:
Question type:
Strengthen - We need to find new information that would increase our belief that the book will almost certainly increase the use of recycled products in Calovia
Precision of Claims
The conclusion makes a strong prediction about activity (increased use) with high certainty (almost certainly). The premises establish commitment levels (many residents) and comprehensive quality (detailed listing by product type and brand)
Strategy
We need to bridge the gap between having committed consumers and a helpful book versus actually achieving increased usage. The argument assumes that committed consumers + better identification = more purchases, but we can strengthen this by providing evidence that removes barriers or confirms this logical connection will work in practice
This tells us the book won't be profitable for the government, but profitability has nothing to do with whether the book will increase recycled product usage. The argument is about consumer behavior and product identification, not government finances. This is irrelevant to strengthening the conclusion.
This is perfect for strengthening the argument. It tells us that many recycled products exist but manufacturers aren't advertising their recycled content. This means committed consumers currently can't identify these products easily. The government book would solve exactly this information gap, making it much more likely that publication will increase recycled product usage. This directly supports the argument's logic.
This discusses technical aspects of the recycling process - that recycled materials are often lower grade with different uses. This doesn't help us understand whether the book will increase usage of existing recycled products. If anything, this might suggest recycled products have limitations, which could weaken rather than strengthen the argument.
If all brands for many product types use recycled materials, then consumers don't really need the book to find recycled options - they'll get recycled materials regardless of their choice. This actually undermines the book's usefulness and weakens the argument that it will increase recycled product usage.
This tells us that recycled content varies based on price and availability, but doesn't help establish whether the book will increase consumer usage. Information about manufacturing decisions doesn't strengthen the connection between consumer access to information and increased purchasing behavior.