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Difficulty: MediumIdentifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions

To comply with new international maritime emissions targets, fleet operators are considering retrofitting existing bulk carriers with rigid wind-assisted propulsion sails. Sea trials demonstrate that installing these rigid sails reduces overall diesel fuel consumption on long-distance routes by up to twenty percent. Because of these fuel savings, shipping companies will fully recover the capital costs of retrofitting within three years of operation. Therefore, investing in rigid wind-assisted sail retrofits represents a more financially prudent strategy for fleet operators than transitioning immediately to experimental ammonia-fueled vessels.

In the argument presented, the boldfaced statement plays which of the following roles?

  1. It is an intermediate conclusion that is derived from evidence about fuel reduction and is used to support the argument's main conclusion.Answer
  2. B
    It is the overall main conclusion of the argument, for which all other statements serve as supporting evidence.
  3. C
    It is a direct factual premise introduced to establish background context without requiring logical derivation from other claims.
  4. D
    It is an unstated assumption required to demonstrate that ammonia-fueled vessels are currently economically unviable.
  5. E
    It is a concession introduced to acknowledge a potential financial risk before the author pivots to the final position.

Answer

The boldfaced claim functions as an intermediate conclusion, inferred from fuel consumption data and utilized as support for the main conclusion.
The correct answer accurately identifies the boldfaced statement as a subsidiary or intermediate conclusion. It is logically inferred from the empirical premise regarding twenty percent fuel savings, and it serves as the key intermediate reason supporting the author's ultimate conclusion that retrofitting bulk carriers is a more financially prudent strategy than adopting ammonia-fueled vessels.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structural role of each statement in the passage.
Statement 1 introduces background context regarding emissions targets. Statement 2 provides a factual premise: rigid sails cut fuel consumption by up to 20%. Statement 3 (boldfaced) asserts that capital costs will be recovered within 3 years due to those savings. Statement 4 presents the final main conclusion that investing in wind-assisted retrofits is more prudent than transitioning to ammonia vessels.
Deconstructing the argument structure clarifies how claims depend on one another.
2
Determine the relationship of the boldfaced statement to preceding and succeeding claims.
The boldfaced statement is derived from the factual premise in Statement 2 ('Because of these fuel savings...'). It then serves as logical support for the main conclusion in Statement 4 ('Therefore...').
A claim that is supported by premises and in turn supports a further main conclusion is by definition an intermediate (or subsidiary) conclusion.

Key Concept

Identifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions
Estimated Time:1m 45s
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Topics

Identifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions

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