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Question

Difficulty: EasyIdentifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions

City officials plan to build a new light-rail line along Main Street to reduce vehicle congestion. However, construction will temporarily block major lanes, causing severe traffic delays during peak hours over the next year. Because these prolonged delays will deter residents from visiting downtown businesses, local shop owners will likely experience a significant drop in revenue. Therefore, the city council should postpone the construction project until a comprehensive traffic management plan is created.

Which of the following claims functions as an intermediate conclusion in the argument above?

  1. Local shop owners will likely experience a significant drop in revenue.Answer
  2. B
    The city council should postpone the construction project until a comprehensive traffic management plan is created.
  3. C
    Construction will temporarily block major lanes, causing severe traffic delays during peak hours over the next year.
  4. D
    City officials plan to build a new light-rail line along Main Street to reduce vehicle congestion.
  5. E
    The light-rail line will permanently eliminate vehicle congestion downtown once construction finishes.

Answer

The statement that local shop owners will likely experience a significant drop in revenue serves as the intermediate conclusion.
The correct option identifies the subsidiary claim that local shop owners will likely experience a drop in revenue. This claim is inferred from the factual premise about traffic delays deterring visitors, and it directly serves as the reason supporting the author's final conclusion that construction should be postponed.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the main conclusion of the argument.
The final claim is that the city council should postpone the construction project.
This is the primary recommendation that the author advocates based on all preceding reasoning.
2
Identify the foundational premises.
The factual evidence shows that construction will block lanes and cause traffic delays.
These statements provide direct evidence without relying on prior claims within the passage.
3
Identify the claim that bridges the premises to the main conclusion.
The claim that local shop owners will experience a drop in revenue is derived from the traffic delay premises and subsequently supports the decision to postpone construction.
An intermediate conclusion receives support from premises and provides support to the main conclusion.

Key Concept

Identifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions
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Topics

Identifying Intermediate and Subsidiary Conclusions

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