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Question

Difficulty: MediumDetermining Statement Roles

Review the following passage outlining an urban planner's stance on city infrastructure. Identify the exact logical function of each excerpted statement by matching it to the correct structural description.

Urban Planner: The conventional view among municipal leaders is that widening highways is the best way to reduce traffic congestion. However, the phenomenon of induced demand ensures that expanding road capacity simply encourages more people to drive. Consequently, constructing wider roads is a futile strategy for alleviating gridlock. Furthermore, our city's infrastructure budget is severely constrained this year. Therefore, rather than expanding highways, we must redirect our remaining transportation funds toward developing comprehensive public transit networks.

  • The conventional view among municipal leaders is that widening highways is the best way to reduce traffic congestion.It is a claim detailing a position that the argument as a whole is designed to reject.
  • expanding road capacity simply encourages more people to drive.It is a premise used to directly justify a subsidiary conclusion about road construction.
  • constructing wider roads is a futile strategy for alleviating gridlock.It is an intermediate conclusion drawn to support the argument's final recommendation.
  • rather than expanding highways, we must redirect our remaining transportation funds toward developing comprehensive public transit networks.It is the overall conclusion of the argument.

Answer

The conventional view statement represents a rejected position. The claim about road capacity encouraging driving is a foundational premise. The statement concluding that wider roads are futile is an intermediate conclusion. The final recommendation to redirect funds is the overall conclusion.
The argument begins by outlining a traditional position about widening highways, which it immediately rejects. It then provides empirical evidence about induced demand to support a subsidiary deduction that road expansion does not work. Finally, combining this intermediate deduction with an independent premise about a constrained budget, the author arrives at the ultimate prescription to fund public transit.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the argumentative structure of the stimulus to identify the main conclusion.
The final sentence recommending the redirection of funds to public transit is the ultimate point the planner is trying to prove.
Identifying the main conclusion first provides an anchor for determining how all other statements function in relation to it.
2
Identify any intermediate conclusions that bridge the basic premises to the main conclusion.
The claim that constructing wider roads is futile acts as an intermediate conclusion. It is logically derived from the premise about induced demand and, in turn, supports the main conclusion to redirect funds.
Complex arguments often have multiple layers; separating intermediate conclusions from direct premises clarifies the logical chain of reasoning.
3
Determine the role of the remaining statements based on their context and structural indicators.
The first statement describes a conventional view the author rejects. The statement regarding capacity encouraging driving is a foundational premise introduced by the contrast word 'However'.
Evaluating structural indicators helps pinpoint exactly how evidence and counter-arguments are used to build toward the final conclusion.

Key Concept

Argument Structure and Statement Roles
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Topics

Determining Statement Roles

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