V.R · Verbal: reading and argument structure

Reading comprehension includes single-answer, select-one-or-more and sentence-selection tasks. Follow each instruction exactly.

Identify the conclusion separately from observations. An assumption is an unstated bridge the argument needs.

For select-all tasks, test each option independently. One correct option does not make the others false.

An author can describe a theory before challenging it. Track whose position each sentence reports.

Sales rose after advertising increased. “Advertising caused the rise” assumes no sufficient alternative explanation, such as a price reduction. A passage that only reports the timing supports an association, not that causal conclusion.

Graduate verbal tasks reward precise scope. Avoid an answer whose always or only overstates the passage.

Original passage: [1] A town library's loans rose after it began sending reminders. [2] During the same month, a nearby library closed for repairs. [3] The increase therefore does not establish that reminders alone caused more borrowing. [4] A comparison with an otherwise similar library unaffected by closure would help assess that claim.

What is the main purpose? A. Prove reminders never work. B. Limit a causal inference and suggest a comparison. C. Show repairs reduce reading. D. Recommend closing libraries.

Model and reasoning

B. Sentence 3 limits the inference from the observed timing; sentence 4 proposes evidence. A overstates uncertainty as proof of no effect. C changes the outcome from loans to reading and is not established. D turns a reported closure into a recommendation. The author accepts the rise in loans while questioning its explanation.

For the same passage, select every supported statement: A. Loans increased. B. Reminders caused none of the increase. C. Another change may help explain the increase. Then select the sentence that proposes a way to distinguish explanations.

Check after attempting

A and C; sentence 4. A is stated in sentence 1. C follows from the competing event in sentence 2 and caution in sentence 3. B is unsupported: failure to establish an exclusive cause does not establish zero contribution. Sentence 2 provides a competing observation; sentence 4 proposes a comparison. Judge each option independently and select the complete requested sentence.