A 6 min read

In this article, we’ll look at the solution to this Official Guide (OG) question CR30370.01 – “Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet…” on Critical Reasoning:

Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet high in animal proteins and fats. Human beings undoubtedly evolved to thrive on such a diet, since our prehistoric ancestors ate large amounts of meat.

Jamal: But our ancestors also exerted themselves intensely in order to obtain this food, whereas most human beings today are much less physically active.

Jamal responds to Sasha by doing which of the following?

[Refer to GMAT Official Guide for options]

Here is some general information about this OG question:

OG Video Solution – CR30370.01 – Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet…

OG Solution – CR30370.01 – Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet…

Hi Student, did you also reject choice B because you were not able to understand it? Do you want to know how to solve such questions in which the logic is easy to understand but the answer choices are complex? If yes, then you are going to get your answer here.

Also, before moving to choice B, let me tell you that choice B alone is not responsible for making this question tricky. Choices D and E too play a significant role by using simple and relatable language but providing incorrect information.

Hence, it is equally important for you to understand why you could not identify errors in these two choices.

Simplified Argument

Let’s start with the first step- Simplifying the argument.

It is a conversational argument in which Sasha and Jamal share their points of view.

Sasha concludes that since our ancestors ate a lot of meat, it must be healthy to follow a diet high in animal fats and protein.

Jamal’s point of view is in response to that of Sasha. He points out a consideration that Sasha missed while deriving her conclusion. As per Jamal, since most of the people in the present are not as physically active as our prehistoric ancestors, a diet high in animal proteins and fats may not be healthy for all humans today. Thus, even though Sasha’s conclusion may be valid for some people, it is not applicable to all people in general.

What should the correct answer choice convey?

The question stem asks us to describe Jamal’s response to Sasha.

We know that Jamal points out a consideration that Sasha missed while deriving her conclusion. As per Jamal’s argument, Sasha’s conclusion is generic and is not true for most of the people who are not as physically active as our ancestors were. So, Jamal’s argument can be said to be a new piece of information that can make Sasha’s conclusion less general. We can also say that Jamal points out a flaw in Sasha’s argument.

Why Choice B is incorrect?

Most of the students who reject choice B do so because they are not sure of the meaning of the phrase “qualify her main conclusion.” If you are one of those students, here is a piece of information for you.

As per the Cambridge dictionary, in grammar, a word or phrase that qualifies another word or phrase limits its meaning and makes it less general.

Hence, choice B means that Jamal provides a piece of information that Sasha should consider to make her conclusion less general.

This is exactly what we discussed in the previous section- “So Jamal’s argument can be said to be a new piece of information that can make Sasha’s conclusion less general.”

Hence, choice B is the correct answer.

Detailed Analysis of The Phrase “Qualify the conclusion”-Is it the same as “Weaken the conclusion?”

To qualify a conclusion is not exactly the same as weakening the conclusion. It only means to add some condition(s) to the conclusion. 

This condition/ restriction can definitely have the effect of weakening the claim at some level.

Example:
Conclusion: Charles does not get much work done in the afternoon.
Condition: Only on days when Charles does not have coffee in the morning.

Conclusion with Condition: Charles does not get much work done in the afternoon on days when he does not have coffee in the morning.

The above condition can be said to be qualifying the conclusion. It is adding more information and providing the specific condition for Charles not getting much work done. In other words, it makes the conclusion less general.

I hope you see – how qualifying a claim can have the impact of weakening at some level. But do not assume that to qualify means to weaken. It simply means: to add more information, usually a condition or limitation.

How to get to the correct answer if I don’t know the meaning of a word or phrase?

This question is valid. What if there is such a new phrase or term in any question on the actual test? How can I get to the correct answer in that case?

The answer is- you should try to infer meaning from the context.

Let’s see how you can do that:

1. Infer Meaning of choice B-

Even if you don’t know what exactly “qualify” means here, you know that “qualify” in general means to meet an essential standard. For example, Olympians have to qualify to compete,i.e., they have to meet some standards in order to be eligible to complete.

With that meaning in mind, choice B conveys that Jamal provides an additional piece of information that Sasha should consider in order to make her conclusion qualify as a valid conclusion.

Hmm, it seems close. So, let’s not reject choice B.

Now, as a second step, you should analyze the remaining answer choices and see if you can reject them on solid grounds.

2. Reject other answer choices on solid grounds-

• Choice A– Jamal does not question Sasha’s statement regarding our prehistoric ancestors. He is concerned with the use of that statement to derive something about modern-day humans in general. Hence, choice A can be rejected on solid grounds.
• Choice C– Jamal’s argument does not support Sasha’s conclusion. Hence, choice C can be rejected on solid grounds.
• Choice D– As per this choice,
  • Jamal thinks that Sasha has an assumption about our prehistoric ancestors.
    • However, nowhere are we given that Sasha’s statement about prehistoric ancestors is her assumption. Hence, this part of choice D is incorrect.
  • Jamal thinks that this consideration cannot be used to conclude anything about human evolution.
    • That is not what the passage says.
    • Jamal thinks that Sasha’s conclusion is not valid for everyone.
    • However, he does not question whether Sasha’s consideration can be used to arrive at any conclusion at all.
  • Hence, choice D is incorrect for two reasons and can be eliminated on solid grounds.
• Choice E– Jamal compares the level of physical activity of human beings today with that of our prehistoric ancestors. However, he does not compare the health of these two groups of people. Hence, choice E is also incorrect.

Thus, we saw that choices A, C, D, and E can be rejected on solid grounds, and choice B seems to be in line with our analysis. Hence, we can mark choice B with confidence.

Did you select choice D or choice E?

We just saw how important it is to reject incorrect answer choices on solid grounds. If you selected choice D or choice E, then you need to understand why you could not eliminate them.

The most probable reason is that you did not analyze these choices correctly, and as a result, you got carried away by the terms used in these choices. So next time when you solve a question, double-check if you have understood the choice and its impact completely.

The second reason may be that you did not pre-think what the correct answer should convey. Moving to answer choice analysis directly can leave you confused with the sheer variety and amount of information that all answer choices provide, and you may end up picking an incorrect choice because it seems to be having the required impact. Hence, always pre-think what the correct answer choice can be.

Takeaways – Sasha: It must be healthy to follow a diet high…

1. If any question uses a term or phrase that is new to you, try to infer the meaning from the context.
2. Always analyze all answer choices carefully. Trap answer choices may use terms that can confuse you if you are not careful.
3. Always try to pre-think the answer. It helps you understand the correct logic and thus helps in answer choice elimination.

Happy learning!

Kanupriya

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