PrepTest 141, Section 2, 1. Editorial: The city has chosen…

How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will support the conclusion without bringing in anything new. That means the same as saying only the right answer must be true if the conclusion is true, but it’s easier for most people to recognize.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

the city selected a contractor 60 percent of whose technicians are unqualified

Editorial: [BACKGROUND]. [SUPPORT]. So [CONCLUSION], [BACKGROUND].

Thankfully there are no answers about whether this “is an outrage”, but you should be clear that’s not part of the conclusion, since there’s no support for that.

You should recognize that “unqualified” in the conclusion is new wording. The support only says who’s “certified”. The author changed the subject, which means they’re assuming these two terms are equivalent.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) There’s nothing in the passage about “higher pay”, so this info couldn’t be required.

(B) This brings in other contractors, but there’s only the one contractor mentioned in the passage.

(C) Boom! This explains that if you “lack certification” that’s the same as being “not qualified”. It perfectly addresses the change in the wording of the conclusion.

(D) There’s nothing in the passage about who “installed” the systems.

(E) There’s nothing in the passage about “personal ties” either.

(C) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: Conclusions change the subject (ie. use new wording) several times in every LR section, and the right answer almost always calls the author out for it.