PrepTest 141, Section 4, 22. Advertising tends to have a greater…

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

Only the right answer will support the conclusion that there isn’t really a discrepancy.

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

This passage doesn’t have a conclusion

[SUPPORT]. Yet, [CONCLUSION].

It really helps you out to recognize the cause-and-effect confusion between the two statements. The first sentence uses the wording “greater influence” to say ads cause yogurt preferences more than milk preferences. But the “Yet” statement only talks about a correlation between ads and sales of these two dairy products. The right answer will make it clear that some other, bigger cause is responsible for that correlation.

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

(A) …for the chain’s own brand of yogurt as well as for other brands of yogurt.

This brings in other brands of yogurt, which aren’t part of the “Yet” statement. So it needs to be common sense how that info is relevant, otherwise you’re not supposed to be adding in your own reasoning to connect those dots.

(B) The typical shopper…

…isn’t mentioned. We only see “consumer preferences” overall, but no individual shoppers.

(C) …more frequently than other brands of dairy products.

This isn’t even separating milk and yogurt, so it doesn’t help explain a difference between them at all.

(D) Supermarkets throughout the entire nation have experienced a sharp decrease in sales of yogurt recently.

I love every word of this. Besides clearly explaining a much bigger reason why milk is outselling yogurt, it goes out of its way to make sure you know this is happening in the same place and at the same time as the argument.

(E) …purchase whichever brand of milk is least expensive.

Cool story. But the passage never brings up which brand is “least expensive”, so we have no idea whether this is relevant to the “store-brand milk” in the “Yet” statement.

(D) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: Recognizing cause-and-effect helps you anticipate that the right answer will bring in some other cause the author ignored. Pretty much every passage with cause-and-effect will have a right answer about the same cause-and-effect.