Sign in
VerbalCritical Reasoning

Free GMAT Critical Reasoning Practice Question

PrepLattice is an independent test-preparation service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by GMAC, the organization that administers the GMAT. GMAT and GMAT Focus are trademarks of GMAC, used here only to name the exam this question is designed to prepare you for.

A manufacturer argues as follows: A reshoring plan succeeds only if the new domestic plant reaches full output within a year. Our rivals' reshoring plans all failed to reach full output within a year. Our plan, by contrast, is on track to reach full output within a year. Therefore our reshoring plan will succeed. Which of the following most accurately describes a flaw in the manufacturer's reasoning?

Five fresh questions every day, your progress tracked, every miss explained. Free with an account.

Answer & Explanation

Correct answer

A

The argument states that reaching full output within a year is required for success: that is a necessary condition. From the fact that the firm is on track to meet that condition, the argument concludes that success is assured. But a necessary condition is not automatically sufficient. Meeting it removes one obstacle, yet it does not guarantee the outcome, since other things could still derail the plan.

(A) names this necessary-treated-as-sufficient slip, so (A) is correct. Each other choice names a real flaw type that this argument does not commit. (B) describes hasty generalization, but the conclusion is only about this one firm's plan. (C) describes false analogy, but the argument explicitly separates the firm's situation from the rivals' rather than treating them as alike. (D) describes an attack on the rivals themselves, but the argument only reports the neutral fact that their plans failed; it never criticizes them personally. (E) describes a key term shifting meaning between premises and conclusion, but both "success" and "full output within a year" keep one stable meaning throughout. Only (A) matches the flaw the argument actually contains.