Like a number of other articles, Ian Raghnalls article relied on a recent survey in which over half the couples applying for divorces listed money as a major problem in their marriages. Raghnalls conclusion from the survey data is that financial problems are the major problem in marriages and an important factor contributing to high divorce rate. Yet couples often express other types of marital frustrations in financial terms. Despite appearances, the survey data do not establish that financial problems are the major problem in contemporary marriages.
Which one of the following sentences best expresses the main point of the passage?
OPTIONS[A]. Financial problems are not an important factor contributing to the divorce rate.
[B]. Marital problems are more easily solved by marriage counsellors than by married couples on their own.
[C]. The conclusion drawn in Raghnall’s article is inadequately justified.
[D]. Over half the couples applying for divorces listed money as a major problem in their marriages.
[E]. Many articles wrongly claim that financial problems are the major factor contributing to the divorce rate.
Explanation:
The author’s whole point is that Raghnall’s conclusion is based on inadequate evidence. The author’s evidence is the alternative explanation he provides for the survey’s results; namely, that couples may blame finances for their marriage problems when finances aren’t the real problem. He uses this alternative explanation to make the point that Raghnall has jumped to conclusions—that she has failed to consider other possible explanations for the survey’s results. Thus, the author believes that Raghnall’s conclusion is inadequately justified.
(A) distorts the argument. The author’s point isn’t so much that financial problems are not a big factor in the breakup of marriages, but rather that Raghnall cannot reasonably conclude that they are without additional evidence.
(B) is outside the scope, a sure sign it’s not the main point. Marriage counsellors have never even been mentioned.
(D) simply restates the evidence, and not even the author’s evidence, but Raghnall’s.
(E) is a subtle misreading. The author does allude to “a number of other articles,’’ but all we know is that these articles relied on the same survey that Raghnall’s did; we don’t know that they necessarily drew the same conclusion that Raghnall did.
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