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Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.
Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?
  • a)
    Motivation to learn can be improved at home, during time spent with parents.
  • b)
    The degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom.
  • c)
    Showing a student how to be motivated is insufficient; the students must also accept responsibility for his or her decisions.
  • d)
    Unmotivated students do not perform as well in school as other students.
Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?
Verified Answer
Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the resu...
(B) posits that the author has confused a cause with an effect-that bad attendance causes bad motivation. That's reversal of causality, one of the classic weakeners. (B) is the correct answer. (A) suggests that parents can be vital to the development of motivation, but this has no direct link to attendance, so it doesn't weaken the argument. (C) is a 180. It agrees with the parents' position that a stricter policy will not lead to increased learning, the very position you are asked to weaken, so it doesn't have any effect; the parents aren't looking for the school to tighten attendance policies, so finding out that such tightening won't increase their motivation does nothing to the parents' argument. (D) introduces the idea of accepting responsibility, which sounds like a good thing overall but has no direct bearing on improving attendance. Finally, (E) mentions that unmotivated students have poorer performance, but the parents are only interested in ways to get students to improve their attendance, not their performance in school. Choice (B) is correct.
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Most Upvoted Answer
Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the resu...
Weakness in Option B:
Option B weakens the parents' argument because it suggests that the amount of time spent in the classroom directly affects a student's degree of interest in learning. If this is true, then poor attendance could indeed be a significant factor contributing to poor motivation.

Explanation:
Parents' Argument:
The parents argue that poor attendance is a result of poor motivation. They believe that if students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will follow. They also suggest that the administration should focus less on stricter attendance policies and more on increasing students' motivation to learn.

Relevance of Option B:
Option B weakens the parents' argument by highlighting the importance of classroom time in developing a student's interest in learning. If the amount of time spent in the classroom directly affects a student's level of motivation, then it suggests that poor attendance could indeed be a significant factor contributing to poor motivation.

Explanation of Option B:
Option B states that the degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom. This implies that students who have poor attendance may not have ample opportunity to develop a strong interest in learning. Therefore, their motivation might be negatively impacted by their lack of classroom involvement.

Impact on the Parents' Argument:
This weakens the parents' argument because it suggests that poor attendance itself could be a cause of poor motivation. If students are not present in the classroom, they may miss out on important learning experiences and interactions that could foster their interest in learning. Consequently, this weakens the parents' claim that poor motivation is solely responsible for poor attendance.

Conclusion:
Option B effectively weakens the parents' argument by highlighting the importance of classroom time in developing a student's interest in learning. If students do not spend enough time in the classroom, their motivation may be negatively affected, which undermines the parents' claim that poor motivation is the sole cause of poor attendance.
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Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?a)Motivation to learn can be improved at home, during time spent with parents.b)The degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom.c)Showing a student how to be motivated is insufficient; the students must also accept responsibility for his or her decisions.d)Unmotivated students do not perform as well in school as other students.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?
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Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?a)Motivation to learn can be improved at home, during time spent with parents.b)The degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom.c)Showing a student how to be motivated is insufficient; the students must also accept responsibility for his or her decisions.d)Unmotivated students do not perform as well in school as other students.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? for GMAT 2024 is part of GMAT preparation. The Question and answers have been prepared according to the GMAT exam syllabus. Information about Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?a)Motivation to learn can be improved at home, during time spent with parents.b)The degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom.c)Showing a student how to be motivated is insufficient; the students must also accept responsibility for his or her decisions.d)Unmotivated students do not perform as well in school as other students.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer? covers all topics & solutions for GMAT 2024 Exam. Find important definitions, questions, meanings, examples, exercises and tests below for Parents of high school students argue that poor attendance is the result of poor motivation. If students' attitudes improve, regular attendance will result. The administration, they believe, should concentrate less on making stricter attendance policies and more increasing students' learning.Which of the following, if true, would most effectively weaken the parents' argument?a)Motivation to learn can be improved at home, during time spent with parents.b)The degree of interest in learning that a student develops is a direct result of the amount of time he or she spends in the classroom.c)Showing a student how to be motivated is insufficient; the students must also accept responsibility for his or her decisions.d)Unmotivated students do not perform as well in school as other students.Correct answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?.
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