Why (A) is right: closing the gap completely
A Sufficient assumption explanation from our free library. The question below is original, written for this page. Then the full breakdown: why the right answer is right, and why each wrong answer is wrong.
The question
Marina's store sells only handmade goods. Therefore, everything Marina's store sells is expensive.
Which one of the following, if assumed, allows the conclusion to be properly drawn?
- Everything handmade is expensive. Correct
- Most handmade goods are expensive.
- Marina's store is popular with shoppers.
- Handmade goods are often expensive.
- Everything expensive is handmade.
Why (A) is correct
Chain the statements: the store sells only handmade goods, and (A) says everything handmade is expensive. Put them together and every item in the store is handmade, hence expensive. The conclusion follows with nothing left open.
Compare (B) and (D): on sufficient-assumption questions, 'most' and 'often' are classic traps. They sound supportive, but they leave a hole the conclusion could fall through. The right answer is the one that makes the argument airtight.
Why the wrong answers are wrong
(B) Half-right: too weak
'Most' leaves room for exceptions. If some handmade goods are cheap, the store could sell those, and the conclusion would not be guaranteed. Sufficient-assumption answers must close the gap completely.
(C) Out of scope
Popularity does not make anything expensive. This is about a different topic than the price claim.
(D) Half-right: too weak
'Often' is even weaker than 'most.' A conclusion stated as a certainty needs a premise stated as a certainty.
(E) Reversed
This flips the needed link. It says expensive things are handmade, but the argument needs handmade things to be expensive. The arrow points the wrong way.
Last updated October 12, 2026