In a necessary-assumption question, what is true of the correct answer?

• A. It must be true for the argument to work.
• B. It could be false and the argument might still work.
• C. It is an additional supporting example.
• D. It would be sufficient to prove the conclusion.

Answer: (A)

A necessary assumption is something the argument must take as true for the conclusion to follow. If that condition were false, the argument would fail, so it’s not optional or merely extra support. This differs from a sufficient condition, which would by itself guarantee the conclusion if true. It also isn’t about adding an example or other supporting details. So the correct choice is the statement that must be true for the argument to work.