A finding question about a reported number tests whether a new fact backs up a claim about that number. Read the number and the writer’s claim, then put the claim in a few words. Ask what the number measures and how that differs from what the claim says it stands for. Predict the evidence needed to show that difference is real. A fact can share the topic without showing that the claim about the number holds.
Hints
- Hint 1
Read the researcher’s final sentence and put understate into your own words.
- Hint 2
What does live limit the ratings to? Compare what those ratings measure with the show’s full audience.
Step-by-step
Test what the live count counts
Step 1Put the claim in a few words
The ratings report 3 million live viewers, but the researcher says they understate the show’s true audience. What does understate mean? It means the reported number is lower than the full amount. So we’re testing whether the live figure misses part of the audience, not whether the show is popular.
- Step 2
Set aside details that don’t test the count
Which findings test whether ratings count the show’s true audience? Advertises the show heavily describes an effort to attract viewers, not a viewing result. Landmarks recognizable to many viewers tells us about the episodes, and interviews with the actor tells us about the attention the actor gets. These details don’t show viewing that the live count leaves out.
- Step 3
Find viewing outside the live total
The finding about 1 million views on the network’s streaming platform reports actual watching in the week after each episode airs. Those views happen after the live broadcast, so they aren’t part of the live-viewing figures. That gives evidence of viewing beyond the live count, directly supporting the researcher’s argument. Choice D.