PrepTest 141, Section 4, 7. Critic: The perennial image of the "city on a hill"...

How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will support the conclusion in the passage.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

it cannot fulfill the purpose of a civic building.

Critic: [BACKGROUND]. [BACKGROUND]. But because [SUPPORT], [CONCLUSION]. [BACKGROUND]. [SUPPORT].

The conclusion brings in "the purpose of a civic building", which isn't mentioned anywhere else, and thus the argument changes the subject. The right answer will have to explain at least a little more about what that purpose actually is.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) ...should, if possible, be located on an elevated site.

Only the background has anything to do with elevation. The conclusion doesn't mention or rely on what's "elevated", so this principle doesn't support it.

(B) A city needs...

Stop. There's nothing about what "a city needs" in the passage, it just implies that it's nice to have "social cohesion".

(C) ...should be located on a spectacular site.

The conclusion doesn't say anything "should" be or make any recommendation, so that's a big red flag. And the "spectacular site" is only mentioned as background, but that bit doesn't end up supporting the conclusion.

(D) ...should be designed in a way that complements...

Again, you only expect conclusions that use a "should" to need support that uses it. There's also nothing about "complements" in the passage. That could map to "cohesion" but in the passage it's specifically "social cohesion". That could be people complementing one another, but not real estate developments.

(E) The purpose of a civic building is to encourage social cohesion...

Boom. This explicitly connects the new wording in the conclusion to the support.

(E) is the correct answer.

Common pattern/s in this question: This becomes a slam dunk as soon as you recognize that the conclusion changes the subject.