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Verbal·Expression of Ideas·Rhetorical Synthesis

hard

While researching a topic, a student has taken the following notes:

• Malapportionment is the over- or underrepresentation (relative to population size) of electoral districts in a governing body.
• It is a common feature of representative governments.
• There are 169 seats in Norway’s supreme legislature (the Storting).
• Seats are distributed by a formula that awards 1 point per resident and 1.8 points per unit of land.
• Less populated rural districts with large tracts of land receive a disproportionate number of seats compared to smaller but more populated urban districts.

The student wants to refute a claim that malapportionment in the Storting favors small urban districts. Which choice most effectively uses relevant information from the notes to accomplish this goal?

A

Awarding more points per unit of land than points per resident, the formula for distributing Storting seats overrepresents less populated rural districts with large tracts of land.

B

A common feature of representative governments, malapportionment occurs when electoral districts are over- or underrepresented.

C

Less populated rural districts are disproportionally underrepresented in the Storting, creating an unfair advantage for smaller but more populated urban districts.

D

It’s untrue that malapportionment in the 169-seat Storting favors small urban districts; rather, the formula for distributing seats overrepresents more populated districts.