June 2007 PrepTest, Section 2, Question 1

The first sentence is background information. The next sentence tips you off that it’s probably the conclusion with something like, “but that’s wrong.” We can verify that it is the main conclusion by looking at the next sentence (if the other sentences all provide support for it (or are background information), then it’s the main conclusion). As it turns out, the next sentence does support the idea that not all productivity increases are good: Increasing productivity sometimes decreases the number of employees, which harms all employees (past and current).