Logical reasoning PrepTest 103 · Section 1 · Question 10

Question prompt

Audiences find a speaker Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Argument or Facts

Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed

Question Type

Weaken Questions

Stimulus Summary

People who argue against their point before making it seem fair-minded and trustworthy, so audiences find their arguments more convincing Recommendation - Politicians should use the technique to win votes

Answer Anticipation

The question stem here tells us that we’re looking to “limit[] the effectiveness” of the recommendation in the stimulus. That tells us that we’ve got a recommendation as the conclusion, and we are trying to weaken it. So what’s the recommendation? Politicians who want to win votes should start their speeches by arguing against their position first, as this makes them seem fair-minded and trustworthy to those listening. What could limit the effectiveness of this method? Well, it requires people listening to the whole speech. If they listen only to the first part, they’ll get the wrong idea about the position that the politician supports. And if they listen only to the second part, they won’t hear the portion that makes them think of the politician as fair-minded and trustworthy. Let’s find any answer suggesting that possibility.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Political candidates typically have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    This answer establishes that coverage of the speech will consist of excerpts that the news media picks. If they excerpt the first part, then people will think the politician supports the opposite viewpoint and they won’t think the politician is fair-minded and trustworthy since they don’t hear support for an opposing point. And if they excerpt the second half, then the voters won’t hear the politician gaining their trust by fairmindedly discussing the opposing view. This answer limits the effectiveness of the recommendation by showing that people won’t experience the full effect of it, making it the correct answer.
  2. B
    Many people do not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The technique recommended is meant to overcome this to make politicians sound convincing by making them seem fair-minded and trustworthy on the issues.
  3. C
    People decide which political Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    The technique is meant to make people think that the politician is fair-minded and trustworthy - parts of the candidate’s character.
  4. D
    People regard a political Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer provides evidence that the technique would lead to people regarding the candidate more favorably, which would help them get votes and thus support the recommendation.
  5. E
    Political candidates have to Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The size of the audience doesn’t affect how the speech will influence individuals within the audience. This answer is out of scope.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 61%
  2. B 7%
  3. C 28%
  4. D 4%
  5. E 0%

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