Logical reasoning PrepTest 111 · Section 3 · Question 6

Question prompt

The student body at Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

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

Flawed Parallel Reasoning Questions

Stimulus Summary

Student body - Takes classes in a variety of disciplines
Miriam - In the student body
Therefore - Miriam takes classes in a variety of disciplines

Answer Anticipation

This argument starts by discussing a group - the student body at a university. It then moves on to discussing an individual within the group - Miriam. Whenever an argument is talking about a group and a member of that group, you should start by considering a Parts vs. Whole flaw.
Here, the argument establishes, as a premise, a characteristic of the student body. It then goes on to establish that Miriam is a member of that group, before it concludes that she has the same characteristic. That’s a jump between what is true of a whole to what is true of a part of the whole - a Whole to Part flaw. Here, while the student body may take a variety of classes, Miriam’s might be completely concentrated in the discipline that she’s majoring in. To see a parallel example that might be clearer, just because the student body is from a wide variety of states doesn’t mean any individual student is from a wide variety of states!
Let’s look for an answer that similarly applies a characteristic of a group to a member of that group. And let’s also be careful to avoid answers that do the reverse - jump from a characteristic of an individual to saying that a group of which that individual is a member also has that characteristic.

Answer choices

  1. A
    The students at this Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    This answer might be tempting, but the language is subtly different from the stimulus in a way that makes this valid. The opening premise here establishes that all students at the school take math, and so Miguel does take math, as he’s a student there.
  2. B
    The editorial board of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    This answer establishes that a group - the editorial board - has written on many legal issues. It then establishes that Louise is a part of that group, and it concludes that she has that same characteristic. That’s the same Whole to Part jump as in the stimulus, so this is the correct answer. It’s possible that Louise writes only on First Amendment issues, and the other editors also write on specific issues, thus allowing the Board to cover multiple topics while each member covers only a single one.
  3. C
    The component parts of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer jumps from what is true of the parts (the components) to what is true of the whole (the bulldozer). (It’s also arguably valid, as weight is a characteristic that can translate from the parts to the whole.)
  4. D
    All older automobiles need Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer doesn’t talk about a group and members of the group. Instead, it features an illegal negation - all old cars need frequent oil changes; this new car isn’t old, so it doesn’t require frequent oil changes.
  5. E
    The individual cells of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer does feature a Parts vs. Whole flaw, but it goes from the parts (the cells) to the whole (the brain), so it’s not the same flaw as in the stimulus.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 11%
  2. B Credited 83%
  3. C 3%
  4. D 1%
  5. E 2%

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Discussion

  • A vs B 1 reply

    Started by Abigail-Okereke

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