Logical reasoning PrepTest 112 · Section 3 · Question 9

Question prompt

I agree that Hogan's Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Main Point Questions

Stimulus Summary

There are a lot of things that make Hogan’s assault look bad, but he thought Winters was a serial robber, so his actions shouldn’t be wholly condemned.

Answer Anticipation

This argument gives us a few new phrases that we can look out for to spot a particularly tricky type of statement - the concession. A concession is a fact that the author of an argument makes to the opposing point before pivoting to her true point.
Here, the first three statements are all concessions. “I agree that,” suggests that the author is going to reach a different conclusion than the people she agrees with on this one point. “And I do not deny,” is similar, showing that the author agrees with something an opposing point said, but probably not in a way that leads to the same conclusion. Same with, “I would not disagree if…” All of these introductory phrases suggest agreement with an opposing point.
This is then reinforced when the stimulus pivots (“But”). And it pivots to the author asking the reader to agree with her on a judgment - that Hogan not be wholly condemned. She then goes on to back this up with support - that Hogan thought the person he beat up was a robber.
So the conclusion here is that Hogan’s actions shouldn’t be wholly condemned. Let’s find that in the answers.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Hogan should not be Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The author concludes that Hogan shouldn’t be held “wholly responsible,” suggesting that some level of responsibility would be appropriate.
  2. B
    The robber who had Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The author never says anything about the robber’s responsibility.
  3. C
    The actions of Hogan Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer more or less directly restates the author’s judgment on Hogan’s actions, so this is the correct answer.
  4. D
    Hogan thought that Winters Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer supports the author’s judgment about Hogan’s actions, so this is a premise.
  5. E
    The actions of Hogan Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    This answer is a concession that the author makes to the opposing point - the implied view that Hogan is wholly responsible for the assault.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 5%
  2. B 1%
  3. C Credited 80%
  4. D 9%
  5. E 4%

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