Logical reasoning PrepTest 112 · Section 4 · Question 9

Question prompt

Manuscripts written by first–time 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

Valid

Question Type

Parallel Reasoning Questions

Stimulus Summary

~Celebrity AND First-time author → Generally don’t get serious attention from publishers
The Author: ~Celebrity AND First-time author
Therefore - Her manuscript is unlikely to get serious attention from publishers

Answer Anticipation

The argument here starts with a conditional (“except”), though it does include a logical force word that makes it less than certain. However, we got around that by including that keyword (“generally”) in the necessary condition. It’s a bit of a cheat, but as long as we keep track of it, we can find an answer that lines up and still use the structure that conditional logic provides!
With that noted, we can see that there are two sufficient conditions that, together, guarantee an author generally won’t get serious attention - they’re a first-time author who isn’t a celebrity.
After that, the Author establishes that she meets those sufficient conditions. From there, she concludes that she’s unlikely to be taken seriously. Note that the “unlikely” matches up with the “generally” - they’re both talking about what is probable.
So we’re looking for an answer that has a conditional premise with two sufficient conditions (linked with AND) and a necessary condition that talks about a probability. It then establishes that the two sufficient conditions are present in a specific case, and then it concludes that the necessary condition is also present, matching the modality of it. Let’s find an answer that does the same.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Challengers generally do not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The conclusion here is what may happen, not what is unlikely to happen. That shift in logical force is enough to invalidate this answer.
  2. B
    Fruit salad that contains Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    ~2+ exotic fruits AND Contains bananas → Ordinarily boring

    This fruit salad: Contains bananas AND ~2+ exotic fruits

    Therefore - Probably boring

    That’s the same structure, and it includes words that match the logical force of the stimulus (“Ordinarily” means that it’s the expectation, showing that it’s probable but not necessarily definite). It is therefore the correct answer.
  3. C
    Thursday's city council meeting Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    The rule established here has a single sufficient condition, so it’s not parallel to the stimulus.
  4. D
    The bulk of an Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    The “otherwise” here creates a different logical structure than the stimulus. (If you’re wondering, “otherwise” means, “If the sufficient condition doesn’t happen.”)
  5. E
    Normally about 40 percent Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The conclusion here is certain - the Author states that it “was not” unusually mild. The stimulus was less certain, so there’s a difference in the logic.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 13%
  2. B Credited 60%
  3. C 12%
  4. D 11%
  5. E 4%

Deeper help

Ask follow-ups on any step

Optional AI tutor mode will let you interrogate assumptions, compare answers, and drill weak patterns without leaving the page.

Human-written explanations stay primary; AI is an add-on when you want it.

Discussion

View all discussions Start a discussion