Logical reasoning PrepTest 113 · Section 3 · Question 1

Question prompt

Moralist: TV talk shows Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

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

Argument or Facts

Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Point at Issue Questions

Stimulus Summary

M: TV talk shows show the worst people, making viewers think their behavior is normal, resulting in a moral decline.
TVTSH: We just show people what they want to see! We’re not the cause of the decline. Also, censorship!

Answer Anticipation

When dealing with a Point at Issue question, it’s always important to know what both speakers talk about, and what only one talks about.
Here, both speakers talk about a moral decline, though they disagree with the source of it. The Moralist believes it’s the TV talk shows that cause the moral decline, whereas the TV Talk Show Host believes that the decline is caused by something else, and they’re just catering to the needs of the immoral public.
The TV Talk Show Host also shouts something about censorship, but that’s not addressed at all by the Moralist, so any answer referencing that will be incorrect.

Answer choices

  1. A
    TV talk shows should Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The Talk Show Host is the only one who discusses censorship, so this answer is out of scope of the Moralist’s statements.
  2. B
    people's moral standards have Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The Moralist believes there is a moral decline in the country, so he believes there’s been a shift. The Talk Show Host conditions her statements on “if there is such a decline,” so she’s not committed to agreeing or disagreeing with this statement.
  3. C
    TV talk shows influence Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer serves as the basis for the Moralist’s argument, so he’d agree with it. The Talk Show Host believes that any moral decline is caused by something other than TV talk shows, but that doesn’t mean that she disagrees with this answer. She could believe the moral decline is caused by something else, but that their shows still have the power to reflect the “norm” of society.
  4. D
    TV talk shows, by Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem
    The Moralist states that he believes these shows are causing the moral decline in the country “[b]y” showing the least moral people in society, agreeing with this answer. The TV Talk Show Host believes that any moral decline is “not because of TV talk shows,” disagreeing with this answer. This is the point at issue between the two speakers.
  5. E
    it is wrong not Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The TV Talk Show Host discusses viewer preferences and uses a rhetorical question to imply that she agrees with this answer, but the Moralist doesn’t discuss the morality of letting people decide what to watch, so this answer is out of scope of his statements.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 4%
  3. C 10%
  4. D Credited 77%
  5. E 5%

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