Logical reasoning PrepTest 114 · Section 4 · Question 25

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
T: Only a novel can show people growing over time and accurately depict life, so short stories are just sketches.

R: Life is a random series of disjointed events, so short stories are more true to life than novels are.

Answer Anticipation:
Tony and Raoul are both discussing novels and short stories, and which is better equipped to accurately reflect life.

Tony believes it's novels, since only they can show someone growing over time, accurately depicting life. Raoul doesn't necessarily disagree that only novels can show growth over time, but he definitely believes that that's not an accurate depiction of life.

Rather, he believes that short stories are more true to life since life is just a "series of disjointed vignettes."

So the two disagree over what more accurately represents life—novels or short stories.

Answer Explanation:
Raoul says that this is the case, so he agrees with this answer. Tony, on the other hand, believes that novels more accurately depict human lives "by" showing people grow over time through a variety of experiences. In other words, the life experiences aren't completely disjointed. This is the point at issue between them, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When a Point at Issue question features dueling comparisons, see which elements show up in both arguments!

Incorrect. It sounds as if the two are in agreement that the form of the two types of writing are different, so this is an answer that they would both seemingly reject.

Incorrect. Tony describes novels in these terms, so he'd agree with this answer. Raoul, however, doesn't really discuss the features of novels. If anything, he accepts Tony's characterization by starting off saying that life doesn't match with how Tony describes novels, not that he's wrong in how he describes them.

Incorrect. Tony believes that short stories are novelist's sketch pads, but he doesn't state that there aren't other forms that serve the same purpose. Raoul doesn't discuss this at all.

Incorrect. Tony doesn't discuss the features of short stories other than that they fail to show personality development over time, so this answer is out of scope of his argument.