Logical reasoning PrepTest 117 · Section 4 · Question 24

Question prompt

Some people have maintained 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

Argument Structure Questions

Stimulus Summary

Opposing point - Private ownership of the means of production destroys society
Concession - That’s true of less technologically advanced societies
Pivot - Testing new technologies freely requires such private ownership
Conclusion - In a technologically advanced society, public ownership of the means of production is destructive

Answer Anticipation

The statement in question is the opening line, and it’s introduced as what “[s]ome people” believe, so it’s an opposing viewpoint. However, this is question #24 - the correct answer won’t state simply that it’s an opposing point. We therefore need to dig in more to describe the author’s relationship to this viewpoint.
And an important thing to note about it is that second line - the author makes a concession to it. There, she says that the claim made by this viewpoint “may be true” of certain societies before pivoting to discussing a different subset of societies in which the view would be destructive.
So the correct answer should highlight that the opposing viewpoint is one that the author believes does apply in some cases, just not in all cases.

Answer choices

  1. A
    It is a generalization Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    The author argues that the statement in question may apply to less technologically advanced societies, but it’s destructive in technologically advanced ones, so this answer is incorrect.
  2. B
    It is a hypothesis Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The argument doesn’t explain why some people accept the hypothesis - or even that it’s widespread. “Some” people accept it for an unknown reason, so this answer is incorrect.
  3. C
    It is a general Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer highlights the overall structure of the argument, and the statement in question’s role within it. It is a general hypothesis, but the author claims that it “may be true” of less technologically advanced societies where resources need to be shared, and definitely isn’t true of technologically advanced societies (reliant on “test[ing] new technologies). This answer is therefore correct.
  4. D
    It is a contention Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This answer is too broad in saying that the author believes something is true of “any society” - she distinguishes between two types of societies, claiming that the hypothesis may be true in one but isn’t in another.
  5. E
    It is a generalization Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    The argument claims that the claim is true of societies that are less technologically advanced, not the technologically advanced ones that do rely on private ownership to prevent the majority from needing to consent to testing new technology. This answer is more or less the opposite of what the stimulus states.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 9%
  2. B 4%
  3. C Credited 72%
  4. D 7%
  5. E 8%

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Discussion

  • A vs C please 3 replies

    Started by Tyler808

  • Why D and Not C? 4 replies

    Started by iris.diaz823

  • Help 2 replies

    Started by spaul

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