Logical reasoning PrepTest 119 · Section 4 · Question 9

Incorrect. While the Journalist does believe that there are issues with the marketplace of ideas and the government control of information, characterizing that as "jeopardy" is a bit off. It suggests imminent danger, whereas the Journalist is arguing that the problem is already present.

Incorrect. The Journalist definitely believes this to be true, but she makes a specific note on what needs to be done to make this happen in the conclusion, so this answer isn't specific enough.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Background - A marketplace of ideas is good.
Pivot - The government controls most information released in most countries
Recommendation - The power of government over information needs to be curtailed
Everyone - Governments shouldn't suppress speech
Pivot - Governments have a near monopoly on a lot of information

Answer Anticipation:
This is a pretty complex argument, with many moving parts. As such, we should use what we know about structural words and what types of statements generally make up conclusions to help us along.

The argument starts with a pretty broad pair of statements about the "marketplace of ideas", which it then pivots away from ("however"). This strongly suggests that the initial two sentences aren't part of the Journalist's main argument.

The pivot statement is pretty factual, so it's unlikely to be the main point. This is reinforced by the following sentence starting with, "For this reason," which tells us that the previous sentence is supporting this one. This statement is also a recommendation on what must be done. Recommendations tend to be main points, and this one is structurally indicated as a conclusion, so we have a good candidate for a correct answer at this point.

Moving on, the following statement is a "should" statement, which also tend to be conclusions. However, in this case, it's what "[e]veryone" grants, so it's a baseline view that everyone holds, not a conclusion put forward by the Journalist. It's also pivoted away from ("yet"), showing it's not the main point. That final statement is also one that supports the previous statement we identified as a conclusion to show that the recommendation is dealing with an actual problem.

Therefore, the correct answer/main point is that the power of governments over information needs to be curtailed.

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects the Journalist's recommendation as to a specific change that needs to be made to protect the free marketplace of ideas.

Key Takeaway:
Always rely on what you know about conclusions generally and structural keywords to identify the different elements of an argument faster. In the case of Main Point questions, focusing just on these elements will generally lead you to the correct answer in under a minute, freeing up time for other questions.

Here, noting that a recommendation was introduced with "For this reason" was a key way to quickly identify the conclusion.

Incorrect. This is a (loose) paraphrase of a piece of the background information, not the main point.

Incorrect. This answer paraphrases the final line, which is a premise supporting the contention that this needs to be curtailed.