Logical reasoning PrepTest 125 · Section 2 · Question 8

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Illustration

Stimulus Summary:
Digital documents don't generate as much waste as paper documents, but they're significantly easier to accidentally delete or lose forever.

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus presents a single technology and explores an upside (less waste) and downside (easier to lose). The correct answer should reflect this "pro/con" situation.

Answer Explanation:
The stimulus does discuss a property of digital technology—the ephemeral nature/being made up of electronic signals. It's an advantage in that it creates less waste. It's a disadvantage in that it's therefore easier to lose forever. This answer reflects the pro/con nature of the stimulus, so it's correct.

Key Takeaway:
Two takeaways.

First, note that we eliminated two answers because they drew a judgment, whereas the stimulus didn't ((B) and (C)). For Illustration questions, note whether there's a judgment made and, if not, don't pick an answer with one!

Second, note that one reason to eliminate answer choice (E) is that it doesn't fully encompass the stimulus—it's missing the noted downside. Illustration questions need answers that fully reflect the stimulus.

Incorrect. While the stimulus does start with a benefit and then move to a downside, it never makes a judgment as to whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa.

Incorrect. Accessibility is out of scope, as the stimulus never mentions it. The stimulus also doesn't rank the importance of different features of digital documents, so this answer is out of scope on two fronts.

Incorrect. Assuming that digital technology is an innovation in document storage technologies, the stimulus notes that it risks being destroyed forever, so there's no indication that this advancement decreased these risks.

Incorrect. First, the stimulus doesn't discuss convenience (and losing a digital document is decidedly inconvenient, as anyone who has lost a day of work when they're computer crashed can tell you). Second, this answer doesn't discuss the downside mentioned in the stimulus, missing a key element.