Logical reasoning PrepTest 134 · Section 2 · Question 17

Incorrect. Arguably, people who act spontaneously are imprudent. However, the argument wants to connect imprudence to considered action, so this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. If this is the case, then there's not a connection between imprudence and prudence, as the conclusion calls for.

Incorrect. The conclusion is about prudence/imprudence. It can't be determined if someone is prudent or imprudent based on relative prudence. An imprudent person could still be more prudent than someone else who's completely imprudent.

Incorrect. This answer connects terms that aren't directly related to the conclusion, and the gap is between the premises and conclusion, so this answer is incorrect.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

Stimulus Summary:
People want to be liked
Forming opinions of others only after really getting to know them causes resentment
Therefore — It's imprudent to appear prudent

Answer Anticipation:
In Strengthen with Sufficient Premise questions, there's very frequently a new concept that shows up in the conclusion after not appearing in the premises, and the correct answer connects an idea from the premise to that new concept. Here, however, it appears as if there are two new concepts, as neither "imprudent" nor "prudent" shows up in a premise.

Appears as if there are two new concepts. Because while neither of those terms shows up in the premises, one of them shows up in other terms. In the premises, forming an opinion only after gathering and weighing evidence is noted—that falls under the definition of prudence. So "prudent" isn't a new concept at all!

Now that we've identified the overlap between premise and conclusion, we know that the gap is between the concept of imprudence and something from the premise. Since the conclusion wants to connect imprudence to appearing prudent, we should look to the premises to see what idea is connected to prudence. And the premises connect prudence to causing people to resent you—people who act prudently in weighing evidence before deciding how they feel about someone are generally resented.

So the correct answer here should connect imprudence to breeding resentment.

Answer Explanation:
This answer draws the connection we're looking for. Appearing prudent when judging others generally causes resentment. If it's imprudent to cause resentment, then it's imprudent to appear prudent. This answer justifies the conclusion, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When tackling a Strengthen with Sufficient Premise question, you should look for new concepts in the conclusion. A significant number of questions will have a new concept, and the correct answer will need to connect a concept from the premise to that new one. However, we're not looking for a new term or word—we're looking for a new concept. If the conclusion uses a new word to discuss an idea that was raised in a premise, then it isn't a new concept, and you have to look elsewhere for the gap.