Logical reasoning PrepTest 135 · Section 4 · Question 12

Question prompt

The best jazz singers 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

A generalization comparing two phenomena is made. Those two phenomena are then explored individually to show how they relate. Then, a conclusion is drawn based on that generalization.

Answer Anticipation

The statement in question is the first statement of the stimulus, and it’s a generalization that compares jazz singers and horn players. The stimulus then discusses jazz singers and horn players and how they compare, so the generalization receives support from this discussion (making it some type of conclusion).
The argument then ends with a conclusion, and the conclusion sums up the comparisons and generalization, making it the main conclusion. We can tell this is the main conclusion in two ways. First, the examples provided are better support for the generalization (e.g., the “great” Billie Holiday supporting a generalization about the best singers) than the last statement. Second, the generalization makes more sense as support for the final statement than the other way around.
So the correct answer will highlight that the statement in question is an intermediate conclusion.

Answer choices

  1. A
    It is the argument's Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    While this answer choice does generally describe the structure of the argument, it puts the statement in question in the wrong role, as the main conclusion instead of as the subsidiary conclusion. This would be a trap answer if you had determined that the first statement was the main conclusion, supported by the last statement in the stimulus.
  2. B
    It is the argument's Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Since the last sentence starts with, “So…” even if you didn’t correctly determine which conclusion was subsidiary to the other, you should have ruled out this answer stating that there’s only one conclusion.
  3. C
    It is a statement Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    This answer choice is the generic, long-form description of an intermediate conclusion, so it’s the correct answer (and would be in any question where the statement being asked about is an intermediate conclusion).
  4. D
    It is a statement Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    First, there are two conclusions, not “only” one, as this answer suggests. Second, it’s a generalization that has some specific examples discussed to support it, so there is evidence to support it.
  5. E
    It is a statement Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    For this answer to be correct, the generalization would have to be used as support for the specific examples that demonstrate the truth of it, which isn’t how arguments work!

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 12%
  2. B 4%
  3. C Credited 75%
  4. D 5%
  5. E 4%

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