Logical reasoning PrepTest 135 · Section 4 · Question 25

Question prompt

Lutsina: Because futuristic science 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/Argument

Valid or Flawed

Flawed/Flawed

Question Type

Point at Issue Questions

Stimulus Summary

L: SciFi writers envision new social realities, so they are better at social criticism than conventional fiction writers.
P: But they mostly focus on new technology, not new social realities. Effective social criticism comes from presenting social realities accurately, so conventional fiction writers are better at it.

Answer Anticipation

The two reach opposing conclusions as to what group of writers are better at social criticism, so that’s potentially a correct answer. Both agree that SciFi writers can envision radically new social arrangements, but they disagree over how much this actually happens, with Priscilla thinking that it’s much less common than Lutsina does. Lutsina thinks social criticism derives from envisioning new social realities, whereas Priscilla believes it derives from faithfully presenting current society. These are three areas that could lead to a correct answer, so let’s stay flexible.

Answer choices

  1. A
    some science fiction writers Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Even Lutsina only talks about envisaging new social arrangements, not “convincing” new arrangements. That said, even Priscilla leaves open the possibility that some writers have created convincing new social arrangements by stating that they’re more skillful at something else instead of that they fail at that goal.
  2. B
    writers of conventional fiction Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    The debate is over writing in a manner that serves as social criticism, whereas this answer is about overall skill, so this answer is out of scope.
  3. C
    futuristic science fiction has Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Lutsina concludes that futuristic science fiction has more promise than conventional fiction for social criticism; Priscilla concludes that the most effective social criticism comes from something that “happens in conventional fiction.” They’re committed to disagreeing over this answer, with Lutsina agreeing with it and Priscilla believing the opposite.
  4. D
    envisaging radically new technologies Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Lutsina doesn’t talk about science fiction’s envisioning of new technology, its relative frequency versus envisioning new social arrangements, or whether this would be a shortcoming, so it’s out of scope of her argument. Even Priscilla might not agree that this is a shortcoming of science fiction, just that it might suggest it’s not the source of social criticism Lutsina believes.
  5. E
    criticism of current social Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Lutsina would disagree with this answer. Priscilla, however, has no stated opinion since she believes that science fiction generally doesn’t present radically different social arrangement.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 7%
  2. B 4%
  3. C Credited 77%
  4. D 7%
  5. E 5%

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