Logical reasoning PrepTest 138 · Section 3 · Question 8

Incorrect. First, the conclusion is only about birds, not humans—humans feature in the premises, not the conclusion. Second, the conclusion is that evidence for an innate homing sense is inconclusive, not that the evidence disproves that birds have an innate homing sense.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Some claim something, but there's little evidence to support that belief, based on these three premises.

Answer Anticipation:
The Summary is a little reductive, but it's meant to show you how you should be reading the arguments in these Main Point questions—they're not about content, they're about structure. The content/logic can help you analyze what the main point is—especially when there aren't clear structure words or there is an intermediate conclusion—but you should be focused on structure.

Here, the stimulus starts with what "[s]ome claim." A claim introduced in such a way is almost always an opposing point, which is reinforced in this specific case by the argument pivoting from it ("However") to an opinion of this view ("little evidence to support this belief."). The author's opinion of the opposing point is almost always the main point, and everything that follows has a premise indicator word introducing it ("since", "After all," "and"—the last of which suggests the role is the same as the preceding statement).

So the argument has an opposing point, the author's judgment towards that point, and several premises supporting it, making the main point that pivot statement. However, since it refers back to an earlier idea, we should take a second to rephrase it to highlight what it means—There's little evidence to support the belief that migratory birds have an innate homing sense.

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights the conclusion—that evidence supporting an innate homing sense in birds is inconclusive. If it's inconclusive, then there's little reason as of now to accept it (though that may change with future evidence).

Key Takeaway:
For Main Point questions that fall into common patterns and have clear structure words, don't be shy about focusing just on that structure, thinking less about the logic and content. After all, if the structure lets you determine the main point without diving into the logic, you'll probably get the right answer faster.

Incorrect. Studies will generally be support, not conclusion, and these studies are specifically introduced with a premise indicator word ("since").

Incorrect. This answer combines the statements about a homing sense and a landmark-navigation sense, and it is also too definitive since the argument only concludes evidence for a claim is inconclusive.

Incorrect. This answer is an implication of the argument, but not the main point of it since it doesn't reflect the author's opinion of the opposing point—it supports that judgment.