Logical reasoning PrepTest 139 · Section 1 · Question 25

Incorrect. This answer restates a connection already made in the premises ("and in this way . . . "), and it doesn't connect to the conclusion, so it's incorrect.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen with Sufficient Premise

Stimulus Summary:
Background - Folktale = traditional, entertaining story
Counterpoint - Folktales lack deeper meaning
Rebuttal - Folktales are passed down and added to, providing insight into a culture's wisdom
Conclusion - Folktales have deeper meaning

Answer Anticipation:
This argument starts with a bit of background and an opposing point ("may lead some to think"). It then pivots ("But") to the author's opinion of this opposing point, which is almost certainly the main point of the argument. When the main point calls back to an earlier point, it's important to rephrase that conclusion to say what it really means.

Here, stating that the opposing point "isn't the case" is saying that it's wrong. Since that viewpoint concludes that folktales lack deeper meaning, the Critic must believe that they have deeper meaning.

What's this based on? A few considerations, but they build on each other to eventually say that folktales provide insight into a culture's wisdom. That's the justification for the conclusion that they have deeper meaning, but the argument never connects those ideas.

So to justify it, we need to find an answer that connects those ideas:

If something provides insight into a culture's wisdom, then it has deeper meaning.

Answer Explanation:
This answer connects the premise to the conclusion. Folktales provide insight into a culture's wisdom. If, as this answer states, that means it is in some way deeply meaningful, then the conclusion that they have deeper meaning is justified.

Key Takeaway:
For Strengthen with Sufficient Premise questions, focus on new terms in the conclusion. Here, the entire conclusion was a new term! As such, that term needed to be connected to the premise, so we could dive into those to see what the author believed supported the conclusion, and then find that connection in the answer choices.

Incorrect. This answer is about tales that lack deeper meaning, so it's not going to help justify a conclusion that folktales have a deeper meaning.

Incorrect. This answer is a reversal of the connection we're looking for, going from the conclusion to the premises instead of the other way around.

Incorrect. First, the stimulus never notes that folktales are told primarily for entertainment, just that they're told in an entertaining manner. That could be secondary to another purpose. Second, this answer only establishes that they might have deeper meaning, whereas the conclusion is that they do have deeper meaning (i.e., it's not the case that they lack deeper meaning, which means they don't lack deeper meaning).