Logical reasoning PrepTest 139 · Section 4 · Question 7

Incorrect. This answer establishes that the two groups didn't overlap, but that doesn't weaken the argument—if anything, that makes the correlation stronger. That said, this is a common incorrect answer on Strengthen/Weaken questions—you should generally dismiss it.

Incorrect. Without tying the amount of time it takes to experience a novel to enjoyment, this answer is out of scope.

Incorrect. This answer applies equally to both groups, so it doesn't weaken an argument about a difference between them.

Incorrect. The novel in question does, and the conclusion only applies to novels that exist in both forms, so the frequency that a novel has both a text and audio version is out of scope.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Weaken

Stimulus Summary:
Survey results:
(1) Listened to novel - Over 50% enjoyed it
(2) Read novel - Under 50% enjoyed it
Conclusion - Listening to a novel makes you more likely to enjoy it than reading it.

Answer Anticipation:
When an argument starts with a survey, we should start by considering a sampling flaw, and a correlation/causation flaw.

For the sampling flaw, the stimulus compared people who had listened to a novel to those who had read it. The conclusion is about people who read a novel and people who listened to it, so there's no leap there. Maybe the magazine's readers are unrepresentative of the population as a whole, or the sample was too small, but there's no indication of this, so an answer would have to specifically note this for it to be correct.

This is where we'd normally draw the line on a sampling flaw, moving to our consideration of a correlation/causation flaw. However, there's another element of the sample here that we have to consider. The survey asked about a single novel, but the conclusion is about novels generally. When the sample size is 1, there's a very good chance it's unrepresentative. Here, it's possible this novel is unrepresentative of novels generally, and any answer suggesting that will weaken this argument.

For the correlation/causation flaw, the conclusion here isn't causal ("more likely" isn't causal, but rather a correlation), so this flaw isn't present.

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights a relevant difference between this novel and most other novels, thus suggesting that the sample here—the novel, not the respondents—is unrepresentative.

Key Takeaway:
While most sampling flaws address the people being asked a question in a survey, if they're only asked about a single example, that topic can be unrepresentative, as well. If the conclusion is broader than the survey questions would cover, then there's just as much a sampling flaw as when the respondents are unrepresentative of the group in the conclusion.