Logical reasoning PrepTest 148 · Section 3 · Question 26

Incorrect. More popular novel (more A) → More likely made a movie (more likely B)
Most novels aren't made into movies (most not B)
Therefore, a less popular movie . . . and we're out. To match, this conclusion should be about a less popular novel, not a less popular movie.

Incorrect. More popular movie (more A) → More likely based on a novel (more likely B)
Most novels . . . and we're out. This should be about most movies in order to match the stimulus.

Incorrect. This answer doesn't create a more/more likely relationship—instead, it sets up a conditional based on a novel being particularly unpopular. Since it's not parallel in that premise, we can eliminate it without diagramming.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Parallel Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Older → More likely a monarchy
Most countries aren't monarchies
Therefore, newer countries probably aren't monarchies

Answer Anticipation:
So many logic words that could be used to make eliminations . . . except almost every answer choice matches on those metrics. That means we'll have to roll our sleeves up and diagram answers out.

The correct answer should follow the generic form of the argument structure:
More A → More likely B
Most not B
Therefore, something that's less A is probably not B

Answer Explanation:
More popular novel (more A) → More likely made a movie (more likely B)
Most novels aren't made into movies (most not B)
Therefore, unpopular novels (less A) probably won't be made into movies (probably not B).
This answer matches all the pieces of the argument, so it's the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
It's a bit mean to throw a question like this in as the last question in a section, but sometimes you need to roll with the punches. Don't throw out your process just because you may be running short of time—instead, be sure that you stick to the process so you don't waste any time!

Incorrect. More complex novels (more A) → Less likely . . . and we're out. Especially since we already liked (D), there's no reason to keep diagramming an answer choice out that's already worse than one we like.