Logical reasoning PrepTest 151 · Section 4 · Question 1

Incorrect. Joe states this, but Maria doesn't talk about immortality, so it's out of scope of her statements.

Incorrect. Joe states this, but Maria doesn't talk about how long vampires have existed, so this answer is out of scope of her argument.

Incorrect. Joe believes that vampire stories are based on an absurd set of premises, but that's not the same as "incoherent." Additionally, Maria isn't committed to believing that these stories are coherent, just that one of Joe's facts appears to be wrong.

Incorrect. Maria doesn't talk about the size of the vampire population. Joe only states that the vampire population hasn't almost completely eliminated the human one. This answer is out of scope of both statements.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Facts

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/N/A

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
J: Since vampires live forever, have been around forever, and turn all their victims to vampires, they should have replaced humans by now, so the stories are absurd.

M: In the stories I've read, they only turn some of their victims, killing the rest.

Answer Anticipation:
Joe brings up many different facets of vampire stories, but Maria only focuses on one—what happens to the vampires' victims, so we should dig into any differences there. Joe states that "every victim of a vampire becomes a vampire," whereas Maria states that in the majority of vampire stories she's read, "only a few" victims are turned into vampires. That's a big discrepancy, so let's look for an answer that highlights it as a point at issue.

Answer Explanation:
Joe states this, and Maria brings up the examples she's familiar with where many victims are dead, not vampires. This answer reflects the point at issue between the speakers.

Key Takeaway:
In this stimulus, Maria didn't make an argument. Instead, she just raised a fact that was at odds with something Joe stated. When that happens, you can quickly eliminate answers that deal with other topics and focus on the one that the second speaker raises.