Logical reasoning PrepTest 154 · Section 4 · Question 13

Incorrect. This is impossible; something supported by a premise is a conclusion, even if it's a subsidiary/intermediary conclusion.

Incorrect. Same problem. If something else supports it, it's no longer a premise, it's a conclusion.

Incorrect. This was eliminated when we identified the sentence beginning with "Thus," as the overall conclusion.

Incorrect. The only tempting trap answer here, but this doesn't actually clarify anything about the conditional statement in the conclusion. It simply adds more support for the conclusion

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Argument Structure

Stimulus Summary:
Lindsey has met more melancholy poets than cheerful ones, so if Lindsey's poet friends are a representative sample of poets at large, then writing poetry must cause melancholy. After all, it's apparently common knowledge in Lindsey's world that "an activity as profound and engrossing as writing poetry can be depressing." This isn't a flaw question, but just for fun, notice also the fallacy of causation; it could be the case that a melancholy temperament causes poetry-writing, rather than vice-versa.

Answer Anticipation:
The conclusion is the portion beginning with "thus," so we can eliminate any answer choices regarding the main conclusion. And the statement in question is not supported by any premises, so we can scratch off subsidiary conclusion, too. So it's either a premise or background/unrelated to the argument, depending on whether or not it directly supports the only conclusion in the stimulus. It does seem to do so, making it simply a premise.

Answer Explanation:
Exactly. Just a premise doing what premises do, supporting a conclusion.

Key Takeaway:
Don't overthink it! Sometimes students miss Role questions because they're expecting a complicated answer and become suspicious of a simple one. The cure for this is anticipation. If you know what the correct answer is before you read the answer choices, you can't get lured in by an appealingly wordy trap answer.