PrepTest 114

Incorrect. The stimulus talks about what mystery stories "often" include, so this answer about "[m]ost" mystery stories is incorrect. "Often" could mean in 42% of them!

Incorrect. While readers are given a chance to solve the mystery, there's no indication how frequently they actually do or what about the story allows them to do so.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Mysteries have a bumbling companion who reaches bad conclusions and a brilliant detective who solves the crime. This lets readers try to solve the mystery while still misdirecting them.

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus is really hard to form an anticipation for. It generally describes some features of mystery novels and how they play into the reader experience. The correct answer could generalize from these statements (e.g., "Some novels . . ."), or it could rely on a single one to lead to the correct answer. Since we can't know, let's head straight to the answers so we have plenty of time to analyze the details.

Answer Explanation:
The stimulus notes that the readers have "a chance" to solve the mystery in certain mystery novels (the ones that have a detective and a bumbling sidekick), meaning that they must have enough clues for the readers to infer that solution. This answer is supported by the stimulus and its logical force matches the weak logical force there, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
When you have a Must Be True question that seems to defy anticipating the answer, it's generally because the statements don't have clear inferences and aren't strong enough to support large conclusions. As such, be wary of strong(er) answers in these questions!

Incorrect. There's no discussion of a diversion from the dull companion, nor of it coming at the hands of the detective, so this answer is incorrect.

Incorrect. The stimulus only lets us know that this companion infers inaccurate solutions, not that he discovers the clues himself.