Explain

In his defense against the accusation of plagiarism, Oscar states that even though he used passages from Myers' book without attribution, Myers gave him permission in private correspondence to do so. In response, Millie explains that one cannot give you permission to plagiarize, since the simple nature of plagiarism, in itself, is that it is wrong and fundamentally a type of lie. She adds that a lie is no less a lie if another person agrees to the deception, therefore, just because Myers may have given permission to the plagiarism, it is still plagiarism. So, in contesting Oscar's position, Millie discusses an aspect of plagiarism in a way that weakens Oscar's argument, i.e. answer choice (A): "analyzing plagiarism in a way that undermines Oscar's position." Hope that clears things up! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

Why is D incorrect?

@Shiyi-Zhang, In the stimulus, Oscar and Millie are arguing about plagiarism. Oscar contends that the accusation that he has committed plagiarism is unwarranted because although he used Myers' work without attribution, Myers gave him permission to do so, so he's in the clear. Millie disagrees, saying that he can't get permission to plagiarize and that it's misleading and a lie, whether or not the other person agrees to it. Oscar is trying to contend that since be received permission from Myers, he's not guilty of plagiarism. Millie counters by asserting that permission doesn't matter when considering whether or not something is plagiarism. She argues that in order not to plagiarize, one must properly attribute the work of others. The question asks, "Millie uses which one of the following argumentative strategies in contesting Oscar's position?" You asked why (D) is wrong. (D) says, "Citing a theory of rights that prohibits plagiarism and suggesting that Oscar is committed to that theory." In the stimulus, Millie makes no mention of a theory of rights. Additionally, even if Millie had mentioned a theory of rights, both Oscar and Millie do not disagree about whether or not plagiarism is bad. What they disagree on is over what actions constitute plagiarism. (D) is descriptively inaccurate, so we can get rid of it. Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any more questions!

Why is C wrong? Is it because Millie is not challenging Oscar's "ability to prove" anything but rather simply challenging the premise that Myers gave Oscar permission to use passages without attribution, i.e., permission to plagiarize?