PrepTest 118

Incorrect. Considering Sasha starts by saying, "I agree that art should challenge society's values," this answer should have been a relatively easy elimination.

Incorrect. Ariel states this, and Sasha states that democracies allow for challenges to their values, so this is, if anything, a point of agreement.

Incorrect. Ariel believes that artists relying on government subsidies can't express themselves freely, but she doesn't state whether those who don't rely on subsidies can. Sasha only talks about democracies. Therefore, neither speaker has a clear opinion on this answer.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
A: Art should challenge society, but the government controls society and artists can't challenge something they depend on, so government subsidies don't help art.

S: You're right about the purpose of art, but democracies allow dissent, so subsidies in these governments can free artists to express themselves.

Answer Anticipation:
Ariel makes a very strong opening statement—government subsidies "never" help art. That doesn't allow room for any counterexamples. However, Sasha raises one—democracies can subsidize art in a way that benefits it. So the disagreement here is over whether there are any situations in which governments can helpfully subsidize art.

Answer Explanation:
Ariel believes that government subsidies "never" benefit art—even democratic ones—so she'd disagree with this answer. Sasha uses democratic governments as a counterexample to Ariel's conclusion, believing that these governments can helpfully subsidize art, so she'd agree with this. This is therefore the point at issue between the two speakers.

Key Takeaway:
Understanding the method of reasoning for the second speaker can sometimes help to highlight the point at issue in this question type. Here, seeing that Sasha brings up a counterpoint to Ariel's generalization should have highlighted that the generalization was the point at issue.

Incorrect. Neither speaker discusses the fair distribution of subsidies, so this answer is out of scope.