PrepTest 121

Incorrect. A quick scan shows us that the conclusion here is comparative ("better off") and lacks that OR connector, so this answer is incorrect.

Incorrect. There's no conditional stating a necessary condition/outcome of the second necessary condition of the opening line, so we can quickly eliminate this answer.

Incorrect. The second conditional has one of the necessary conditions of the first statement as its necessary condition, not its sufficient condition, so this answer is incorrect. (Yes, if you take the contrapositive of the second conditional, then you end up with a statement that has a sufficient condition matching up with the second necessary condition, but if you're taking contrapositive to get things to line up in Parallel Reasoning questions outside of "unless" conditionals, you're probably in the wrong answer choice.)

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Parallel Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Election → Vote OR not Vote
Vote → Satisfaction of knowing you had an impact
not Vote → No right to complain about outcome
Therefore - After election, you will have satisfaction or no right to complain

Answer Anticipation:
This argument is very conditional, so we should diagram it out and look for an answer that matches the diagram. As far as conditionals go, this one is fairly straightforward, with each conditional statement using "if" as it's conditional keyword, so hopefully you didn't have too much of an issue with that diagram.

With it mapped out, we can see that it starts with a conditional that establishes two options. These options are both mutually exclusive (you can't both vote and not vote) and exhaustive (there's no other possible thing to do). From there, it shows that there is a specific outcome associated with each, and then it concludes that when the initial sufficient condition is met, one of those two outcomes will happen. This is a valid argument of the form:
A → B OR C
B → D
C → E
Therefore - A → D OR E

When an argument is this involved and has several elements that are easy to analyze without diagramming the answers, we should quickly scan each answer choice to see if there's an easy way to eliminate it. Let's head in with that in mind and see how quickly we can get through these answers!

Answer Explanation:
A quick scan should lead you to see that this answer has elements that seem to line up well with the argument, so we should diagram it out:
Computer → Messages easily readable OR not Message easily readable
Messages easily readable → Merely password protected
not Messages easily readable → Electronically encrypted
Therefore: Computer → Password protected OR Electronically encrypted

That's the same valid argument structure, so this is the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
These conditional logic-heavy Parallel Reasoning questions can take a long time if you diagram out each answer choice. If you can identify some key elements that you can quickly match up, you should be able to make some eliminations without drawing out a full diagram. Do this when you can!

Incorrect. A quick scan shows that this answer has a conclusion that brings in the wrong ideas. It talks about what "should" happen, whereas the stimulus doesn't. It introduces a new concept ("fines"), and the stimulus doesn't. And it brings in one of the necessary OR conditions of the first conditional, which is also not parallel.