PrepTest 119

Incorrect. While writers are a subset of artists, the argument establishes as a premise that the characteristic true of artists is "particular[ly]" true of writers, so it doesn't make this jump.

Incorrect. The argument does state that great artists only "generally" have this characteristic. However, first, that doesn't line up with this answer's "sometimes"—"generally" is a most statement. Second, the argument doesn't use this premise to conclude that all artists have the characteristic—she goes a step beyond that in concluding that greater talent translates directly to greater observational skills.

Incorrect. The argument specifically discusses both social and political arrangements, so this answer is incorrect.

Incorrect. This answer inverts the argument. It assumes that most great artists can, not that others can't.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Errors in Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Great artists/writers can discern the basic sociopolitical arrangements of their societies. Therefore, the better the writer, the more apt their observations.

Answer Anticipation:
The conclusion of this argument discusses a very specific type of relationship—a directly proportional one. In this type of relationship, the two elements are tied together—one increasing leads to the other increasing in kind.

To prove such a relationship takes a lot of evidence. The reason for this is that it has to be shown that the relationship exists along the entire spectrum of each thing in the relationship. One can't slow down or max out if the other doesn't—they have to always be aligned. Just showing that the two things tend to go together isn't enough to establish this relationship.

Short version—A directly proportional relationship is a very specific and strong comparison, and a correlation between two things isn't enough to prove it.

Answer Explanation:
This answer describes the shift between the correlation between two characteristics in the premises and the conclusion about the two being directly proportional, so it's correct.

Key Takeaway:
Be on the lookout for directly proportional relationships (or inversely proportional ones—as one goes up, the other goes down). These are very specific comparative relationships that are hard to prove, so they usually factor into the correct answer.