PrepTest 137

Incorrect. First, this argument reverses the logic in the stimulus, going from the conclusion to the premises. Second, the conclusion is that sales don't mark the success of an underground group, so this answer—stating that mediocre sales do mark the success of an underground group—runs counter to that.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Principle (Strengthen)

Stimulus Summary:
Music sells well—Maybe it's too trendy to be underground
Music sells poorly—Maybe it's just bad
Conclusion: Sales don't determine success as an underground band

Answer Anticipation:
The Music Critic starts off with her conclusion (the "After all" following it indicates it as such) before digging into two possible worlds of sales that an underground group's recording might live in.

If it sells well, it's possible the group sold out and wrote something too trendy to be considered underground. If it sells poorly, maybe the group is just bad. In either case, argues the Critic, the sales don't tell us anything about the band's success as an underground group.

However, the Critic never connects these ideas to the conclusion—there's no indication that writing trendy music or being bad doesn't say something about a band's success as an underground group. The correct answer, therefore, should connect the ideas:

If an underground group is incompetent or too trendy, then it fails as an underground group.

Answer Explanation:
This answer connects the premises, which established two possible worlds (sell well/trendy; well poorly/incompetent), to the conclusion, where sales didn't determine success. By drawing a connection from the premises to the conclusion, this answer justifies the Critic's argument.

Key Takeaway:
Principle (Strengthen) questions sometimes get a bit silly with how bluntly they connect the premises to the conclusion. But this is what the question asks you to do, so don't shy away from such a blunt answer.

Incorrect. The only criteria we know many underground musicians consider desirable is for a recording to not sell well, so this answer could be rephrased as, "Whether an underground group's recordings sell poorly is not a mark of that group's success." First, that completely ignores the part of the argument about selling well. Second, it connects poor sales to success, not success as an underground group. For those two reasons, we can eliminate this answer.

Incorrect. The scenario raised here—a competent but poor-selling recording—isn't mentioned by the Critic, so this answer doesn't justify the conclusion.

Incorrect. The argument is that sales aren't a mark of success as an underground band, so other things not being a mark of success, as well, won't justify that conclusion.