PrepTest 133

Incorrect. This argument's premise is about a proportion increase, not a number increase as was in the stimulus, so it's not a match.

Incorrect. The premise here is about a characteristic, not a group that's increasing in size, so this answer isn't parallel.

Incorrect. This answer shifts between key terms, from a group studying to a group being studious, not in size (more students, more tickets).

Incorrect. The premise here is about variety—a higher number of types of fruit—and so it doesn't match up.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Flawed Parallel Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Police in college towns issue more tickets during the school year than when students are off, so most tickets go to students.

Answer Anticipation:
For Flawed Parallel Reasoning questions, it's important to understand either the flaw or the structure of the argument in order to find the correct answer. So if you can't spot the flaw in an argument such as this one, then at least understand how the argument flows and what pieces are relevant. In doing so, you can also frequently unlock an understanding of the flaw!

Here, the argument states that the number of tickets handed out is far higher when students are in town than when they're not in town. From that, it concludes that those tickets are going to the students.

That's flawed because it's ignoring other possibilities—maybe the tickets are going to a different group. Professors/administrators are also around during the school year. More cops could be patrolling because of the increased population, noticing locals parked illegally that they'd otherwise miss.

Whatever you want to call that flaw, the argument is flawed because it shows that a group is correlated with an increase in something, and then it concludes that that group is receiving that increase. The correct answer should do the same.

Answer Explanation:
Finally, we have our answer. When there are more of other people's children around (parallel to the students during the school year), there are more snacks given out (parallel to more tickets). From this, this answer concludes that those snacks are going to other people's children, just as the stimulus concludes that the tickets are going to the students.

Key Takeaway:
Even if you can't precisely define the flaw in the argument as one of the classic flaws, identifying the elements that lead to the flaw can still get you to the correct answer.