PrepTest 137

Incorrect. The Principle doesn't discuss evidence, just a belief.

Incorrect. This answer is about Walters' knowledge, whereas the Principle is about Serfin's belief.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Strengthen (Principle)

Stimulus Summary:
P: Professor justified in officially determining plagiarism → Professor believes a student knowingly presented someone else's work without attribution

A: not Professor justified in officially determining plagiarism

Answer Anticipation:
Normally, in these Principle/Application questions, a principle/conditional statement is established, and details are raised in the Application that are related to the sufficient condition but don't actually manage to fully establish it. Here, however, there are no details in the Application—just conclusion!

The difficulty here is getting that Principle correct. The "[o]nly if" is our conditional indicator word, and it introduces a necessary condition. Since this Principle presents a necessary condition to justify an official determination of plagiarism, we need to take the contrapositive to apply it to the Application that features a conclusion that a professor shouldn't make that official determination:

not Professor believes student stole someone's work without attribution →
not Plagiarism determination not justified

Now we just need to find an answer that establishes Professor Serfin doesn't believe Walters stole someone's ideas without attribution.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes that Professor Serfin doesn't believe Walters stole someone's ideas without attribution, so the Principle leads to the conclusion that an official determination of plagiarism shouldn't be made, justifying the Application.

Key Takeaway:
Principle/Application questions tend to establish a Principle and then fail to describe a situation where the sufficient condition of it is met. The correct answer almost always connects the details that are raised about the situation to that sufficient condition. However, in a case like this one where no details are established, just a conclusion, you should find an answer that meets the sufficient condition wholesale.

Incorrect. The Principle cares about the Professor's belief, not the student.

Incorrect. Serfin's intentions don't matter, his beliefs as towards Walters' actions do.