PrepTest 138

Incorrect. Both Alissa and Greta base their argument on what the Mayor says—the city can no longer afford to fund both programs. As such, there's no disagreement over whether funding one necessitates cutting off funding for the other.

Incorrect. Neither speaks to the truthfulness of the Mayor's statements, instead focusing on the implications of them being true and what should be done in that case.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
A: If we have to shut down either the museum or TV programming, then we should shut down the latter since the former is a richer learning experience.

G: The museum reaches fewer people, so it should be shut down.

Answer Anticipation:
Greta's argument is shorter and more straight-forward, so let's work through her statements to see where the disagreement is.

She starts by recommending that the museum's funding should be cut off, not the TV programming. That's the opposite of what Alissa argues for, so this is a point at issue between them.

Greta then brings up that the museum reaches a smaller audience, but Alissa doesn't address the audience size, so this isn't a point at issue. Greta also notes that the Mayor discussed the audience size, but Alissa doesn't discuss the Mayor's reasoning, so it's also out of scope.

The point at issue, then, is the conclusion—Alissa believes that, if one needs to be shut down, it should be the TV programming over the museum, whereas Greta believes the opposite.

Answer Explanation:
Both Alissa and Greta base their argument on the Mayor's contention that the city can't keep funding both TV programming and the museum. They both compare some element of the two in order to reach their conclusion. As such, they disagree over which of the two should be funded at the expense of the other.

Key Takeaway:
For Point at Issue questions, one efficient method is to pick the more straightforward or shorter argument and then work through the individual points to see if the other speaker addresses it, and whether the overlapping topics are a point at issue.

Incorrect. The debate isn't over whether both of these programs are beneficial, but rather which is more beneficial—which should continue to be funded if there's only enough money for one.

Incorrect. Neither speaker argues that either of these programs aren't useful, just that one of them is more useful than the other. As such, neither necessarily believes the museum is a bad educational experience.