PrepTest 139

Incorrect. While the argument might lead to the conclusion that it'd be fine for Roxanne not to finish the report, it doesn't justify the conclusion that it would be wrong for her to finish it. The analogous situation reached the conclusion that something wouldn't be wrong.

Incorrect. The analogous situation features someone not fulfilling a promise, so this answer about doing so isn't parallel and thus doesn't complete the argument.

Incorrect. This answer reaches a conclusion that an act would be wrong, whereas the analogous situation featured a conclusion that something wasn't wrong.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Argument Completion

Stimulus Summary:
Analogous situation - If you promise to meet for lunch but get sick, your friend wouldn't expect you to keep the promise, so it wouldn't be wrong not to show.

Argument situation - Roxanne promised to finish a report but the deadline was pushed back.

Answer Anticipation:
This argument relies on an analogy to drive to the conclusion (as Argument Completion questions often do—analogies and other types of comparisons). As such, we need to line up the elements to see what's "missing" from the argument's situation and then see what the analogy tells us about those elements.

Here, the situations are set up analogously—a promise is made, but then the situation is changed. That's where the argument's situation (Roxanne/Luke) ends. The analogous situation goes on to say that, based on the change, the promisee would no longer expect the promise to be kept, and so it wouldn't be wrong not to keep it. So we're looking for an answer that lines up with that—if Luke wouldn't expect Roxanne to keep her promise and finish the report, then it wouldn't be wrong for her not to finish that report.

Answer Explanation:
Just as the friend didn't expect you to show up for lunch and thus fulfill your promise if ill and so it wouldn't be wrong for you not to show for lunch, if Luke wouldn't expect Roxanne to finish the report and thus fulfill her promise and so it wouldn't be wrong for her not to finish the report.

Key Takeaway:
Look for comparisons and analogies in Argument Completion questions, as they frequently form the basis for the argument that you're tasked with completing. When the argument relies on an analogy, "line up" the elements on each side of the analogy to see what's going to show up in the conclusion—it'll likely be a piece that's missing in one half of the analogy.

Incorrect. The analogous situation reaches a conclusion that something wouldn't be wrong, not that it would be, so this answer doesn't complete the analogy.