PrepTest 140

Incorrect. This might be the most important function of epic poetry, but it's unsupported to generalize from that to all poetry, even with the modifier ("most" important) stripped out.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Most important goal of epic poetry Ð Transmit values
Method Ð Presenting heroic figures as role models that, if imitated, provide meaning and direction

Answer Anticipation:
This stimulus presents the "most important" goal of epic poetry and the means by which it accomplishes it. The correct answer, therefore, should connect those ideas.

Note that the stimulus says that epic poems "don't" do something—it's unlikely, therefore, that that will feature in the correct answer, as it's unlikely you'll be tasked with making an inference about something that isn't true.

Answer Explanation:
The stimulus notes that transmitting values is the "most important" function of epic poetry, and "[t]his transmission" is accomplished by presenting heroic figures as role models, thus supporting this answer.

Key Takeaway:
When the stimulus of a Must Be True question discusses a specific subset of an overall group (here, epic poetry), be careful that you don't pick an answer choice that generalizes to the wider group! It's an easy way for the LSAT to create a trap answer, as we naturally tend to discount adjectives when thinking about a group.

Incorrect. While epic poems don't explicitly set forth the values they're transmitting, most other types of poems might, so we can't generalize from the stimulus to this answer.

Incorrect. This may be true for those groups that rely on epic poems to transmit values, but there's no indication that this is "many" groups.

Incorrect. While epic poetry does this, there's no indication that it's limited to epic poetry. Just ask any superhero or science fiction fan!