PrepTest 140

Incorrect. This answer is a fact presented about a specific group to show that the claim in the opposing point is limited to a smaller-than-a-majority group, and thus is false. As such, it's a premise and not the main point of the argument.

Incorrect. This is an explanation of Barrett's esophagus, which is presented as a "fact" supporting the author's conclusion. This can be considered either background or a premise, but not the main point.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Some ads: Unrelieved heartburn likely causes cancer
Author: Those ads are wrong because (facts).

Answer Anticipation:
Yep, we drastically simplified this stimulus!

The argument starts with what some ads claim, but it then pivots to the author's opinion of this claim—it's false. The author's opinion of an opposing point is almost always the main point of the argument, so we have a good candidate for a correct answer already!

That's further supported by the following statement being a "fact," since facts are almost always premises. The final statement is another fact that builds on the preceding statement to support the conclusion that the ad's claim is false, so that second sentence is the main point.

We're not done yet, however—we have to restate the conclusion to reflect the content of it. When an author states that an opposing claim is "false," that's more than stating it's invalid or unsupported—it's establishing that the opposite claim is true. Here, stating that claims of untreated heartburn likely causing cancer are false is equivalent to concluding that untreated heartburn isn't likely to cause cancer.

Answer Explanation:
This answer is the rephrasing of the author's opinion of the opposing point to reflect the actual belief stated in her judgment. It's backed up by a discussion of how the increased risk of cancer is limited to 5% of the population, thus showing the opposing point's claim that this risk is over 50% ("likely") to be false.

Key Takeaway:
The author's opinion of an opposing point is almost always the main point of the argument. However, when the conclusion is stated in a manner that refers back to that viewpoint ("This is simply false"), you should take the time to rephrase it as an actual statement of the author's belief. The answer may match the written language, but it might also reflect the actual belief (as it did here), making it a lot easier to find the right answer if you've already anticipated that.

Incorrect. This answer reflects the opposing point, not the main point of the argument.

Incorrect. While the author of the argument does believe that only 5% of the population is at risk of the dangers in these ads, she never weighs in on how that intersects with those who see the ads. Maybe these ads only run in Barrett's Esophagus Sufferers Weekly, and thus those seeing the ad are in that 5% who do have to worry about the increased risk of cancer.