PrepTest 145

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Argument Completion

Stimulus Summary:
Complex science stories:

(1) Too difficult for readers to understand
(2) Some of the ones they'd find the most interesting

Therefore Ð Some the most interesting stories won't be covered

Answer Anticipation:
The stimulus concludes that stories covering some of the most complex issues won't end up in popular magazines. The premises establish two facts about this type of story—the complexity makes these stories too difficult for readers to understand, and they'd be the most interesting to readers. Since the conclusion includes information about the latter—that the readers would find these interesting—and that piece of information suggests that the magazines would include these stories, it must be the other fact about these stories that leads to the conclusion they won't be covered.

That other fact is that they're too difficult for readers to understand. Therefore, the correct answer will tie that fact into the conclusion—popular magazines usually don't include stories that can't be well understood by readers.

Answer Explanation:
This answer connects what we know about these stories to the conclusion that they generally won't be included in the magazines. It also matches the logical force of the conclusion, which is always a good sign!

Key Takeaway:
Argument Completion questions generally come in two forms—one that asks you to fill in the conclusion, and one that asks you to fill in a premise. Generally, the former are similar to Must Be True questions, and the latter Strengthen (with Sufficient Premise) questions. You can use similar strategies for those other question types as long as you recognize the unique elements of these questions—mainly that the correct answer usually addresses the complete gap or the entire argument.

Incorrect. If anything, this would be a reason to publish these stories since they are frequently the ones that "readers would find most fascinating."

Incorrect. There's no indication that complex stories are becoming more common, so this answer is wholly out of scope.

Incorrect. If anything, this suggests that readers might read through stories that they don't understand because they think they do, arguing for their inclusion.

Incorrect. While this might establish that there's less chance of losing readers by neglecting to publish one of these interesting stories, it doesn't explain why the magazines would make the decision not to publish those works.