PrepTest 146

Incorrect. Monroe states this, and Wilkerson's math suggests he accepts it as true, as well.

Incorrect. Wilkerson states this, but Monroe never addresses the starting number, so it's out of scope of her argument.

Incorrect. Wilkerson clearly disagrees with this, as he's willing to accept 2000 homes without electricity as a success because 3000 homes gained it. But while Monroe might believe leaving 2000 homes without electricity is a failure, she states the goal was to reduce "as much as possible" the number of homes without it—suggesting that she may have a number above 0 that would still constitute a success. We can't guarantee she agrees with this statement, so it's incorrect.

Incorrect. Monroe states this. Wilkerson doesn't necessarily disagree—she may believe that getting it down to 2000 was as low as possible.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
M: Our goal was to get electricity to as many homes as possible, so failing to reach 2000 homes is a failure.

W: But we started with over 5000 homes without electricity, so surely this counts as a success.

Answer Anticipation:
Monroe and Wilkerson don't seem to disagree over the numbers. Wilkerson's numbers line up with Monroe's count of 2000 homes still without electricity, and there's nothing in Monroe's statements to suggest she believes that a good number of homes weren't provided with electricity. They don't even necessarily disagree with the goal of the project—to get electricity to as many homes as possible.

It seems they just disagree on whether 3000 homes counts as a success/as many homes as possible!

Answer Explanation:
This answer highlights their diverging criteria for success. Monroe believes that leaving 2000 homes without electricity means they didn't reach as many people as possible and thus failed. Wilkerson believes the 3000 homes they reached constitutes a success, even if 2000 homes were left out. This is the point at issue between them.

Key Takeaway:
Point at Issue questions require close reading because the correct answer needs to be something that is established in their statements as something they have differing views on. Think of them almost like Must Be True/Cannot Be True questions, where the right answer Must Be True for one speaker and Cannot Be True for the other—that level of support/certainty should be the goal.