PrepTest 149

Incorrect. This answer is a difference between music and jokes, but it isn't directly related to repetition, which is what is related to memory in the premise.

Incorrect. While this answer does establish that different jokes take different forms and thus might not be repetitive, a single joke might have repetitive elements, so this answer doesn't establish anything relevant.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Argument Completion

Stimulus Summary:
Repetitive elements enhance memory
Music Ð Repetitive elements
Music and Jokes Ð Evoke emotion
So you may think jokes are easy to remember, but they're not, because __________.

Answer Anticipation:
This argument is all about tracking the comparison between music and jokes.

Music and jokes are similar in one way—they both evoke emotion. However, the conclusion is that they're different in another—music is easy to remember, but jokes aren't.

What does emotion have to do with memory? Nothing, as far as we know! The argument relates memory to repetition, not emotion. That information about emotion comes out of nowhere, and it draws a similarity between two things that are contrasted in the conclusion, so it's actually irrelevant to the argument.

Instead, to support the conclusion that music and jokes are different in one way, it would need to establish that they're different in a key way related to that conclusion. And luckily the premise about memory does just that. So while music is easy to remember because it's repetitive, it must be the case that jokes are hard to remember because they're not. Let's find an answer establishing that key difference.

Answer Explanation:
This answer establishes that jokes are relevantly different from music. Jokes, unlike music, lack repetition/patterns, which is what makes music easy to memorize, thus supporting the conclusion that jokes aren't easy to remember.

Key Takeaway:
Conclusions that two things are different are generally supported by other relevant differences. Conclusions that two things are similar are generally supported by other relevant similarities.

Incorrect. If anything, this answer ties emotions to memory. Since both music and jokes elicit an emotional response, this answer would address a relevant similarity, weakening an argument that two things are different.

Incorrect. This argument isn't about short-term memory but rather committing songs or jokes to memory long-term.