PrepTest 152

Tempting answer! However, it states that these critics have contradictory views on etiquette. Their views, as far as we can tell, are internally consistent. They're just wrong about etiquette!

There's no indication that any of the critics respect etiquette. They may respect what the author believe etiquette effects, but that's not the same as respecting etiquette itself.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:
Etiquette prevents people from accidentally offending. Etiquette is criticized for being useless to society. Those who criticize it, however, think being nice and getting along is valuable.

Answer Anticipation:
Looking at the overlap between ideas here, it appears as if etiquette helps people get along. That's valuable to the people who criticize etiquette, and it's also an effect of etiquette, so it seems as if these critics are missing the point!

Answer Explanation:
Etiquette critics think it's useless. Etiquette critics think being nice is useful. Etiquette helps people be nice. Seems as if the critics are wrong here, and that's what this answer says. It also starts with, "Many people who criticize . . . ", which is a weak answer.

Key Takeaway:
A lot of this question revolved around the ideas of what people believe versus what is true. Especially in a Must Be True question, be careful of jumping between those ideas, as they don't support each other. People can believe things that are false and disbelieve things that are true.

First off, it's hard to infer a speculative statement such as this one ("If people were more . . . "). Second, the author mentions etiquette prevents people from inadvertently offending others, which can still happen even if someone is being as considerate as possible. Finally, no need is a bit strong.

While the critics believe this is true, and the author also appears to agree, it doesn't mean that it's true. If this answer were about what people believed, then it would be correct, but it's about what is true, and there's no support for that in the given facts.