PrepTest 154

Incorrect. This is background information. Notice the lack of ties to anything else in the argument. It just establishes the field of play.

Incorrect. Again, part of the background information given to establish the context of the argument.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Main Point

Stimulus Summary:
Graphic designers aren't normally supposed to sign their designs, because they're supposed to highlight whatever they're advertising, not the artist. But graphic designers shouldn't be anonymous, because anonymity can interfere with effective design by reducing accountability.

Answer Anticipation:
Eliminate the first sentence, which is background information and doesn't support any other part of the argument or receive support from any other part. Now we have the statement that designers should not remain anonymous, and a causal premise supporting that idea. (Anonymity causes difficulty in holding designers accountable, which may cause less effective design.) Since anything that supports something else in an argument is either a premise or a subsidiary conclusion, that leaves the middle bit as the conclusion: graphic designers shouldn't be anonymous.

Answer Explanation:
Exactly! Graphic designers shouldn't remain anonymous. This is what the argument ultimately wants the reader to come away believing.

Key Takeaway:
Picture every argument as a pyramid. On the bottom are premises, which uphold subsidiary conclusions (if any), which in turn uphold the main conclusion. The main conclusion is selfish, sitting at the top of the pyramid and not providing support to anything else. You can always find the main point by finding what receives support without giving support.

Incorrect. This is a paraphrase of the causal premise supporting the conclusion.

Incorrect. This is a component of the causal premise supporting the conclusion.