PrepTest 154

Incorrect. This should be the first answer you rule out, since step one in dissecting an argument is always to identify the main conclusion and that's found elsewhere here.

Incorrect. This also describes a different part of the argument. We do get one proposed definition of "culture" elsewhere, but not in the sentence we care about.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Valid

Question Type:
Argument Structure

Stimulus Summary:
There's a question in anthropology about whether or not the customs of a culture always help to preserve it. One definition says "a culture is the totality of the customs practiced by those whose culture it is." If that's so, then the answer is yes, the customs of a culture always function to preserve it, because if any custom dies out, then this means the culture's destruction (Because, of course, if you need the totality of all customs to have the culture, losing even one custom means you no longer have the intact culture).

Answer Anticipation:
First, identify the main conclusion. That's the part that begins "If this definition is correct," since it's the only thing supported by the rest of the argument that does not itself support anything else. Now, what part of the argument is the portion we're looking for? Well, it's a statement of fact that is only supported by the author's claim, so it must be a premise. It's also introduced with a "because," which tends to introduce premises. And it directly supports the conclusion, though this conclusion is qualified with an "if" statement, since the author never takes a stand on whether or not this theory is valid. So we're looking for something that tells us this is a premise that supports the argument's conclusion.

Answer Explanation:
This matches our anticipation exactly: a claim (or premise) supporting the conditional (introduced with an "if") conclusion.

Key Takeaway:
Don't get tripped up by vague terms and abstract concepts. Role questions only have so many possible answers. Arguments have conclusions, premises, subsidiary conclusions, and sometimes background information or other components unrelated to the main conclusion. You can usually rule out or in a few answer choices just by correctly identifying the conclusion and figuring out whether or not your role statement supports it.

Incorrect. No, the author isn't supporting this view. The author is just describing it. Borrowing from reading comp, this is an absent author; they don't give their own opinion at all.

Incorrect. The word "trivial" is present in the argument, but it doesn't apply to this claim. It actually supports the conclusion drawn from the claim we care about, by saying that all customs function at least trivially to preserve culture.