PrepTest 109

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Methods of Reasoning

Stimulus Summary:
Opposing point: Adding color to a black—and—white film damages its integrity.

Sheila: No one says that about making a movie out of a book because it's its own work, so the same is true about colorizing black—and—white films.

Answer Anticipation:
This argument uses a common method of reasoning—it brings up an analogous situation to prove its point. The original view is about colorizing black—and—white films; the analogous situation is adapting a book into a movie. Let's find an answer bringing up this common type of argument.

Answer Explanation:
This first answer describes the stimulus—it's an argument by analogy. This is therefore the correct answer.

Key Takeaway:
There are common methods of reasoning that repeat in this question type. If you learn how to spot them and their associated answers, you can fly through some of these questions! One of the most common? Bringing up an analogous situation.

Incorrect. The opposing point isn't a general principle—it's a view on a specific topic. The situation described by Sheila also can't be viewed as a counterexample because it brings up a similar situation.

Incorrect. The closest the stimulus gets to bringing up popular opinion is when it says "no one argues," but that's just a lead—in to the analogy to show that the conclusion drawn there isn't controversial. This answer would be correct if it used what people believed to be true to be actually true.

Incorrect. The entire stimulus is made up of value judgments, not facts, so the argument can't distinguish between them.

Incorrect. There's no general principle or set of facts that it's applied to, though this is a common method of reasoning that frequently shows up in Strengthen with Necessary/Sufficient Premise questions.