PrepTest 115

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Point at Issue

Stimulus Summary:
J: 60s rock music was written for young people of the time, and you were an infant then, so you can't write well about it.

R: Modern writers write well about ancient Roman culture, so your reasoning is wrong.

Answer Anticipation:
Ruth's argument is meant as a rebuttal to Jorge's, calling his reasoning absurd. Since the second speaker here rebuts the first, we should work through her argument to see what she disagrees with.

And Ruth, here, brings up an analogous situation to call Jorge's reasoning into question. The only overlap between them is the question of her youth, and whether it prevents her from writing about rock music in the 60s. Let's look for an answer bringing that up.

Answer Explanation:
Jorge argues that someone who wasn't in the targeted age group when the rock music of the 60s was released can't write well about it. Ruth uses an analogy to argue that that reasoning is absurd. This answer is therefore the point at issue between them.

Key Takeaway:
When a Point at Issue question features a second speaker who rebuts what the first speaker says, work through the second speaker's argument to identify points at issue! Also, there will generally be several points in the second argument that aren't referenced at all in the first, and identifying them can help with eliminating answers that are only in scope of that second argument.

Incorrect. Neither Ruth nor Jorge discuss people who were alive during that time period, let alone them being able to write well about it, so this is out of scope of their statements.

Incorrect. Jorge doesn't discuss ancient cultures at all, and Ruth doesn't assign an age to those she argues can write well about such cultures.

Incorrect. Similar to (B), neither speaker discusses people who do write well about that time period.

Incorrect. Neither Jorge nor Ruth discuss the ideas she has about rock music from that time and their appeal. While Jorge doesn't believe she can't write well about that period, that doesn't mean he's committed to believing that her ideas don't have appeal!