PrepTest 115

Incorrect. Ruth doesn't call her age into question, and in fact brings up her "youth" as something that is true.

Incorrect. Ruth never defines a term, let alone "popular culture."

Incorrect. Ruth does use an analogy in her rebuttal, but it's to legitimize her own writings, not contemporary culture as worthy of study.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument/Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed/Flawed

Question Type:
Methods of Reasoning

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:
Since Ruth rebuts Jorge's argument, we should try to describe how she does so in this Methods of Reasoning question. When there's a rebuttal in this question type, we should start by thinking if the second speaker uses the same or different premises to reach the opposite conclusion or a conclusion stating that the first viewpoint is invalid.

Here, Ruth clearly disagrees with Jorge's reasoning, calling it absurd. How does she do so? She doesn't question his premises—she is young, and rock music of the 60s was written by and for people of the time. However, she uses an analogy to show that saying this means someone not of that time period can't write well about it is absurd.

So she calls his logic into question by presenting an analogy. That's a common method of rebuttal, so we should be able to anticipate it well and find the correct answer quickly!

Answer Explanation:
This answer reflects Ruth's use of an analogy to invalidate Jorge's argument. Jorge uses the premise that 60s rock music was written for the youths of that period to justify a conclusion that someone who wasn't a youth then can't write well about it. That assumes that someone needs to be of the generation that certain culture was aimed at in order to write well about it. In bringing up an analogous situation where that isn't the case, Ruth counters his assumption.

Key Takeaway:
Arguments that rely on analogies are common in Methods of Reasoning questions, so be on the lookout for them!

Incorrect. Ruth doesn't call Jorge's expertise or qualifications into question.