PrepTest 157, Section 3, 21. Orator: Moral excellence can be achieved…

1–2 minutes

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How will the right answer fit in terms of support and conclusion?

Only the right answer will be a conclusion guaranteed by the support in the passage.

Highlight the main conclusion in the passage, if there is one:

There is no conclusion in the passage. The right answer will be the conclusion this time.

Orator: [SUPPORT]. [SUPPORT].

Try not to worry about predicting what the conclusion will be. You can just start eliminating answers that bring in something new or use stronger wording than the passage, since valid conclusions can’t do those things.

Map the wording of the answers to the wording of the passage:

(A) …is incapable of doing the wrong thing.

There is no mention of what “a morally virtuous” is or is not capable of doing.

(B) Most people who achieve moral excellence…

…are never mentioned in the passage. It gave a rule for achieving “moral excellence”, but said nothing about that group of people.

(C) Someone who has no inclination to do anything that is wrong…

…is never mentioned in the passage. We’re only given info about “a morally virtuous person”.

(D) …is incapable…

Like (A), we’re given no info about who is capable or “incapable” of anything.

(E) Every morally virtuous person has been inclined…

You’re cool with “every” here since the passage says “moral excellence” is “the only way” to be virtuous, and “overcoming inclinations to do the wrong thing” is required for “moral excellence”.

(E) is the correct answer.

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