PrepTest 158, Section 3, 14. Some freelance journalists sell their work…

1–2 minutes

read

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

Only the right answer will use the same kind of support and conclusion as the passage, so it will also be the only one with the same flaw.

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

some-respecting writers are not freelance journalists.

[SUPPORT]. [SUPPORT]. Therefore, [CONCLUSION].

The author didn’t quite stick the landing. The conclusion wants to say ‘some freelance journalists are not self-respecting writers’. But it’s totally possible that all self-respecting writers are freelance journalists. They’re just not part of the group of freelance journalists who “sell their work to magazines that have lax editorial standards.”

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

(A) …Therefore, biology is not taught by all teachers.

In the passage, the two groups in the support—“writers” and “journalists”–are both part of the conclusion. But in this answer the groups disappear and the conclusion is just about “all teachers”.

(B) Most…

Nope, there was no “most” statement in the passage.

(C) Some students…No member…Thus, some members…are not students.

All of this maps. One group is in the “some” statement in the support and the “not” part of the conclusion. The other group is in the “no” statement and in the “some” part of the conclusion. Don’t tell me you’re not having sooo much fun right now.

(D) Some principals…No adviser…Hence, some principals are not advisers…

That conclusion is valid, and this is flaw-less. It doesn’t reverse the order of the groups in the conclusion like the passage does.

(E) …Therefore, some popular teachers…

The support is about “some teachers”, but this conclusion changes that to “popular teachers”. In the passage it’s the exact same group both times.

(C) is the correct answer.

Leave a comment