PrepTest 103, Section 3, Question 17
Parents who wish to provide a strong foundation(44 more words not shown)
The reasoning is most vulnerable(11 more words not shown)
- Aparents might not(9 more words not shown)
- Bsome children might(12 more words not shown)
- Cthere are many(11 more words not shown)
- Dformal instruction might(10 more words not shown)
- Esome children might(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Often included doesn't mean required. Formal instruction may be part of many good musical educations. But could a child get a good musical education another way—perhaps through less structured playing and practice? The premise hasn't ruled that out. It tells us what often accompanies the education, not what every good education must contain.
Imagine saying that good dinners often include chicken, so anyone who wants a good dinner must serve chicken. What about a good steak dinner? The frequency of one ingredient doesn't make it indispensable.
What we’re looking for
The question asks what possibility the argument overlooks. I'd look for a good musical education without formal instruction. That would expose the jump from formal instruction often being present to parents needing to ensure it is present.
Working the answers
- A
Parents can arrange for someone else to teach their children. The recommendation is that parents ensure formal instruction, not that they personally provide every lesson. A teacher or music school could supply it, so other sources of education don't challenge the supposed requirement.
- B
The recommendation is addressed to parents who want to provide a strong musical foundation. Children lacking interest might make that goal harder to achieve, but it doesn't address why formal instruction supposedly must be part of a good education. The gap concerns what is required for the goal, not whether every child shares the goal.
- C
Formal instruction failing to guarantee good musicianship doesn't show that it is unnecessary. A requirement can be present and the desired result can still fail for another reason. The author claims parents need formal instruction, not that instruction alone guarantees an accomplished musician. C attacks the stronger guarantee the author hasn't made.
- DCorrect
A good musical education might sometimes omit formal instruction. That is exactly what “often a part” leaves open. If a child could get the desired educational foundation without formal lessons, the premise would still be true but the conclusion that parents need to ensure those lessons would not follow. Like the good dinner without chicken, this possibility shows why a common ingredient needn't be a requirement.
- E
A child becoming a good musician without a good musical education is different from a good musical education occurring without formal instruction. The argument is about what parents should provide to build a strong foundation, and its mistake is the leap about what that education must include. D addresses that leap directly; E moves to whether someone might reach the later result without the educational foundation at all.
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