PrepTest 115, Section 4, Question 8
Jorge: You won't be able to write well(84 more words not shown)
Ruth responds to Jorge's criticism(1 more words not shown)
- Achallenging his claim(13 more words not shown)
- Bclarifying a definition(10 more words not shown)
- Cusing the example(16 more words not shown)
- Doffering an analogy(8 more words not shown)
- Ecasting doubt on(9 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Ruth doesn't say, “Actually, I was a teenager in the 1960s.” She says that not being a teenager then shouldn't automatically rule her out. That's a challenge to Jorge's reasoning, not to his account of her age.
Her Roman example shows why. Writers today can write well about a culture they never belonged to. If firsthand membership were always required, those writers couldn't succeed. Ruth uses their success to question Jorge's similar restriction on who can write about 1960s rock music.
What we’re looking for
For the method question, I'd predict an example from another setting that challenges the requirement Jorge takes for granted. Keep track of both pieces: the comparison with ancient Rome and the claim about what a writer needs.
Working the answers
- A
This would fit if Ruth disputed how old she was during the 1960s. She doesn't. She accepts that she wasn't part of the teenage and young-adult audience and challenges the importance Jorge assigns to that fact.
- B
Ruth doesn't define popular culture, either explicitly or by clarifying Jorge's use of the term. She gives an example of successful writing to test his reasoning. A definition would explain what belongs in a category; that isn't what her Roman example does.
- C
The Roman example isn't offered to prove that rock music deserves serious study. Both speakers could already consider it a worthwhile subject and still disagree about who can write well about it. C changes the question from a writer's qualifications to a subject's worthiness.
- DCorrect
Writing about ancient Rome is the comparison, and the assumption being challenged is that a writer must have been part of the relevant culture or audience to write well about it. Ruth points to people who write well about Rome without having belonged to Roman culture. That gives her a reason to reject Jorge's age-based dismissal.
- E
Ruth criticizes Jorge's reasoning, not his qualifications. She doesn't argue that he lacks education, knowledge of music, or the ability to judge writing. Saying his argument fails is different from saying he is personally unqualified to offer an opinion.
More Strategy of Argument questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Strategy of Argument questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.