PrepTest 117, Section 3, Question 7
If you have no keyboarding skills at all,(33 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(9 more words not shown)
- AIf you have(16 more words not shown)
- BIf you are(16 more words not shown)
- CIf you are(17 more words not shown)
- DIf you are(19 more words not shown)
- EIf you are(19 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
To write the essay with a word processor, you need to be able to use a computer. And to use a computer, you need at least some keyboarding skills. Put those requirements together: using the word processor requires some keyboarding skills.
That's all we need from these two statements. Having a required skill isn't the same as having everything needed to succeed. Someone might be able to type but still be unable to use the particular program. Or imagine a skilled typist stranded somewhere without electricity. The ability to type wouldn't by itself make writing an essay on a computer possible.
What we’re looking for
We're asked what must be true if we accept the statements. Follow the requirements back from someone who can write the essay using the program. That person can't be unable to use a computer, because that would rule out using the program. And that person can't have no keyboarding skills, because that would rule out using the computer. So at least some keyboarding skills must be present.
Working the answers
- A
Some keyboarding skills meet one requirement. They don't guarantee that the person can use a word processor to write an essay. The person might lack the software skills or something else needed for the task. The passage tells us what the absence of keyboarding skills prevents, not what their presence guarantees.
- B
Why can't the person write the essay using a word processor? The passage gives us one possible obstacle, not the only one. A person might type perfectly well but be unable to use the program for another reason. Being unable to complete the task doesn't establish that this particular skill is missing.
- CCorrect
If the person can write the essay using a word processor, the required computer ability must be there. That computer ability in turn requires some keyboarding skills. C follows both links without turning either requirement into a guarantee of success.
- D
Even probably needs support. We aren't told how many people who can use a computer can also write essays with a word processor. Imagine that only 1 percent can use the relevant program. That would fit the stated requirements, yet make D's prediction unreliable. Knowing a person meets one requirement doesn't tell us how likely the whole task is to be possible.
- E
A person could know how to use a computer and still be unable to use a particular word processing program. Using the computer is required for writing the essay with the program, but nothing says it guarantees that ability. E treats failure at the larger task as proof that one particular requirement is absent.
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