PrepTest 123, Section 3, Question 12
Novel X and Novel Y are both semiautobiographical(56 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- ANovel X and(17 more words not shown)
- BThe fact that(31 more words not shown)
- CThe author of(19 more words not shown)
- DIt is less(31 more words not shown)
- EIf the authors(29 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Similar themes and situations could make me wonder about copying. But they aren't enough to settle it. Two novels could resemble each other because they draw on similar experiences or belong to the same kind of story.
Here the author favors coincidence: the books are based partly on the authors' own lives, and those lives and backgrounds are very similar. I can see why that supplies an alternative to plagiarism. People who lived through similar things might independently write about similar things.
Still, having similar backgrounds wouldn't prevent one author from copying the other. I'd want more evidence before feeling confident about what happened. That doesn't stop us from answering the actual question, which asks for the main conclusion. We're identifying the author's position, not deciding whether we've been persuaded.
What we’re looking for
Which claim does the shared-background evidence support? That coincidence is more likely than plagiarism. That's the point to look for. Preserve the comparison in likelihood: the author favors coincidence without establishing that plagiarism was impossible.
Working the answers
- A
This gives the resemblance that starts the discussion. Both novels draw on their authors' lives and have similar themes and situations. The argument then asks what explains that resemblance and favors coincidence. A supplies what needs explaining, not the author's preferred explanation.
- B
This explains why someone might suspect plagiarism. The author acknowledges that possible reaction and then argues for a more likely explanation. B stops before that response, so it doesn't state the position the author supports.
- C
Why tell us about the similar backgrounds and lives? Because that makes independent resemblance more plausible. C is the reason offered for the conclusion that coincidence is more likely. It isn't the conclusion itself.
- DCorrect
Read past the long wording: plagiarism is less likely than coincidence. That's the same ranking as saying coincidence is more likely than plagiarism. D preserves the author's actual conclusion and its degree of certainty.
- E
This changes the claim into a conditional judgment about whether suspicions are warranted. The argument instead gives similar backgrounds as a fact and uses that fact to favor one explanation of the novels' resemblance.
Those aren't interchangeable. Someone could reasonably suspect copying while also thinking coincidence is more likely. The author's conclusion ranks the explanations; E adds a judgment about the justification for suspicion. D states the ranking directly.
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