PrepTest 129, Section 1, Question 9
One should always capitalize the main words and(32 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AIf a word(20 more words not shown)
- BIf a word(23 more words not shown)
- CAll prepositions and(11 more words not shown)
- DIf a word(20 more words not shown)
- EPrepositions and conjunctions(11 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Location matters. A short word such as 'and' must be capitalized if it is the first or last word of a title, but it must not be capitalized in the middle. The same word can receive different treatment depending on where it appears.
The first rule gives us words to capitalize: main words and the first and last words. The second rule rules out capitalization for articles in the middle, and for prepositions and conjunctions shorter than five letters in the middle. Keep both restrictions attached to their details. The short-word restriction isn't a ban on those words everywhere, and the rules concern titles.
What we’re looking for
For the inference question, we want a statement these rules actually establish. We shouldn't treat the first list as if it said those are the only possible reasons for capitalizing a word.
Working the answers
- A
A preposition or conjunction with five or more letters isn't covered by the prohibition on short ones in the middle. The rules therefore leave open the possibility that such a word should be capitalized there. A wrongly forces every capitalized preposition or conjunction into the first or last position.
- BCorrect
Articles and conjunctions shorter than five letters should never be capitalized in the middle of a title. So a middle word that should be capitalized cannot be either of those. Otherwise, we would be saying that the same word both should and should not be capitalized under the rules. B doesn't need to list every excluded category to state a valid inference.
- C
This drops the location restriction. A preposition or conjunction with fewer than five letters should still be capitalized when it is the first or last word. 'And' at the beginning of a title would be enough to show why C's blanket ban fails.
- D
We were told to capitalize main words and words at either end. We weren't told that every word outside that list must remain lowercase. D turns a list of reasons for capitalization into an exhaustive account of every permissible case.
- E
The passage gives rules for titles, not for any text whatsoever. A longer preposition in an ordinary sentence isn't governed by these title rules. Also, the absence of a ban on capitalizing longer prepositions and conjunctions doesn't itself establish that they must all be capitalized.
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