PrepTest 130, Section 3, Question 1
Students in a first-year undergraduate course were divided(58 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AReaders base their(10 more words not shown)
- BNewspaper headlines hamper(8 more words not shown)
- CCareless reading is(10 more words not shown)
- DNewspaper headlines tend(4 more words not shown)
- ENewspaper headlines influence(7 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
How were the students divided? Randomly, or did one group get the strongest readers and the other get the weakest? If we're comparing the groups' responses, we'd like the groups to be comparable to begin with. The passage doesn't settle that detail, so let's keep the conclusion modest.
The articles themselves are identical except for the headlines. Then we get an interesting pattern: answers are similar within each group but markedly different between the two groups. The difference in headlines lines up with the difference in responses to the same article.
What we’re looking for
For the most-supported inference, that pattern suggests that a headline can shape how someone interprets what follows. I can see how: a headline could direct your attention toward one aspect of the story, even when the body hasn't changed. We don't need to decide that the headlines were false, that the students couldn't read, or that the headline was all they noticed. Those would be stronger claims than this comparison supports.
Working the answers
- A
The word 'alone' makes this too strong. The headline could influence a reader alongside the actual contents of the article. The different responses give us evidence of an effect, not evidence that readers ignore everything else in the newspaper.
- B
Different answers don't necessarily mean poor comprehension. Perhaps the two headlines emphasize different real aspects of the same article. We aren't told that either group failed to understand it or answered incorrectly, so we can't conclude that the headlines hampered comprehension.
- C
Both groups consist of first-year students. We have no comparison with more senior students and no basis for ranking their care as readers. The relevant comparison is between the two headlines, not between years of college.
- D
The headlines could both be accurate while encouraging different interpretations. We have no information establishing that either headline is misleading, much less that newspaper headlines generally tend to be highly misleading.
- ECorrect
This captures the influence suggested by the pattern: change the headline while keeping the article the same, and the groups give different responses about the article. It leaves room for the article itself and other factors to influence interpretation too. That modest claim fits the evidence better than a claim that headlines determine everything readers think.
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