PrepTest 148, Section 3, Question 6
The word "loophole" is a loaded, partisan word,(36 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(12 more words not shown)
- AMaking use of(7 more words not shown)
- BEditorials should meet(7 more words not shown)
- CNews stories need(10 more words not shown)
- DEditorial writers should(7 more words not shown)
- ENews reporters should(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Couldn't 'loophole' just describe a way around a rule? I wouldn't automatically hear a political accusation every time someone used it. But the passage tells us to treat the word as loaded: it suggests wrongdoing and makes a news story sound like an editorial.
Accept that description. Why should it stop a news reporter from using the word? We need a rule about how news ought to be written. My first thought is that reporters should avoid language that makes their reporting sound partisan or editorial. That would support the author's concern about using 'loophole.'
What we’re looking for
The question asks for a principle justifying the recommendation. Keep that recommendation precise: the author objects to using the word without evidence of wrongdoing, rather than banning it in every case.
Working the answers
- A
This concerns whether using a loophole actually constitutes wrongdoing. The recommendation concerns reporters using a word that suggests wrongdoing. Even if the action is innocent, we still need a rule explaining why a reporter should back up the suggestion created by that wording.
- B
Saying editorials and news stories should meet the same standards doesn't tell us what those standards are. Perhaps both allow unsupported insinuations, or perhaps neither does. B doesn't supply the evidence requirement the author needs.
- CCorrect
This gives us that requirement. A news story must back up suggestions of misconduct with evidence. Since 'loophole' suggests wrongdoing under the passage's description, a reporter using it must provide evidence of wrongdoing. This is more precise than my initial thought about avoiding partisan language altogether: the rule allows the wording when the suggestion is supported.
- D
This gives permission to editorial writers. The argument concerns news reporters writing news stories. The two could be held to different rules, so freedom to use loaded language in an editorial doesn't establish that reporters may use it without evidence in a news story.
- E
Public interest concerns which topics deserve coverage. The author is concerned with how wrongdoing is suggested and whether evidence supports that suggestion. A scandal could be of great public interest while a particular accusation remained unsupported. E doesn't address that problem.
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