PrepTest 153, Section 3, Question 16
If a novelist is popular he or she(65 more words not shown)
If the statements above are(12 more words not shown)
- ASome novelists who(21 more words not shown)
- BSome novelists are(13 more words not shown)
- CSome people who(18 more words not shown)
- DNo people who(25 more words not shown)
- EMost writers who(12 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Imagine a novelist keeping a whole cast of characters straight. One wants recognition, another wants to be left alone, and a third cares about something the novelist personally finds unimportant. The writer has to imagine those different personalities rather than give everyone the same motivations. That helps me picture the first claim about popular novelists.
But notice which direction the rule goes. If a novelist is popular, the novelist can do this. An unknown writer might also create wonderful, distinct characters. Having that ability doesn't guarantee that anyone will buy the books.
The passage gives popular novelists more features too. They can empathize with people whose goals are completely different from theirs, and they have some doubts about the value of their own desires. We might understand that as recognizing another perspective: something I care deeply about may matter much less to someone else. For this question, we accept all of those features as given requirements of the popular group.
What we’re looking for
We need the one choice that cannot coexist with the passage. A popular novelist who lacked a required feature would break the rule. A novelist who was unpopular would leave more possibilities open. Don't demand proof of the four permissible choices; they only need to be able to fit.
Working the answers
- A
This can fit. Our unknown writer could imagine a large cast of distinct characters and still be unpopular. The rule tells us that popular novelists have the ability, not that every novelist with the ability is popular. We aren't proving that such an unknown writer exists; we are showing why the passage allows one.
- B
This can fit too. The novelists who lack the stated empathy would have to be outside the popular group. Nothing says that every novelist is popular, so the requirement on popular novelists does not prevent other novelists from lacking empathy.
- CCorrect
These people lack the very empathy that every popular novelist must have, yet C puts them in the popular group. That combination is forbidden. It doesn't matter whether they have vivid imaginations or any other talent: failing this required feature is enough to make C incompatible with the passage.
- D
Unpack the negatives: nobody who doubts the value of their desires is incapable of this empathy. In other words, all such doubters are capable of it. We were not given that rule about every doubter, but it could be true. People outside the popular-novelist group could also have both doubt and empathy. D extends beyond what we know without contradicting it.
- E
Popular novelists have doubts, but we don't know what share of all doubting writers are popular. Perhaps most are; perhaps most aren't. Either way, every popular novelist could still meet the stated requirement. E isn't something we can prove, but lack of proof does not make it impossible.
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