The nature of English literature

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct73% picked this

   The origin of English played a role in shaping

   Why this is right

   This follows directly from the first sentence. English literature reflects English's rich and diverse vocabulary; that vocabulary "resulted from the dual influence of the Anglo-Saxon and, later, French languages" — i.e., its origin. Chained together: origins shape vocabulary, and vocabulary shapes literature, so origins played a role in shaping the literature. (A) is the modest, direct inference.

   Skill tested: Most Supported · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   73%
2. B

   Unsupported12% picked this

   The vocabulary of the Anglo-Saxon language was richer than that of

   The stimulus says English vocabulary is rich and diverse because it draws on both Anglo-Saxon and French. It never compares the size or richness of the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary alone to French alone. Whether one of those source languages had a richer vocabulary than the other is not addressed.

   12%
3. C

   Unsupported8% picked this

   The vocabulary of English is larger than the vocabulary

   The stimulus describes English's vocabulary as rich and diverse but doesn't make a quantitative claim about size relative to French. Whether English has more words than French is not addressed.

   8%
4. D

   Too Strong4% picked this

   Simple and clear literature cannot be written in a language with a rich

   The stimulus notes that French is simple and clear and English is rich and diverse — but it never claims simple, clear literature cannot be written in a rich-vocabulary language. This is an overstated absolute that goes far beyond the stimulus's descriptive contrast.

   4%
5. E

   Unsupported4% picked this

   English literature and French literature have had little influence on

   The stimulus says nothing about whether English literature and French literature have influenced each other. It only describes their separate linguistic origins and characteristics. We have no basis for claiming little or much mutual influence.

   4%