Logical Reasoning

PT105 · S4 · Q10 In the course of his

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In the course of his reading, George Orwell probably encountered certain storytelling conventions over and over again, and these are the devices he would have most likely used in his work.

Conclusion (that is why)

You can't be sure that Orwell read the futuristic books that resemble his own 1984.

Evidence

It's possible that the resemblance between his book and those futuristic ones is just that all the others were drawing on the same body of literary conventions that they had been exposed to over the course of their own reading.

Evaluate

Since we're told that the passage illustrates a principle, it means the principle is implicit, and it's our job to name what's going on, in a general way, like when we're doing a Parallel reasoning question.

The author is basically presenting a Curious Fact: why is Orwell's '1984' so similar to these other futuristic books?

She is saying we shouldn't necessarily jump to this Explanation: he read those books (and incorporated similar stuff into his own book)

Why? Because an Alternate Explanation is possible: he and those other futuristic authors were all exposed to the same body of literary conventions (and since they all incorporated that stuff into their books, their books feel similar)

Goal

Let's look for something like, .

10.

Which one of the following most closely illustrates the principle that the passage illustrates?

  1. A novel that is directly

    Unrelated to Goal

    This doesn't have anything to do with an Alternate Explanation. The only "direct influence" in the passage was the author speculating that Orwell and other futuristic authors were directly influenced by the body of literary conventions.

    7% picked this

  2. A mystery novel may not

    Opposite

    In the passage, Orwell's book DID resemble other books of the futuristic genre, but the author is saying "let's not assume it was directly influenced by them".

    9% picked this

  3. To direct an effective movie

    Too Strong: must

    There was nothing in this passage resembling some harsh rule like, "to do X, you must do Y".

    4% picked this

  4. Correct

    A recent film that involves

    Why this is right

    The passage was saying: this futuristic book by Orwell was not necessarily directly influenced by these other books by futuristic writers. This is saying: this action film was not necessarily directly influenced by other action movies. It doesn't have the whole Alternate Explanation part of the stimulus, but it's our best match for the overall conclusion. If this answer had that component, it would also say, "it's possible that the filmmakers who made this recent film grew up on the same film references as did the filmmakers who made these other action movies".

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

    77% picked this

  5. A historical romance novel does

    Too Strong: unless

    There's nothing in this passage that has anything harsh and conditional like, "it can't be X unless Y is true". This is basically just Keyword Bait by using the word "conventions" again.

    4% picked this

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