It is now a common complaint

Answer choices

1. A

   Bad Conclusion Match4% picked this

   evidence supporting the claim that the intellectual skills fostered by the literary media are being destroyed

   This answer correctly says the Role was "evidence", but it offers a completely different conclusion than the 3rd sentence (in fact it's really opposite of the real conclusion).

   4%
2. B

   Bad Conclusion Match3% picked this

   an illustration of the general hypothesis being advanced that intellectual abilities are inseparable from the means

   The general hypothesis being advanced is that "electronic media will change how we think, but degrade how we think". Even though "illustrations" are a form of evidence, and the sentence we're being asked about was evidence, the sentence we're being asked about was not an illustration of the conclusion. An illustration of the conclusion would be a specific example in which electronic media is changing our mind, but not devolving it.

   3%
3. C

   Correct68% picked this

   an example of a cultural change that did not necessarily have a detrimental effect on

   Why this is right

   This correctly describes the role of the claim as an example that supports the point that what awaits us is probably a mere alteration of the human mind rather than its devolution. They are purposefully avoiding an easier word like "premise / evidence". Instead, this answer describes how it functioned as evidence. It provided evidence of what the author assumes is a historically repeating phenomenon: a new technology emerges and people worry that this cultural change will corrode / devolve the human mind, even though it does not do so. The author is using this Past example in order to argue by analogy that we'll see something similar in the Present / Future when it comes to the effects of electronic media.

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

   68%
4. D

   Weaker Conclusion Match20% picked this

   evidence that the claim that the intellectual skills required and fostered by the literary media are

   This answer is fairly tempting, since our claim IS evidence, and our author is trying to argue that "electronic media are probably NOT corroding the intellectual skills required and fostered by literary media". But it's not a great match for the conclusion, since it doesn't mention anything about electronic media, and we might wonder whether "skills are lost" is the same as "skills are corroded". This author might believe that our literary intellectual skills ARE being lost, just not due to electronic media. If the answer said, "evidence that the claim that electronic media has corroded our literary intellectual skills is unwarranted" it would be a lot better. This answer also does a worse job than (C) does at capturing the way in which it's evidence for the author's conclusion. In other words, this answer makes it seem more like the 2nd sentence was direct evidence that we still have the intellectual skills required and fostered by the literary media. It certainly was not that, since the evidence isn't even about the present tense. The evidence is showing us an analogous situation from centuries ago, leaving us to fill in the blanks and assume that the author is saying, "Today's situation will probably play out in a similar way". (C) feels like a better description of what role this claim plays in supporting the ultimate conclusion.

   20%
5. E

   Opposite4% picked this

   possible evidence, mentioned and then dismissed, that might be cited by supporters of the

   This is saying that the 2nd claim was evidence for an Opposing Position, but we know that this claim was evidence (the only piece of evidence in fact) for the Author's Position.

   4%