A recent archaeological find

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong: only4% picked this

   takes for granted that greatness can be attained only by

   The author is definitely assuming that greatness can be attained by military conquest, because the author goes from "Because he conquered such a big empire, he was the greatest Macedonian in history". But the author hasn't assumed such a strong idea that there is no possible other way to greatness.

   4%
2. B

   Correct80% picked this

   takes for granted that the largest tomb found so far must be the largest

   Why this is right

   Is the author assuming that this recently discovered tomb (the largest ever found in the region) is in fact the largest tomb? Sure. The author thinks Alexander would have the largest tomb, and the author thinks that this is the largest tomb. That's how the author arrives at her conclusion that this recently discovered tomb must be the tomb of Alexander. If we negated this, we would get the objection, "Yo, author -- this tomb is not the largest tomb the Macedonians built." That would badly weaken the author's argument, because she believes that Alexander is built in the Macedonians' largest tomb.

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

   80%
3. C

   Irrelevant Comparison6% picked this

   does not show how the recently discovered tomb compares with other tombs from the same period that have

   It is true that the author doesn't compare this tomb with other tombs from the same period but different regions. But that doesn't point to any logical problem. We wouldn't be able to say, "Hey, author --- the Chinese built an even bigger tomb from the same area, so maybe that's where Alexander the Great is buried." Our author only needs to discuss Macedonian tombs because the argument is (quite reasonably) assuming that this famous Macedonian was buried in a Macedonian tomb, not a Chinese one.

   6%
4. D

   Irrelevant Objection6% picked this

   fails to evaluate the significance of the fact that Alexander's empire did not

   It's true that the author did not dwell on the fact that Alexander's empire collapsed after his death, but there's not really a great way to turn that into an objection. "Hey, author -- since his empire collapsed after he died, he wasn't really the greatest Macedonian in history?" That's a pretty weak objection. Would we really hold it against Alexander that he couldn't keep his entire together from the grave?

   6%
5. E

   Not a Reasoning Objection3% picked this

   takes for granted that archaeologists can determine the size of the tomb

   It is true that the author is implicitly trusting that archaeologists are correct in their assessments of the size of this tomb. If we negated this, it would be saying "archaeologists cannot determine the size of the tomb form its remains." That seems to attack the credibility of the archaeological evidence, but two problems with picking this: 1. The argument only said that they discovered "the remains of the largest tomb ever found". It didn't say that they determined the size of the tomb based purely on its remains. Maybe they looked at the size of the burial plot or had other clues for ascertaining the size of the tomb. 2. This really wouldn't be a complaint about the author's reasoning. This isn't attacking any move the author made. It would just be attacking the legitimacy of a background premise.

   3%