PT156 S2 Q8 ExplanationHistorian: A democracy's citizens

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Bad Assumption19% picked this

   Historical awareness is distorted by the view that there have been only a few famous

   This says historical awareness is distorted by the view "that there have been only a few famous heroes and notorious villains." But the historian's claim is more specific: the popular narratives imply that a few heroes and villains have shaped all of history. That is not the same as denying that other heroes and villains exist; it is about who is given credit for shaping history. This answer rewords the implication in a way the historian's argument does not require.

   19%
2. B

   Too Strong11% picked this

   History cast in the narrative format inevitably distorts

   The argument does not require that all narrative-format history is distorting. Its specific complaint is about narratives that imply a few heroes and villains shaped all of history. A narrative that did not push that implication could in principle be accurate. This answer overgeneralizes from a specific claim about content to a sweeping claim about format.

   11%
3. C

   Premise Support7% picked this

   Most historical narratives sustain interest by implying that a few famous heroes and notorious villains have

   This essentially restates the historian's premise — that most popular historical narratives sustain interest by implying a few heroes and villains shaped all of history. Restating an explicit premise is not an unstated assumption the argument depends on. The gap the argument needs to bridge is whether that implication is distorting, not whether narratives use it.

   7%
4. D

   Too Strong7% picked this

   Only narratives written for a purpose other than sustaining readers' interest can convey an undistorted

   The argument concludes only that popular history is inevitably distorted; it does not commit to the much stronger claim that only non-interest-sustaining narratives can be undistorted. There could be plenty of paths to undistorted historical awareness — academic study, primary sources, classroom learning — that the argument does not address. Negating this is not necessary to support the conclusion.

   7%
5. E

   Correct56% picked this

   The implication that a few famous heroes and notorious villains have shaped all of

   Why this is right

   This is the bridge. The historian says (a) popular narratives imply a few heroes and villains shaped all of history, and concludes (b) popular historical awareness is distorted. For (a) to imply (b), the implication itself must be distorting. Negate this answer — say the implication does not distort history — and popular narratives could spread an accurate picture. The conclusion that awareness is "inevitably distorted" no longer follows.

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

   56%