PT157 S2 Q5 ExplanationColumnist: Many people with access

Answer choices, explained

1. A

   Opposing Idea1% picked this

   It is common for people who have access to the Internet to express a longing for emotional connection

   This answer restates the first sentence of the stimulus — that many Internet users express a longing for emotional connection to a global community. This is the opposing idea, the background context that the conclusion pushes back against. The conclusion is not that people have this longing; the conclusion is that the Internet-based approach to satisfying it will probably fail. This answer identifies a premise, not the conclusion.

   1%
2. B

   Opposing Idea2% picked this

   The longing for emotional connection to a global human community frequently leads people to use the Internet in order to

   This answer combines elements from the first and second sentences of the stimulus: the longing for emotional connection leads people to use the Internet to learn about other cultures. Like answer A, this is part of the opposing idea — the background that establishes what people are doing and why. The conclusion reacts to this behavior by predicting it will not work. This answer describes the setup, not the argument's response to it.

   2%
3. C

   Premise2% picked this

   People who have access to the Internet tend to use it primarily for acquiring information and only secondarily

   This answer closely paraphrases the evidence: the Internet is used primarily for information acquisition, with developing feelings of interconnectedness as a secondary use. This is the reason the columnist gives for the conclusion, not the conclusion itself. In the argument's structure, this statement appears after the word "for" — a classic premise indicator. The conclusion is the claim this evidence supports: learning about other cultures probably will not satisfy the longing for emotional connection.

   2%
4. D

   Correct84% picked this

   For people desiring connection to a global human community, learning about other cultures through the Internet probably will not provide

   Why this is right

   This accurately captures the argument's main conclusion. The columnist argues that people who want emotional connection to a global community will probably not get it from learning about other cultures through the Internet. This answer says essentially the same thing: for people seeking global community connection, Internet-based cultural learning probably will not provide emotional connection. It correctly targets the claim that appears between "however" (the pivot from opposing idea) and "for" (the pivot to evidence). It appropriately includes the qualifier "probably" and specifies the mechanism (learning through the Internet) without broadening to other activities.

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

   84%
5. E

   Too Broad11% picked this

   When people long for connection to a global human community, they tend to engage in behavior that results in the acquisition of knowledge about

   This answer broadens the argument significantly. The columnist specifically discusses using the Internet to learn about other cultures. This answer talks more broadly about people who "engage in behavior that results in the acquisition of knowledge about other cultures" — which could include traveling, attending cultural events, reading books, and countless other activities. The argument's reasoning depends on the specific limitations of the Internet as a tool (primarily for information, not interconnectedness), so broadening beyond the Internet removes the logical foundation. Additionally, this answer does not capture the idea that the Internet's information-focused nature is the reason for the predicted failure.

   11%