PrepTest 14 - Section 1 - Question 16 | Explanation & Discussion

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Concetta: Conclusion Franchot was a great writer because Support she was ahead of her time in understanding that industrialization was taking an unconscionable toll on the family structure of the working class.

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Analysis: Counter-Argument

Concetta's argument is simple: because Franchot understood "ahead of her time" that industrialization was taking an "unconscionable toll" on family structure in the working class, Franchot was a great writer.

Alicia, meanwhile, argues that Franchot was not a great writer. She argues that understanding a social issue ahead of one's time doesn't make someone a great writer — instead, the "mark of a great writer" is being able to "move people with the power of the written word." Even if it were enough to understand a social issue ahead of one's time, Alicia adds, the social consequences of industrialization were already "widely understood" in Franchot's day (i.e., Franchot wasn't necessarily "ahead of her time").

16.

In her disagreement with Concetta, ██████ ████ █████ ███ ██ ███ ██████████

Question Type

Method of reasoning or descriptive

Let's look at the two statements Alicia uses to back up her conclusion that Franchot was not a great writer. First, Alicia says: "The mark of a great writer is the ability to move people with the power of the written word, not the ability to be among the first to grasp a social issue." In other words, Alicia rejects Concetta's argument because the only reason Concetta gives for calling Franchot a "great writer" is Franchot's early grasp of a social issue.

Notice, however, that Alicia doesn't just say that Concetta's conclusion isn't supported: i.e., that Concetta has failed to show that Franchot is a great writer. Alicia directly affirms that Franchot is not a great writer. This reveals that Alicia is making an unstated assumption: she assumes that Franchot does not possess the ability to move people with the power of the written word, which is the mark of a great writer.

Then Alicia points out that "the social consequences of industrialization were widely understood in Franchot’s day." The point of this claim is to question whether Franchot was even "ahead of her time", as Concetta claims. So Alicia first rejects that Concetta's premise is sufficient to establish her conclusion, then questions whether the premise itself is even accurate.

accepts Concetta’s criterion ███ ████ ████ ████████ ██ ████████████ ████

Incorrect. Alicia rejects both the conclusion and the premise of Concetta's argument. She doesn't "add evidence" to Concetta's case.

discredits Concetta’s evidence ███ ████ ███████████ ████ ███ ████████

Incorrect. While Alicia does discredit Concetta's evidence by questioning whether Franchot was ahead of her time, Alicia doesn't provide any new evidence of her own as the basis for a different generalization.

rejects Concetta’s criterion ███ ████ ████████ █ ████████ █████

Correct. As we discussed in our analysis, Alicia first rejects Concetta's criterion for greatness (being ahead of one's time in understanding a social issue). Then she disputes whether Franchot was even ahead of her time, as Concetta claims.

71%

disputes Concetta’s conclusion ███ ████ ████████ █████ ██ ███████ ██ ██ ███████████ █████████

Incorrect. It's true that Alicia both disputes Concetta's conclusion and suggests an alternative criterion for a great writer (the ability to move people with the power of the written word). But Alicia doesn't present any specific facts to support that criterion.

The "fact" Alicia presents is that the social consequences of industrialization were widely understood in Franchot's day. This fact is there to undermine Concetta's premise that Franchot was ahead of her time. It doesn't support using "the ability to move people with the power of the written word," specifically, as an alternative criterion for a great writer.

26%

attacks one of ████████████ ██████ ███ ████ ██████████ ███ █████████ ██ ███ ████████

Incorrect. Alicia attacks both Concetta's conclusion and her only premise, but Alicia never attacks the "structure" of Concetta's argument.

PrepTest 14 - Section 1 - Question 16

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