Self-study
There is a popular view among literary critics that a poem can never be accurately paraphrased because a poem is itself the only accurate expression of its meaning. ███ █████ ████ ███████ ████ ████ █████ ███ ███████████ ██ ██████████ █████ ███ █████████ █████ █████ ████ ████ ██████ ██████ ██ ██████████ ███████████ ██ ██████
Summarize Argument: Counter-Position
The author concludes that the view that poetry cannot be accurately paraphrased is false. This is based on the fact that certain critics who hold that view also hold another view that their own paraphrases of some poems are accurate.
Identify and Describe Flaw
The author points out that the critics who believe a poem cannot be accurately paraphrased hold a contradictory view — that some of their own paraphrases of poems are accurate. But we don’t know which of these views is true, if any. The author assumes that the critics’ own paraphrases of poems are accurate. But it’s possible that the paraphrases are not accurate and that the critics’ view that poems can’t be accurately paraphrased is true. We don’t know which of the critics’ beliefs is true.
15.
The reasoning in the argument ██ ████ ██████████ ██ ███ █████████ ████ ███ ████████
a
presupposes the falsity ██ ███ ████ ████ ██ ████ ███ ██ ██████
The author does not presuppose, on the way to reaching her conclusion, that the view poems can’t be accurately paraphrased is false. Rather, the author assumes that the critics have accurately paraphrased poems, which, if true, would show that poems can be accurately paraphrased.
b
takes for granted ████ ███ ████ ███████ ██ █████ ██ ██ ██████ ███████████ ██████ ████ ███████ ████████
The author’s reasoning doesn’t relate to the purpose of poems. The issue is whether poems can accurately be paraphrased. Why poems are written or why they are read has no bearing on the argument.
c
takes for granted ████ █ ██████████ ██ █ ████ ██████ ██ ██████ ██ ███ ███████ ██████ ██ ██████████ █████████ █ ██████ ███████
The author’s reasoning doesn’t relate to the usefulness of a paraphrase. The issue is whether poems can be accurately paraphrased. Whether this paraphrasing is ever useful to a reader has no bearing on the argument.
d
provides no justification ███ ████████ ███ ██ ███ ████████ ████████ ███████ ████ ███ █████
The author gave no reason for favoring the view that the critics’ paraphrases are accurate. The author simply assumes that this view is true. This overlooks that the contradictory view could be the one that is true; perhaps poems can’t be paraphrased accurately.
e
provides no justification ███ █████████ ███ ██████████ ██████████ ██ ████████████
It’s not clear that the author is using any definition of “paraphrase” other than the dictionary definition. And it’s not flawed to use the dictionary definition of a word, unless we have some reason to use a different definition.