PTF97.S1.Q21 - Although many seventeenth century...

cest_la_vie

Can anyone explain why B is the correct answer?
I crossed it out because on the surface, it seemed irrelevant to people's moral beliefs. B elaborates on the moral content of broadsides in detail, but how can this be an alternative explanation for people's subscription to broadsides? Instead of B, I chose E, which says well educated people who read broadsides hated broadside peddlers. I thought E showed that people don't necessarily read broadsides guided by their moral beliefs.
However, now I see why E is wrong. The "well-educated people" in E doesn't represent the "most people" in the conclusion. Also, those well educated people hate the "peddlers" who distribute the broadsides, not the broadside itself.

JesseWeNeedToCook

The main claim that needs to be strengthened is "this is not evidence that most seventeeth century people were serious about moral values.

This claim is supported in the prompt with an argument that is essentially saying paraphrasing here "we don't know why they bought some broadsides, nor do we know how what they read related to their beliefs."

B ) Is correct because it is directly pointing out that in some of these "moralizing" broadsides, the moral content wasn't really the main focus and was just tacked on to a piece about crime and adultery. So now we are left with a question of why were some people buying these pieces, for the immoral bits or for the single moral stanza? We don't know.

Note: B doesn't make the argument airtight, but it doesn't have to as this is just a strengthening question.

cest_la_vie

Totally makes sense!! Thanks @JesseWeNeedToCook