#2 - Raymond Burr played the role of lawyer Perry Mason on

[jlam061695]

I chose C initially, but then I went back and chose E because I didn't really like any of the other answer choices. However, I having trouble seeing why E is correct? Doesn't the argument address the very thing (the difference between reality and fiction) in the last part of the stimulus almost word for word ("some legal professionals are losing their ability to distinguish fiction from reality")?

[Adam Tyson]

The issue here, jlam, is that the author ignored that the lawyer has already said "Although not a lawyer" in his statement about Burr. The lawyer started off by acknowledging the difference between reality and fiction - he knew that Burr was not a lawyer but only played one on TV. The author acted as if the lawyer had not made that distinction and thought that Burr was really a lawyer, as if the lawyer had said only "We lost one of our own". That's the flaw here, that the author simply ignored the evidence and made an unsupported conclusion about the current state of affairs. There is nothing in the lawyer's statement to suggest that anyone is having any difficulty telling reality from fiction.

I hope that helps clear it up.

[noradwd1]

I was very confident with choice A. That one lawyer didnt represent the views of all lawyers. I dont see why E is a better answer.

[Luke Haqq]

Hi noradwd1!

To address (A), that answer choice states that the argument "takes the views of one lawyer to represent the views of all lawyers." Let's look at the conclusion of the stimulus, which is its final sentence: "This comment from a prestigious attorney provides appalling evidence that, in the face of television, even some legal professionals are losing their ability to distinguish fiction from reality." One reason that (A) seems problematic is that this is a conclusion made about "some" legal professionals, whereas (A) is referring to "all" lawyers. So the author isn't taking one to represent all.

By contrast, answer choice (E) states that the argument "ignores the part of the lawyer’s remark that indicates an awareness of the difference between reality and fiction." In the stimulus, the prominent lawyer stated that "Although not a lawyer, Mr. Burr strove for such authenticity that we feel as if we lost one of our own." So the lawyer is aware that Burr is not a lawyer even though he plays one on TV but still feels that the community lost one of its own. That is to say, the lawyer is aware of the difference between reality and fiction.