- PowerScore Staff
- Posts: 8950
- Joined: Feb 02, 2011
- Sat Dec 10, 2016 3:14 pm
#31364
Complete Question Explanation
The conditional relationships in this stimulus produce a multi-conditional (and/or) with a double arrow that deserves to be diagrammed to avoid confusion and make answer selection much easier than it would be if you were trying to juggle this all in your head. It should look something like this:
First sentence:
HLS (High Level of Skill) + HDC (High Degree of Creativity)
GA (Great Art)
Second sentence:
GA HLS + HDC
Combine those and we get a double arrow, with each thing being sufficient for the other:
GA
HLS + HDC
The conclusion brings up a new element, rarity:
GA R
The stem asks us to identify an underlying assumption, and that means linking the "rogue" elements in our premises (HLS + HDC) to the one in the conclusion (R). Our prephrase should be a link between rarity and the simultaneous application of both of those two "high degree" elements.
Answer A: "Not every artist" has one of those two skills is not the same as saying that the application of a combination of those skills is rare. It only means that at least one artist lacks one of them. Our author need not assume this, as it could be that every artist has skill, but that creativity or the application of both is rare.
Answer B: This is the correct answer. If our author believes great art is rare, he must believe that an artist combining those two elements in a work of art is also rare (because any time you do that, you get great art, per the first premise). The use of "seldom combined" is the same as saying "the combination is rare."
Answer C: It is not enough for an artist to possess both of the elements mentioned in the stimulus - she has to combine them both in producing a work of art. It could be that some artist who has both skill and creativity in high degrees nevertheless fails to live up to her potential by not putting those things to work in a single artwork. Mom would be so disappointed! Our author doesn't need to assume that every artist who HAS the skills will always (or ever) EMPLOY the skills.
Answer D: Much like answer A, the author does not need to assume that any artist lacks creativity. They may all have creativity, but skill, or the application of both things at once, is rare.
Answer E: Rarity is a relative claim, and we can't put any numbers to it all that easily. This answer talks about any particular artist producing "few" great works of art, another subjective term. Because we can't know what either "few" or "rare" really mean in the grand scheme of all art, the author didn't have to assume this. It could be that a single artist combining skill and creativity produces "many" great works or art, but that great art still remains "rare" compared to the total amount of art produced. Without a deeper understanding of the numbers involved, this answer need not be assumed.
The conditional relationships in this stimulus produce a multi-conditional (and/or) with a double arrow that deserves to be diagrammed to avoid confusion and make answer selection much easier than it would be if you were trying to juggle this all in your head. It should look something like this:
First sentence:
HLS (High Level of Skill) + HDC (High Degree of Creativity)
GA (Great Art)Second sentence:
GA
HLS + HDCCombine those and we get a double arrow, with each thing being sufficient for the other:
GA
HLS + HDCThe conclusion brings up a new element, rarity:
GA
RThe stem asks us to identify an underlying assumption, and that means linking the "rogue" elements in our premises (HLS + HDC) to the one in the conclusion (R). Our prephrase should be a link between rarity and the simultaneous application of both of those two "high degree" elements.
Answer A: "Not every artist" has one of those two skills is not the same as saying that the application of a combination of those skills is rare. It only means that at least one artist lacks one of them. Our author need not assume this, as it could be that every artist has skill, but that creativity or the application of both is rare.
Answer B: This is the correct answer. If our author believes great art is rare, he must believe that an artist combining those two elements in a work of art is also rare (because any time you do that, you get great art, per the first premise). The use of "seldom combined" is the same as saying "the combination is rare."
Answer C: It is not enough for an artist to possess both of the elements mentioned in the stimulus - she has to combine them both in producing a work of art. It could be that some artist who has both skill and creativity in high degrees nevertheless fails to live up to her potential by not putting those things to work in a single artwork. Mom would be so disappointed! Our author doesn't need to assume that every artist who HAS the skills will always (or ever) EMPLOY the skills.
Answer D: Much like answer A, the author does not need to assume that any artist lacks creativity. They may all have creativity, but skill, or the application of both things at once, is rare.
Answer E: Rarity is a relative claim, and we can't put any numbers to it all that easily. This answer talks about any particular artist producing "few" great works of art, another subjective term. Because we can't know what either "few" or "rare" really mean in the grand scheme of all art, the author didn't have to assume this. It could be that a single artist combining skill and creativity produces "many" great works or art, but that great art still remains "rare" compared to the total amount of art produced. Without a deeper understanding of the numbers involved, this answer need not be assumed.
