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- Sun Jan 20, 2013 12:00 am
#25677
Complete Question Explanation
Assumption—SN. The correct answer choice is (A)
In this question, the drama critic takes quite a while to get to the point. The critic begins by telling us that of the many interesting plays written last year, some will be widely popular for at least a few years, and some will receive high critical claim. However, the author then says, definitively, that “none will be popular several centuries from now.”
The critic reaches this conclusion based on a rule, that “the only plays that continue to be performed regularly over many decades and centuries are those that skillfully explore human nature.” This is a conditional rule, which we can diagram as:
PR = performed regularly over many decades and centuries
SEHN = plays that skillfully explore human nature
The critic goes on to tell us that none of the plays written last year satisfy this necessary condition, because none of them examine human nature in a skillful way. This fact triggers the contrapositive of the rule described above, using the subscript “LY” to denote the plays written last year:
Based on this inference, that none of the plays written last year will be performed regularly over many decades and centuries, the author concludes that none of the plays written last year will be popular several centuries from now. Essentially, the auther is saying that if the plays are not performed regularly over that period of time, then they cannot be popular several centuries from now, which we can diagram as a conditional relationship:
PR = not performed regularly over many decades and centuries
Popular = popular several centuries from now
The critic acts as if this conditional relationship has support in the stimulus, but it does not. The critic merely assumes it to be the case.
The question stem tells us that this is an Assumption question. Our prephrase is that the correct answer choice will provide explicitly the critic’s conditional assumption.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice, because it states explicitly the conditional relationship assumed by the critic. LSAC uses the term “unless” to make it more difficult for you to see that this is indeed the same conditional statement. Using the Unless Equation, in which the term modified by “unless” is the necessary condition, and the remaining term, once negated, becomes the sufficient condition, we can diagram this relationship as:
The contrapositive of which matches our prephrase:
Answer choice (B): What is required for a play to deserve high critical acclaim is irrelevant to the conclusion, which focused on whether the plays will be popular several centuries from now.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice raises the issue of whether the critic has complete knowledge of the plays written last year, and is therefore qualified to speak as to whether any of them will be popular several decades from now. However, while it may be helpful for the critic to have read or seen a performance of the plays being discussed, that first-hand knowledge is not necessary for the conclusion to be valid.
Answer choice (D): This issue of critical acclaim is not relevant to the conclusion.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice contains a conditional relationship that we can diagram as
This is a reversal of the explicit conditional relationship in the stimulus
Assumption—SN. The correct answer choice is (A)
In this question, the drama critic takes quite a while to get to the point. The critic begins by telling us that of the many interesting plays written last year, some will be widely popular for at least a few years, and some will receive high critical claim. However, the author then says, definitively, that “none will be popular several centuries from now.”
The critic reaches this conclusion based on a rule, that “the only plays that continue to be performed regularly over many decades and centuries are those that skillfully explore human nature.” This is a conditional rule, which we can diagram as:
PR = performed regularly over many decades and centuries
SEHN = plays that skillfully explore human nature
- Sufficient
Necessary
PR 
SEHN
The critic goes on to tell us that none of the plays written last year satisfy this necessary condition, because none of them examine human nature in a skillful way. This fact triggers the contrapositive of the rule described above, using the subscript “LY” to denote the plays written last year:
- SEHNLY PRLY
Based on this inference, that none of the plays written last year will be performed regularly over many decades and centuries, the author concludes that none of the plays written last year will be popular several centuries from now. Essentially, the auther is saying that if the plays are not performed regularly over that period of time, then they cannot be popular several centuries from now, which we can diagram as a conditional relationship:
PR = not performed regularly over many decades and centuries
Popular = popular several centuries from now
- PRLY PopularLY
The critic acts as if this conditional relationship has support in the stimulus, but it does not. The critic merely assumes it to be the case.
The question stem tells us that this is an Assumption question. Our prephrase is that the correct answer choice will provide explicitly the critic’s conditional assumption.
Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice, because it states explicitly the conditional relationship assumed by the critic. LSAC uses the term “unless” to make it more difficult for you to see that this is indeed the same conditional statement. Using the Unless Equation, in which the term modified by “unless” is the necessary condition, and the remaining term, once negated, becomes the sufficient condition, we can diagram this relationship as:
- Popular PR
The contrapositive of which matches our prephrase:
- PR Popular
Answer choice (B): What is required for a play to deserve high critical acclaim is irrelevant to the conclusion, which focused on whether the plays will be popular several centuries from now.
Answer choice (C): This answer choice raises the issue of whether the critic has complete knowledge of the plays written last year, and is therefore qualified to speak as to whether any of them will be popular several decades from now. However, while it may be helpful for the critic to have read or seen a performance of the plays being discussed, that first-hand knowledge is not necessary for the conclusion to be valid.
Answer choice (D): This issue of critical acclaim is not relevant to the conclusion.
Answer choice (E): This answer choice contains a conditional relationship that we can diagram as
- SEHN PR.
This is a reversal of the explicit conditional relationship in the stimulus
- PR SEHN.
