#24 - Journalist: Can you give me a summary of the novel

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Parallel Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (D)

In this parallel question, the novelist says he cannot give a summary because a summary cannot communicate what he wants to communicate. That communication can only occur through the form of the novel. This a great time to employ the abstraction trick. Basically he is saying, I cannot change the form of this information and still communicate the same thing. Also, be sure to employ the Double the Conclusions technique on the problem.

Answer choice (A): The conclusion of this answer choice is "So it can be considered a blueprint" which does not match the "cannot summarize and still communicate" conclusion of the stimulus. Also, this is an argument to define what something is, not an argument about changing it and still communicating the same information.

Answer choice (B): This choice is logically invalid (notice the new element introduced in the second premise) and again deals with defining something, not with the ability or inability to communicate.

Answer choice (C): Again, the answer is not a logical argument. You may be tempted because it is dealing with a type of summary (a travelog), but there is no argument about the difference in information between traveling and a travelog. Also, the conclusion does not match the conclusion of the stimulus.

Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. The conclusion of this answer choice doubles the stimulus' conclusion, and the reasoning matches our abstract idea. A photograph is a different form than a three-dimensional representation (just like a summary is a different form than a novel) and it cannot communicate the same experience (information).

Answer choice (E): The conclusion does not match the stimulus because it is dealing with two different aspects of a menu, not with the information it is able or not able to convey.

[fg6118]

As I was checking the explanation this question, the Powerscore explanation talked about using the "double the conclusion" technique. I can't find an explanation of that technique anywhere in the the lesson. Can someone explain what it is and where in the book it is? Thanks!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi FG,

Thanks for the question! It's just another way of saying "parallel the conclusion," meaning that the correct answer typically has a conclusion that has a similar intent as the conclusion in the stimulus. That's described in the text in Lesson 8, as well as in the homework on page 8-34 (if I recall correctly). You will see "match the conclusion" used as well.

Please let me know if that helps. Thanks!

[fg6118]

Thanks, that makes sense. I remember the "match the conclusion" but wasn't sure if "double the conclusion" was something different.

[Yining Bei]

Hi Powerscore Staff,

First of all, thank you all so much for providing explanations to the test questions on this forum. I was just wondering if anyone could please explain this problem for me. Specifically, what is the reasoning pattern in the stimulus that the correct answer choice should match? And why does answer choice D accomplish that?

Thank you!

Best,
Yining

[Adam Tyson]

Thanks for the question, Yining, and you're welcome, too. We're happy to help!

Our novelist doesn't use any clearly and easily identifiable method of reasoning here. He doesn't argue by way of a counter-example, or by analogy, or by showing that a purported cause and effect may be reveresed, etc. Instead, his method seems to be based on defining the journalist's term "summary" in a way that does not match what the journalist probably intended. Maybe we could call that a variation of a straw man argument? I'd also say his primary method of reasoning is by being an arrogant, condescending jerk, but that probably won't show up as clearly in the right answer!

One of our approaches to Parallel Reasoning questions is to look at the abstract structure of the argument. Strip away the details and describe what the author did, rather than what they said. Then, find the answer where the author does the same thing, even though he's talking about a different topic.

In this case, my analysis of the abstract structure is something like: "There is only one way to convey certain information, and so the way you want me to do it will not work."

Answer D is pretty close to that abstraction: There is only one way (a 3-D representation) to convey something (the way it feels to be in a certain landscape), and so another way (a photograph) won't work. None of the other answer choices have that kind of "just one way" abstraction to them. The only thing missing from the answer is the element of "the way you want me to do it", but that's okay, because we don't need the answer to be perfect, we just need it to be better than the other four answers. Since none of the others has an abstraction even close to our stimulus, D has to be the best answer and therefore the winner.

I hope that helps!

[Yining Bei]

It does, thank you so much!

[jiny9]

Hi!,
I went through this question by first comparing the conclusions. I though B&D fit because their conclusions are similar to that of the argument (They all end up saying: Therefore, I cannot do sth.) But I chose B, why B is incorrect? Thank you very much.

[Charlie Melman]

Hi Jiny,

The novelist says that he can't give a summary of his novel that communicates what the novel does because the thing the novel communicates cannot be communicated in any other form—obviously, a summary is another form. So the argument proceeds by saying that only one thing can have a certain characteristic—that of communicating a certain idea—and anything else necessarily cannot.

In answer choice (B), the statement in question does have the relevant characteristic. In the stimulus, the summary does not.

Hope that clears things up.

[co659]

Hello ! I'm a little confused here, I kept D as a contender but ultimately crossed it out cause it used "never" in the conclusion which, I felt, was a difference in intensity than "cannot" in the stimulus.

For example: Steve cannot reach the top shelf. But this wouldn't necessarily mean that he'll never reach the top shelf (I.e. Wear platforms, grow taller, etc.)

Could you please clarify this? Thanks !